The Members

Stacey Wright is the Director of the Missouri Head Start State Collaboration Office (Center for Family Policy & Research, Department of Human Development and Family Science, University of Missouri).   In her role as director, she is honored to representing Head Start in state level initiatives that affect early care and education throughout Missouri.  In this role, she is responsible for supporting collaboration among Missouri Head Start and Early Head Start grantees, the Missouri Head Start Association, and Missouri’s early childhood systems, services, programs and organizations.

Prior to serving at the Missouri Head Start State Collaboration Office, she held rewarding roles as a home visitor, center director, and area manager within a local Head Start program, teaching and directing at child care programs, and serving as an adjunct faculty member for a local college.  She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in HDFS from the University of Missouri.

She looks forward to advancing the work of the Missouri Coordinating Board for Early Childhood and serving the children, families, and staff that comprise the Missouri early childhood system.

Kelly Dudley is the Early Childhood Wellness Expert for the Department of Mental Health (DMH). Prior to her work with DMH she provided mental health consultation for Head Start and Early Head Start. She has worked with children and their families for nearly twenty years in a variety of settings. Kelly received her Master of Social Work from Missouri State University, as well completing post graduate studies in forensic child psychology and conflict and dispute resolution.

Kelly has lived all over the world, but has settled down in Springfield with her husband, two children, and a dog.

Coordinator, Early Learning for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

I have had a variety of experiences in early care and education through my career: second grade teacher, family child care director for Army Child Development Services, directed for profit and not for profit child care centers, training and technical assistance to early childhood programs, child care licensing specialist, accreditation coordinator, training coordinator for child care licensing and early childhood director and coordinator with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Providing coordinated quality early care and education services for young children and their families is critical to support the foundation of education.  Working with fellow child serving agencies to provide a more coordinated system to better serve young children and their families is at the forefront of my daily work.

I enjoy watching collegiate sports in person but will settle for on television for now.

My name is Nancy Scherer.  I have been married for 33 years, I have two children and four wonderful grandchildren.  I enjoy camping, fishing, quilting and spending time with my family.

I have worked for the Section for Child Care Regulation for 23 years, I am currently the Interim Section Administrator. My entire career has been spent protecting the health and safety of children in one way or another.  I started working in a child care center as a teacher and was a center director for several years before moving in to state government.   I will always ensure that the work that we do is in the best interest of children.

Valeri Lane entered the world of early childhood as a parent advocate with the birth of a daughter with disabilities in 1985.  She adopted the field as a profession earning a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Special Education and a doctorate in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Valeri has worked at the local, state, and national level, holding a variety of positions.  Locally, she spent 16 years as the Director of Family and Child Development at the Center for Human Services in Sedalia, MO. At the state level, she served many years as a co-chair and member of the Missouri State Interagency Coordinating Council for First Steps, and has been a co-chair and member of the Coordinating Board for Early Childhood since 2009. From 2006 to 2018, Valeri worked on a several national projects as an employee of ZERO TO THREE.

Valeri currently serves as a consultant for a variety of local, state, and national projects. In spare time, she enjoys her grandchildren, the natural beauty of her farm, reading, chess, and knitting.

I am a retired speech-language pathologist and learning disabilities specialist.  My terminal degree (PhD) is from the University of Missouri.  My work history has been in public schools, University teaching/student supervision, and in the non-profit arena.  Over the past 20 plus years my interest has been in early childhood, in particular, best practices and evidence-based services.  I have enjoyed providing professional develop to hundreds of early childhood teachers, and I enjoy seeing teacher growth and excellent child outcomes