In November of 2012, Mary Anne Snyder was appointed Director of the new Office of Early Childhood within the Colorado Department of Human Services. In this role, she brought together the Division of Early Care and Learning (DECL) with the new Division of Community and Family Support (DCFS). DECL provides child care licensing, subsidy, and quality initiatives. DCFS houses Early Intervention, Early Childhood Councils, Children's Trust Fund, home visitation programs, infant and toddler mental health programs, and child maltreatment prevention. The Head Start State Collaboration Liaison and the Early Childhood Leadership Commission Director also operate within the Office of Early Childhood. The Office recently completed implementation of a $45 million federal Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge grant. The consolidation of early childhood programs, along with new federal resources, is resulting in a more effective, efficient and elegant system of service delivery and support for families with young children. The Office of Early Childhood strives to improve kindergarten readiness, increase the number of third grade students reading at proficiency or better, prevent child abuse and neglect, and treat early‐identified developmental delays. Previously, Mary Anne was the Executive Director of the Wisconsin Children's Trust Fund (2001‐2012). She was the founding President of the Celebrate Children Foundation, which focused on helping communities in Wisconsin create the most effective early learning systems for children from birth to age five. Mary Anne was a member of the Wisconsin Governor's Advisory Council on Early Care and Education and was the co‐chair of the state steering committee. She also served on the Board of Directors for the National Alliance of Children's Trust and Prevention Funds, of which she was President for four years. Mary Anne has dedicated her career to ensuring all children experience optimal childhood development in safe and nurturing environments in order to reach their full potential. In 1998, she received the Commissioner's Award from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families for her leadership and service in the