Director Bette Hyde
Dr. Bette Hyde was appointed Director of the Department of Early Learning (DEL) by Gov. Chris Gregoire on Feb. 10, 2009. Bette’s focus is on creating one statewide early learning system that prepares all Washington children for school and life. She strongly believes that school-readiness means ready schools, ready children, ready families and ready communities.
Bette previously served as superintendent of the 5,500-student Bremerton School District, well-known for its emphasis on partnering with local early learning groups to improve kindergarten readiness. She began her career as a special education teacher, and has worked as a school psychologist, principal and assistant superintendent in the Seattle, Vashon Island and Highline school districts. Bette worked as deputy superintendent for Puget Sound Educational Services District. She also has served on the governor's Washington Learns K-12 Advisory Committee, the Joint Task Force on Basic Education Finance, and the King County Commission on Children and Youth.
Bette earned her doctorate from the University of Minnesota, and completed a post-doctorate administrative certification from the University of Washington. She has two children, Sarah and Sam, and a grandson, Mateus.
Favorite children's book: Nancy Drew mysteries.
Best childhood memories: Singing on stage with my family from about age 3 on. At 3, it was "All I want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth." I think I liked it because it made my Dad so happy. Our family were singers — in the car, around home, and on the stage, the radio, and a few times on TV.
Most important children in her life: My two children, Sarah and Sam, and my grandson, Matheus.
Deputy Director Bob Hamilton
Dr. Bob Hamilton oversees all DEL programs and policy work as well as our three service areas responsible for child care licensing and local early learning partnerships. Bob oversees DEL’s Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) team and DEL’s Head Start State Collaboration Office.
Bob came to DEL from the Bremerton School District, where he was the director of assessment, special education and school support. He has extensive experience using data and evaluations to measure results within school systems. Bob has also worked in the Highline School District, where he focused on evaluation, research and development; and he has worked in the private sector, as a vice president at Raven Services Corporation. Bob began his career in the Seattle School District.
Bob holds both a Ph.D. and Masters of Education in educational psychology from the University of Washington.
Favorite children’s book: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst.
Best childhood memory: My sister overcoming her fear of singing in front of a group and singing the national anthem in fourth grade in front of the whole school. I remember thinking, "She’s the bravest kid I know."
Most important children in his life: Children with disabilities. They face the world with great joy and hope with strength I don’t think any of us can imagine.
Chief Operating Officer Kate Verville
Kate Verville oversees all administrative operations: IT, human resources and fiscal. She also oversees performance management including state government performance and accountability requirements, audits and strategic planning. Kate serves as the Washington State Child Care Administrator with oversight responsibility for federal child care funds that support subsidies, child care training and licensing.
Kate comes to DEL from the private sector, where she worked as a financial consultant and senior business analyst. As the Director of Field Research for the Institute of Applied Research, she led several studies examining the impacts of alternative financing on outcomes in child welfare, differential response in child protective services, and early intervention services for at-risk families of preschool children. Kate spent 10 years as a social worker working directly with children, families, and systems in Maine, and on welfare reform at the Muskie Institute for Public Sector Innovation. She holds a degree in social work and a Master of Business Administration from Saint Louis University.
Favorite children’s book: If I Ran the Zoo, by Dr. Seuss
Senior Policy Advisor Sonali Patel
Sonali Patel is DEL’s liaison to the Legislature, Tribal Nations, and the federal government.
A policy expert on federal legislation, regulations and policies impacting human services—including child welfare, juvenile justice, Medicaid, and child care—Sonali has extensive experience analyzing and interpreting legislation and working closely with stakeholders.
Sonali joined DEL from the American Public Human Services Association in Washington, D.C., where she was Senior Policy Associate and Director of the National Children's Policy Forum. She holds a Master of Social Welfare from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Favorite children’s book: How to Live On an Island, by Sandy Gingras
Communications Manager Amy Blondin
Amy Blondin oversees internal and external communications strategies for DEL. She serves as DEL’s media relations manager, manages content on DEL’s Web site, and oversees public records fulfillment, publications production, and other efforts to build public awareness.
A Washington native, Amy spent several years as a reporter covering local, state, and federal education issues, beginning at the Spokane Spokesman-Review and continuing in Washington, D.C. She joined DEL from the Washington State Senate Democratic Caucus, where she was a Public Information Officer focusing on early learning, K-12 and higher education policy.
Favorite children's book: A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon.
Best childhood memory: Reading the Little House on the Prairie series one summer under the maple tree in my yard.
Most important children in her life: My son Keegan and daughter Riley.
