Apply for the 2021 Get Healthy San Mateo County Community Funding

Help promote health for those with limited opportunities to be healthy through the four community-identified priorities shared in the Get Healthy San Mateo County Strategic Plan: Healthy Housing, Healthy Neighborhoods, Healthy Schools, and Healthy Economy. These priorities come out of our ten elements for a healthy community and build on over a decade of great work done by community partners, cities, hospitals, and […]

Let’s Get It Right: A Letter from former First 5 SMC Commissioner, Harvey S Kaplan

As Shakespeare famously said, “what’s in a name.” “Money often costs too much,” said Ralph Waldo Emerson. A recent column by Paul Krugman in the Mercury News (Oct 6) titled: “What securing the future means in today’s America, Climate and Children” really caught my eye and reflected my concern about what’s missing in the public […]

Headshot of Kitty Lopez

Kitty Lopez has served as the Executive Director of First 5 San Mateo County since 2012, focusing on policy, advocacy and communications development. Additionally, she is the Chair of First 5 Association of California. Kitty previously served as the Executive Director of Samaritan House, one of the leading safety-net nonprofit agencies serving low-income families and individuals in San Mateo County with food, shelter, clothing, health care, counseling, education classes, and holiday assistance from 2002 to 2012.

Kitty taught kindergarten, second grade, and high school in the Bay Area and in Santa Barbara, and was a consultant in schools with children who have autism and special needs. Additionally, Kitty worked in a residential substance abuse treatment center in San Francisco and psychiatric hospital in San Diego.

She attended University of California Santa Barbara earning a California Teaching Credential and B.A in Psychology. Kitty is active in her community serving on several community boards including HEART (Housing Endowment and Regional Trust of San Mateo County), STEP (Success Through Education Program), and Past President and Current Member of the San Mateo Rotary Club.