Zero to Three, the National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families, has selected Lois Vermilya from the University of New Mexico as one of 23 participants in the 2007-08 class of prestigious Leaders for the 21st Century Fellowship program. Vermilya is the director of the Family Development Program, a statewide outreach project based in UNM’s College of Education that provides community-based professional development to teachers, parents and programs that serve New Mexico’s youngest children.
Photo: Lois Vermilya, director, Family Development Program
Vermilya sits on the Early Childhood Action Network (ECAN), a multi-disciplinary forum appointed by New Mexico’s Lt. Governor Diane Denish to advise the New Mexico Children’s Cabinet and the state legislature. During her two-year Fellowship, Vermilya plans to demonstrate how ECAN’s priorities can be integrated into the ongoing outreach activities and services of the Family Development Program.
“The Zero to Three Policy Center advises policy makers in the federal government as they develop programs that affect children,” said Matthew Melmed, executive director, Zero to Three. At the state level, Vermilya is proving that citizen involvement in policy-making results in programs and policies that can really make a positive difference for communities and individual children. We are delighted to have her in the Fellowship program.”
Vermilya has a master’s degree in symbolic anthropology from UNM. She has been a non-profit executive for over 25 years, leading and consulting with family-centered programs of education and community development both in the United States and Latin America.
Vermilya’s participation in the Fellowship program is partially supported by The Atlas Family Foundation of Los Angeles, Calif. The Atlas Family Foundation’s grantmaking is based on the belief that the formative years from prenatal to preschool age are the most important.
Through the Leaders for the 21st Century Fellowship program, Zero to Three connects, enriches and inspires the multidisciplinary community of professionals dedicated to advancing the healthy development of very young children. The Fellowship program began in 1981.
For more information about the organization and the Fellowship program, please visit: Zero to Three Leaders.
Media Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu