Local Head Start Leader Elected to New England Board of Directors

Springfield, MA – Nicole Blais, Chief Executive Officer of Holyoke, Chicopee, Springfield Head Start, Inc. (HCS Head Start) was recently elected to the New England Head Start Association (NEHSA) Board of Directors. NEHSA, a membership-based non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, exists to unite and support New England Head Start programs as leaders in early education. For the past 40 years, NEHSA has worked with, and on behalf, of children, families, staff and Early Head Start / Head Start programs located throughout Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. 
 
Blais’ commitment to Head Start is unwavering, having spent most of her career with the organization. Her first role, in 1996, was as the Parent Education and Support Specialist for HCS Head Start where she was responsible for ensuring that performance standards and other regulations related to parent involvement were upheld at all times. She spent the next decade developing and implementing various parent and family engagement programs, supervising a team, speaking and presenting throughout the Commonwealth as well as at National Head Start Association Conferences across the country. This was the beginning of Blais’ standing out as an exceptional leader in Head Start organization. 
 
In 2012 she transitioned to the position of Director of Community Engagement and for the next ten years she identified, maintained, and grew collaborations with outside agencies and community initiatives, local media outlets, political and community leaders, and funders. 
 
Then amid the pandemic in 2021, HCS Head Start’s longtime CEO and Blais’ mentor, Janis Santos, announced her retirement. It was then that Blais enthusiastically stepped into her current position as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the regional organization. 
 
In addition to this role, she also works diligently to move the mission of Head Start forward while working hard to keep the needs of Holyoke, Chicopee, and Springfield on the radar. In that effort, she served multiple terms on the Massachusetts Head Start Association (MHSA) Board of Directors, which serves as the voice of nearly 30 Head Start/Early Head Start’s across Massachusetts, before accepting this new election onto the New England Association board. 
 
Blais is a lifelong resident of Springfield, Massachusetts where she lives with her husband, Jeffrey, and her  son, Nathan. She is proud to additionally serve the community as a Springfield Chamber Ambassador and Holyoke Rotary Club member. Blais attended the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) and did her graduate studies in Nonprofit Management & Philanthropy at Bay Path University.  
 
A headshot image of Nicole Blais, Chief Executive Officer, HCS Head Start is attached. For more information or questions please contact Meghan Rothschild (413-218-4994 | meghan@chikmedia.us.
 
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Holyoke, Chicopee, Springfield Head Start has been providing high-quality early childhood education services for children and families in cities and towns located in Western Massachusetts since 1965. They are committed to providing low-income children and their families with a source of support for a brighter future. They strive to do so by providing high quality comprehensive child development services to enrolled children and empowering families to achieve stability in their home environment. 

New England Head Start Association (NEHSA) works with, and on behalf, of children, families, staff and Early Head Start/Head Start programs located throughout Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. In partnership with parent and staff representatives from each New England State, as well as with staff from the Office of Head Start's Regional Office, NEHSA provides a forum for networking, shaping public policy, and the delivery of training to promote high quality services for children and families; fosters communications and share best practices among programs in the region; and works to inform policies that impact the Head Start and Early Head Start communities in the region and nationally.