Quality Care for Children (QCC), an Atlanta-based nonprofit working to equip families and child care providers with the knowledge and resources to nurture and educate Georgia’s infants and young children, today named Ellyn Cochran as its new president and CEO effective April 11, 2022. Cochran will be the organization’s fourth president and CEO, following Pam Tatum who announced her retirement in January of this year after more than 30 years with QCC, and having served the last 18 years as its CEO. 

“Pam is a smart, fierce and dedicated advocate for Georgia’s families and child care providers, and it has been a privilege to work with her for so many years. Under her leadership, the organization’s scope and impact were expanded making QCC one of the premier child care resource and referral agencies in the country,” said John Giegerich, Chair of QCC’s Board of Trustees and Partner at CEO Coaching International.

Giegerich continued, “We are elated to begin working with Ellyn and know that her immense experience and leadership in early childhood education and development, public policy and fundraising will guide the execution of our strategic plan to improve the lives of our state’s families and children.” 

Cochran’s appointment comes after a national CEO search conducted by QCC’s Board of Trustees. She is currently the Associate Vice President of Early Learning and Development for United Way of Greater Atlanta where she oversees United Way’s regional work in the areas of early education, child development and family engagement. Cochran has also been instrumental in securing annual funds, creating new investment strategies and programs, and providing leadership to grantmaking staff on the allocation of investments.

“I have long admired the work of QCC to ensure every child in Georgia has access to high-quality early childhood experiences that build a solid foundation for future success. Under Pam’s leadership, QCC has always centered its work on what is best for children, including a well-trained and supported early childhood workforce, providers equipped to deal with the unique needs of their families and communities, and parents connected to resources supporting healthy brain development. QCC has been the leader in working to ensure a strong early childhood system exists in Georgia for over 40 years and I am excited and honored to work with such a talented and experienced team to continue that charge,” said Ellyn Cochran, QCC’s incoming CEO.

Before joining the United Way, Cochran served as the Director of Innovation Strategies with GEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students where she was able to facilitate several meaningful national and state partnerships including the launch of Frontiers of Innovation with the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University and the state of Georgia.

Prior to her work in Atlanta, Cochran lived in Maryland where she held a number of education and policy roles. She worked in Baltimore City Public Schools from 2008 – 2012 in leadership roles including as assistant to the Chief Executive Officer, where she represented the district on Maryland’s Ready at Five Executive Leadership Committee. She also served as a Governor’s Policy Fellow for the State of Maryland and a Mayoral Fellow for the City of Baltimore in Maryland.

Ellyn has served on numerous boards and coalitions and is currently a fellow in BUILD’s Equity Leaders Action network (ELAN). She is a past participant in Leadership DeKalb, the Atlanta Regional Committee’s Regional Leadership Institute Fellowship, and a member of the inaugural cohort of the Georgia Funders Network for Racial Equity. 

Cochran earned a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in Journalism & Mass Communications and International Studies from Iowa State University and a Master of Public Policy (MPP) Emphasis in Education Policy from The John Hopkins University. 

“I have known and worked with Ellyn since she arrived in Atlanta. I have admired her accomplishments and gotten to know her as a very capable leader and a strategic innovator with a gift for bringing people, organizations, and ideas together on behalf of Georgia’s children. QCC is poised for exponential impact, and Ellyn has the vision, commitment, and leadership skills to move QCC forward,” said Pam Tatum, president and CEO of QCC. 

Tatum also commented that Ellyn will lead an amazing team of nonprofit professionals who have been critical in QCC’s success and will be crucial to QCC moving forward. They include:

• Reynaldo Green, Vice President of Nutrition and Family Well-Being, who oversaw QCC’s provision of enhanced child care referrals to more than 700 essential workers during the pandemic, has testified before Congress as president of the National Child and Adult Food Care Program Forum, and has expanded QCC’s nutrition work to serve nearly 21,000 children across the state.
• Robin Kirby, Vice President of Marketing and Development, who competed a successful capital campaign just prior to the pandemic, and then immediately raised an additional $2.7 million in COVID-related child care scholarships for families and stabilization grants for child care providers, in addition to more than $2 million of annual program and operating support.
• Angela Melton, Vice President of Early Care and Education, who ensured that in spite of the pandemic, QCC would stay focused on quality leading her team to quickly pivot to remote work, exceed Quality Rated goals, strengthen services to children and families enrolled in QCC’s Early Head Start program, and collaborated with partners to launch Literacy and Justice for All, a new language and literacy program created to empower children to be proficient readers. 
• Monique Reynolds, Vice President of Child Care Business Support and Sustainability, who expanded our child care business support work, launched new initiatives, and positioned QCC as a national leader in proven, innovative strategies to increase child care sustainability. 

• Jon Tuuri, Vice President of Finance and Operations, whose team not only kept the finances and operations in order throughout the pandemic but also secured important Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding for the organization, oversaw a successful technology upgrade and moved two of QCC’s three offices to larger facilities to serve the community more effectively.