Bienvenida a Irelys Ramírez

Irelys Ramírez is the Bilingual Program Specialist at the Head Start Bureau. She first learned about Head Start when her young daughter was enrolled in a program. For Irelys, one of the most valuable and distinctive components of the program was parent involvement.

Irelys comes from Region II, where she has worked with several ACF programs for more than 20 years. In 1997, she joined Head Start as a Program Specialist; providing guidance, technical assistance and policy interpretation to local grantees in Puerto Rico. According to Irelys, the best part of her job was visiting Head Start centers, where she was able to observe teachers and children in action. She adds, "The teachers and directors have such passion for their work that they continually inspired me to assist them in improving their programs." She was also a Team Leader for on-site PRISM reviews.

Looking ahead to her new role, Irelys is committed to supporting the Head Start Bureau in the development of policies and strategies for English language learners and their families served in Head Start and Early Head Start.