Assistant Director – Provider Partnerships
Lynne Shanafelt
Lynne Shanafelt leads the Provider Partnerships Division, which is responsible for programs and policies to support early care and education providers in offering high-quality early learning settings.
Among the division's responsibilities:
- developing policy for child care subsidies for low-income families
- developing policies and procedures to help ensure DEL's child care licensing staff offer high-quality, consistent information and support for child care providers
- managing the collective bargaining agreement with family home child care providers and license-exempt providers
Lynne has worked in early learning in Washington for the past 24 years. She previously worked as the State Child Care Administrator, the State Director of the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program, several roles for local Head Start programs including director, family support coordinator, family and community partnerships coordinator, homeless project director, and family mentor project director. Lynne has also provided technical assistance to tribal Head Start programs. She was the first Child Care Resource and Referral Director for Grays Harbor and Pacific counties and has served on a number of committees such as the Early Learning and Development Benchmarks Core Leadership Team, the Child Care Coordinating Committee and as the Grays County Interagency Coordinating Committee Chair.
Favorite children’s book: The Little Engine That Could.
Best childhood memory: Riding my pony around the outside of the house, and playing with my kittens.
Most important child in her life: My granddaughter, Emma.
Assistant Director – Family Partnerships Division
Dr. Juliet Morrison (on leave)
Dr. Juliet Morrison leads the Family Partnerships Division, which oversees DEL’s work to support parents as their children’s first and most important teachers, and to support healthy child development.
Among the division's responsibilities:
- Creating a statewide professional development system so that early care and education professionals offer high-quality early learning settings for families
- Managing our work with the Washington State Child Care Resource & Referral Network
- Managing the career and wage ladder for child care center employees
- Working with our nonprofit partner, Thrive by Five Washington, on the implementation of a Quality Rating and Improvement System
Juliet holds a bachelor's degree in cell and molecular biology from the University of Montana, as well as a doctorate in clinical psychology from Argosy University in Seattle.
In the past, Juliet has developed and led training for educators and parents in the Pierce County school districts as part of a 17-month Early Learning Initiative project. Juliet specialized in treating children and families at various community mental health settings and worked to train and supervise new doctoral students. Juliet has also worked in nonprofit settings as the Director of Child Development at a child care center and as the director of education for The Children’s Museum in Seattle where her work included developing educational plans and museum programming as well as reaching out to community organizations.
Favorite children's book: Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox
Best childhood memory: Pretend play with my sister in sunny California. We used to play everything we could imagine outside, including Olympic figure skating on roller skates in the driveway and school where my sister would play the teacher and actually taught me to read before kindergarten. What a wonderful beginning to learning through play.
Most important child in her life: My new baby soon to be born in August! And all of the children who I have been fortunate to work with throughout my career and who have left a lasting impression on my view of the world will continue to guide me in my new role as a parent.
Acting Assistant Director – Family Partnerships Division Sangree Froelicher
Sangree Froelicher has returned to DEL to fill in as lead for the Family Partnerships Division while Juliet Morrison is on leave. Sangree previously worked at DEL as Assistant Director for Systems, Partnerships and Collaboration from October 2006 to October 2007. She helped get the agency up and running, and oversaw systems-building work, including overseeing ECEAP and the first phase of its expansion; serving as our liaison to Thrive by Five Washington; and overseeing our investments in child care resource and referral, Born Learning, local public-private partnerships.
Sangree has since been working at Dovetailing LLC, an organization she formed with Garrison Kurtz to support organizations’ efforts to plan, organize and implement early learning strategies. In addition to her prior work at DEL, she also served as the director of the Head Start State Collaboration Office when it was housed in the Governor’s Office, worked in quality improvement for the Division of Child Care and Early Learning at the Department of Social and Health Services and worked for the Washington State Child Care Resource & Referral Network.
Favorite children’s book: Goodnight Moon because it is a great first book for babies.
Best childhood memory: Going to summer camp in the Adirondacks with my four brothers and sisters is my best childhood memory. For 12 summers, from age 5 to 17, I attended a sleep-away camp with my siblings for the entire summer. We played outside (hiking, canoeing, sailing, water skiing, swimming)all summer long with 75 other kids from all over the United States – and there was no school – and I loved every second of it!
Most important child in your life: All my nieces and nephews: Jessica, Katielou, Elsa, Joe, Riley and Stella.
Financial Manager Debra Wilhelmi
Debra Wilhelmi is responsible for developing the department’s budget, allotments, and fiscal notes; processing payroll, vendor payments, cost allocation, and travel reimbursements; and writing and tracking contracts.
