Original Source | The Oregonian
By Jeff Mapes, Tuesday September 6, 2011

Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber, kicking off the school year with a speech on his education goals in Springfield, announced that he has appointed nine persons to the newly created Early Learning Council.

The new body will guide efforts to fund the most effective early-childhood education programs and ensure they mesh with K-12 schooling in the state.  The council will be chaired by Dick Alexander, the chairman of Capital Pacific Bank and a board member of the Children's Institute.

Other members are:

Pam Curtis, MS (Portland) - Deputy Director, Center for Evidence-based Policy, Oregon Health & Sciences University. 

Teri Thalhofer, RN (The Dalles) - Director, North Central Public Health; Co-Chair, Early Childhood Committee of the Wasco County Commission on Children and Families. 

Charles McGee (Portland) - Co-Founder, Black Parent Initiative, the only child, parent, and family-centered prevention based/culturally-specific organization in Portland focused solely on supporting low/moderate income parents, children, and families in Multnomah County. 

Bobbie Weber, PhD (Corvallis) - Research Associate, Family Policy Program, College of Public Health and Human Sciences, Oregon State University.

Norm Smith (Portland) - President, Ford Family Foundation; former Member of the Oregon House of Representatives. 

Paz Ramos (Gresham) - Principal, Alder Elementary School, Reynolds School District. 

Janet Dougherty-Smith (Portland) - Early Childhood Education Consultant; former Director, Early Childhood Services for Clackamas County Education Service District. 

Dick Withnell (Keizer) - Chair, Oregon Commission on Children and Families; Founder, Withnell Motors, Salem.