Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/in-memoriam-vanessa-ann-rich-1951-2015/5022816/
The Head Start and early learning community lost a vibrant leader in Vanessa Ann Rich when she passed away on Sunday, December 27, 2015. Born in Monmouth, Illinois, in 1951, Vanessa began her career in early childhood when she wasn’t so old herself. In the summer of 1965, the Head Start program launched in her hometown and Mrs. Roby, one of the few African American teachers in town, had the job of running the summer program. As Vanessa described it, her mother sent her on over to volunteer. A high school student at the time, she was responsible for delivering milk cartons to the classrooms and opening them for the children. She was delighted to feel she was contributing to the children’s experience and inspired by the sophistication and leadership of the Head Start director — a lasting impression that would shape her life.
Over the next 40 years, Vanessa remained a remarkable early learning advocate — embracing and pursuing professional opportunities that honed her passion to expand opportunity for vulnerable children and families. She served as a Head Start director, trainer, consultant, higher education administrator, and ultimately as Deputy Commissioner for the Department of Family and Support Services for the City ...