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September 13, 2011
Denver Preschool Program Names Eileen Piper Chief Executive Officer
(DENVER) The Denver Preschool Program has named Eileen Piper as its next Chief Executive Officer. Piper has been the acting CEO of the Denver Preschool Program since former CEO James Mejia took a leave of absence in December of 2010 to run for mayor. Mejia formally resigned from the CEO position in June.
"I am pleased to congratulate Eileen Piper on her appointment as the new CEO of the Denver Preschool Program as we share a common commitment to ensuring our kids have ample opportunities to live up to their God-given potential," said Denver Mayor Michael Hancock. "It's clear that moving Denver forward and creating a brighter future will require the coordinated efforts of all sectors of the community. With Eileen's leadership, we look forward to building a stronger partnership with the Denver Preschool Program that will help to forge effective pathways for all of Denver's children from cradle to career."
The Denver Preschool Program is a not-for-profit organization that helps Denver families pay for high-quality preschool across the city and offers funding to local preschool programs to improve their quality.
“As an organization that provides access to quality preschool for nearly 6,000 children every year, the Denver Preschool Program could not be in better hands,” says John Plotkin, Chair, Denver Preschool Program Board of Directors. “Eileen has shown tremendous leadership, skill and dedication to early childhood education and we are happy she has agreed to continue in this role.”
Piper previously served as the Denver Preschool Program's Director of Policy and Program Administration and has been with the Denver Preschool Program for nearly a year and a half.
“The Denver Preschool Program has done such great work to date making high-quality preschool more accessible to Denver families,” said Piper. “I’m proud to continue this work and look forward to seeing these kids go on to succeed in school and help make the Denver community a better place.”
“The Denver Preschool Program reached an important milestone this year: We enrolled our 20,000th child into the program in just the fifth year of our existence,” continued Piper. “That’s 20,000 children who are more likely to succeed in school and in life. I look forward to growing that number and watching all their success.”
With bachelor’s and master’s degrees in early childhood education as well as a strong background in business, Piper is well-positioned to serve as the CEO of the Denver Preschool Program. She spent a number of years teaching in preschool classrooms and working in the child care resource and referral arena before transitioning to the business sector, obtaining her MBA from Harvard, and going on to work for the McDonald’s Corporation.