Debra has nearly 30 years of experience in financial management for state agencies. She served on the management team when the Department of Health was created. As Director of Administrative Services for the Utilities and Transportation Commission, she was responsible for administrative functions including budget and finance, information technology, licensing services, records, risk management, and facility management.
Favorite children’s book: Rikki-Tikki-Tavi by Rudyard Kipling
Best childhood memory: Riding horses on the farm I grew up on.
Most important children in her life: My four grandchildren: Magenta, Elizabeth, Wesley and Adeline.
Human Resources Manager Laurie Milligan
Laurie Milligan has served as Human Resources Manager for DEL since its creation. She plans, coordinates and directs all human resources and labor relations functions and services supporting DEL, leading work on both the immediate and strategic human resource needs of the agency. Laurie served on the transition team when DEL was created in 2006.
Most important children in her life: Our three kids: Jordynn, A.J. and baby Ryan. I am absolutely honored and fortunate to be able to work at an agency with a mission and vision that so closely matches my own values and priorities.
Information Technology Manager James Minkler
James Minkler oversees the IT division and is responsible for ensuring that IT investments and systems align with DEL's mission, vision and business goals. James has been leading efforts to further education and provide services to children through technology for more than a decade.
James joined DEL from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, where, as Director of Network Operations, he was responsible for creating and overseeing a comprehensive plan to address the agency's technology needs to support children in the K-12 system.
Favorite children’s book: Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss.
Best childhood memory: Going to Seattle International Raceway with my uncle during the summers, not only to watch the pros race but him as well.
The most important children in his life: My own children: Tanner, Cooper and Katie Jo.
Eastern Service Area Manager Karri Jo Livingston
The Service Area Managers provide vision and leadership in developing, administering, and managing operations and activities related to early learning, including child care licensing. Karri Livingston is responsible for the DEL offices in Yakima, Wenatchee, Moses Lake, Spokane, and Kennewick. The Eastern Service Area covers the 20 counties of eastern Washington.
Karri has devoted her career to working with Eastern Washington communities. She began as a social worker for the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, linking a variety of clients—from Native American children to child care centers to foster youth—with services and resources. Karri chaired the local County Interagency Coordinating Council for many years, working with local agencies on improving early intervention services for children and families. She served as a child care licensor and licensing regional manager before becoming the DEL Eastern Service Area Manager in July 2006.
Favorite children’s book: The Little Engine That Could
Best childhood memory: During the summer my dad, who was a teacher, had a job supervising staff at all the public swimming pools in Yakima. He would take my two sisters and me along to all the pools. We would get to swim while he supervised staff even during the times when the pools were closed to the public. After he was done for the day he would take us to Dairy Queen for a sundae.
Most important child in her life: My son Chase.
Northwest Service Area Manager Bob McLellan
The Service Area Managers provide vision and leadership in developing, administering, and managing operations and activities related to early learning, including child care licensing. Bob McLellan is responsible for the DEL offices in Kent, Seattle, Bellevue, Everett, Mt. Vernon, and Bellingham. The Northwest Service Area covers the communities west of the mountains to Puget Sound, from King County north to the Canadian border.
Bob has extensive experience as a public administrator in human services, criminal justice, juvenile justice, mental health, and emergency services. He joined DEL from the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services Division of Juvenile Justice, and was previously the Deputy Administrator for Juvenile Services, for the Division of Child and Family Services in Nevada. He holds a Master of Public Administration from Andrew Jackson University.
Favorite children’s book: Good Dog, Carl by Alexandra Day
Best childhood memory: Baking gingerbread cookies with my grandmother.
The most important children in his life: My grandchildren, and the children we serve every day with our work at DEL.
Southwest Service Area Manager Joshua Verville
Southwest Service Area Manager Joshua Verville is responsible for the DEL offices in Aberdeen, Bremerton, Kelso, Port Angeles, Tacoma, Tumwater, and Vancouver. The Southwest Service Area covers from Pierce County to Clark County and the Cascades to the Pacific Ocean, which covers 13 counties.
Joshua has a decade of serving children and families through public service in state government, philanthropy and university settings. He began his career as a child protective case manager for the Maine Department of Health and Human Services before leading several projects focusing on work force development, asset development, and child welfare at the University of Southern Maine’s Institute for Public Sector Innovation. Joshua joined DEL in June 2007 after working as an Associate Director for the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative, a private foundation in Saint Louis, Mo.
Joshua holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Maine at Farmington and is currently a Master of Public Administration candidate with the Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington. In fall 2009, Joshua was elected to serve on the Board of Directors for the National Association for Regulatory Administration.
Favorite children's book: Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak