Investing in Infant Mental Health: Starting from Home

As a new parent or caregiver, you may be wondering how you can best support the social and emotional development of your young child. Infant mental health focuses on promoting healthy social and emotional development for children from birth to three years old. The foremost expert on Infant Mental Health, Zero to Three, explains, “Babies […]

5 Things We Love About Child Care

Child care is not just a necessity for working parents; it plays a vital role in our society as the backbone of our economy, enabling families to thrive. High-quality child care has far-reaching effects on our community and economy as a whole. There are so many reasons that we, as a community, love accessible child […]

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.