Honor recognizes ‘individuals who have made significant contributions to fostering unity and improving the lives of others’
Children First, the exclusive provider of Head Start and Early Head Start services for Sarasota County, has announced that Kathleen Sullivan, its vice president of programs, “has been honored as a recipient of Sarasota Magazine‘s 2025 Unity Awards.”
“This prestigious accolade recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to fostering unity and improving the lives of others,” a Children First news release explains.
Sarasota Magazine adds that the recipients of the awards are “local changemakers fighting to make Sarasota a more inclusive and just place.”
Sullivan has more than “35 years of experience in the early childhood community,” the Children First release says. Having begun her involvement with the nonprofit as a Head Start parent, the release continues, she credits the program “with transforming her life.”
In her role at Children First, “Sullivan oversees the agency’s comprehensive and family strengthening services,” which serve nearly 1,100 local children and their families across Sarasota County, the release notes.
“Under her leadership, the organization has expanded vital mental health programs, increasing access to full-time specialists and additional contracted professionals to support children, caregivers, and staff,” the release continues. She also has “driven advancements in early childhood education, ensuring more children receive high-quality care, developmental support, and school readiness services,” the release notes.
“Sullivan joins an esteemed group of Children First leaders” who have received the Unity Awards recognition, including CEO Philip Tavill and past board Chairs Trevor Harvey and Brock Leach, the release points out. “Their collective leadership underscores Children First’s unwavering dedication to advancing opportunity for all families in need,” the release adds.
In 2024, “Sullivan was honored with the Aubrey Puckett Memorial Award from the National Head Start Association, which represents more than 1 million children nationwide, “for her commitment to advocacy and her passion for serving children and families in need,” the release also points out. Further, it says, she serves on the Board of Directors of the Region IV Head Start Association and the Early Learning Coalition of Sarasota County.
“Founded in 1961 and ranked in the top 1%” of more than 1,800 Head Starts nationwide, “Children First strengthens children and families by improving the quality of their lives through a comprehensive approach to development, education, health, and well-being,” the release explains. At multiple sites throughout Sarasota County, the release adds, “Children First offers full-day preschool, infant and toddler care, and nutrition and health care assistance” to children from birth to age 5 who live in low-income families.
For more information, call 941-953-3877 or visit www.childrenfirst.net.