George Philipp
DIRECTOR
George C. Philipp is a Senior Program Associate for the WestEd E3 Institute. He leads early educator professional development initiatives locally, regionally, and statewide through E3 Institute’s major initiative Santa Clara County’s Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS). Philipp serves on California’s Transforming the Workforce Birth to Age 8 Work Group, Santa Clara County Joint Workforce Development Committee, the California Department of Education Workforce Data Systems Workforce Registry Advisory Board, and facilitates the Early Childhood Professional Development and Education Collaborative. He is a member of the Santa
Clara County Local Early Childhood Planning Council (LPC) and represents the early childhood community as a Commissioner for FIRST 5 Santa Clara County. Prior to joining WestEd Philipp was a Program Services Administrator for First 5 Alameda County. Philipp received a BA in psychology from Roanoke College at Salem, Virginia.
Esperanza Cadena
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST
Esperanza Cadena is a QRIS Specialist for the WestEd E3 Institute. Her primary responsibility is to provide coordination with the site ratings, technical assistance, and professional development components of the Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) program in Santa Clara County. Activities include reviewing site portfolios, conducting site visits, generating site rating reports, and finalizing ratings with site administrators. She also provides support and technical assistance to QRIS participants around the ECE Workforce Registry requirements and coordinates efforts with Registry staff. Esperanza also provides Spanish translation and interpretation support as needed. In addition, Cadena assists the WestEd E3 Institute Director with all aspects of program operations. Cadena received a BS in business administration from San Jose State University.
Regina Garcia-Lemye
PROGRAM AND DATA SPECIALIST
Regina Garcia-Lemye is a Program and Data Specialist for the WestEd E3 Institute. She coordinates and manages the Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) data for program development and state reporting purposes in Santa Clara County, CA. Previously, Garcia-Lemye supported the implementation and design of California’s Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC), as well as the coordination of program services and resources for First 5 California’s Child Signature Program (CSP) and Power of Preschool (PoP) Initiatives in Santa Clara County. Garcia-Lemye received a BA in child and adolescent development from San Francisco State University.
Rebecca Jarquin
QRIS COORDINATOR
Rebecca Jarquin is a QRIS Coordinator for the WestEd E3 Institute. Her primary responsibility is the coordination and implementation of the Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) in Santa Clara County.
Prior to joining WestEd she worked for First 5 Santa Clara County as the lead assessor in the Environmental Rating Scales and CLASS assessment tools and has been working in the early education field since 1998.
Jarquin received a BA in child and adolescent development and an MA in education, both from San Francisco State University.
Rick Leon
FINANCIAL ANALYST
Rick Leon is a Financial Analyst for the WestEd E3 Institute. His primary responsibilities include preparing budgets, setting up & monitoring contracts and subcontracts, approving invoices, forecasting monthly revenue, and preparing financial reports.
Prior to joining WestEd in 2004, Leon was a Financial Compliance Analyst and a Fixed Asset Accountant at Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space. He also audited internal accounting controls and supported the implementation of a single company financial system.
Leon received a BS in business administration, with a finance concentration, and a minor in mathematics from San Jose State University.
Kimmy Nguyen
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST
Kimmy Nguyen is a QRIS Specialist for the WestEd E3 Institute. Her primary responsibility is to provide coordination with professional development initiatives related to the Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) program in Santa Clara County. Activities include assistance with implementation of the California Workforce Registry, analysis of higher education options for the early childhood workforce, and assistance with the development of a stipend incentive program for early educators in QRIS programs. Previously, Nguyen worked on the CARES initiative.
She began her work in early care and education as an assessor using the Environment Rating Scales. She is a consumer representative of the Santa Clara County Local Early Childhood Planning Council (LPC). Nguyen received a BA in sociology from the University of California, Irvine, and an MA in education from San Francisco State University.
Sapna Shah
QRIS COORDINATOR
Sapna Shah is a QRIS Coordinator with the Center for Child and Family Studies at WestEd E3 Institute. Sapna plans and executes the process for outreach, initiating, organizing, and implementing the Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) in Santa Clara County. She also develops effective communication processes and networks to access and disseminate information and assists with strategic planning functions related to the implementation of the QRIS. Sapna provides technical assistance resources to childcare providers, participates in local coalitions and committees and serves on the Santa Clara County Local Early Education Planning Council. Sapna conducts site rating visits, and finalizes site ratings for identified QRIS sites in Santa Clara County. Prior to joining WestEd, Sapna has served as an Early Childhood Educator in the Bay Area since 2006. Sapna received a BS degree in Biology from India and her ECE certification from De Anza College.