Explore the latest news and updates from First 5 San Mateo County, including our 2025-2030 Strategic Plan. Learn about the importance of Head Start and
May is Mental Health Awareness Month – a time to reflect on the importance of caring for our mental well-being, especially as parents and caregivers.
Explore the latest news and updates from First 5 San Mateo County! Inside, read 5 takeaways about the state of young children and how they’re
Explore the latest news and updates from First 5 San Mateo County! Inside, read about how we’re helping put empathy into action, a new resource
What comes to mind when you think of empathy? Perhaps it’s a warm hug during a moment of sorrow, or the shared laughter that brings
Read our newsletter to discover how storytelling is essential to First 5 San Mateo County’s work, Bilingual learning communities for parents, how we are celebrating
Read our newsletter to discover how First 5 San Mateo County is investing in infant mental health to provide families with free resources and support
Families, and especially women, must have the protected right and ability to create families if and when they are willing and able. Ensuring that every
Our vision of success for every child means that children should have the opportunity to grow up with security, safety, stability, and respect from the
Read about the 2022 Child Care Needs Assessment, share stories about what child care means to you, hear from Family Connections’s Eric Valladares about why
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Kitty Lopez has served as the Executive Director of First 5 San Mateo County since 2013, focusing on strategic investing, community leadership, policy and advocacy development for young children, 0-5, and their families.
Kitty has served as Co-Chair of the Advisory Body for Build Up for San Mateo County Children’s Initiative, with Board of Supervisor, Dave Pine, since 2018. Congressman Kevin Mullin is Honorary Co-Chair. This initiative was established to preserve, grow, and increase the number of early care sites in San Mateo County.
Kitty previously served as the Executive Director of Samaritan House, one of San Mateo County’s leading Core Service Agencies and safety-net nonprofits serving low-income families and individuals with food, shelter, clothing, health care, counseling, education classes, and holiday assistance from 2002 to 2013.
Kitty taught kindergarten, second grade, and high school in southern California and San Francisco 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 for children and youth in San Diego. Kitty’s roots in supporting children began as a 16-year-old volunteer at the Braille Institute in Los Angeles where she taught swimming to children and adults with visual impairments.
She attended University of California Santa Barbara earning a California Teaching Credential and B.A in Psychology. Kitty is active in her community serving as Vice Chair of the San Mateo County Event Center, and Past President and Current Member of the San Mateo Rotary Club. She is currently serving as Past President of the First 5 Association of California. On March 2022, Assembly Speaker pro Tem Kevin Mullin selected Kitty Lopez as the 2022 Assembly District 22 Woman of the Year.
