Anna Marie GarciaLANL Foundation News:ESPAÑOLA – The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Foundation has appointed Anna Marie Garcia vice president of the Early Childhood Program.Garcia has served as director of the program since 2016.Garcia has an extensive career in early childhood education. She has bachelor’s degrees in elementary education and special education, with a master’s in early childhood special education.Her passion for early childhood issues began as a teenager when she worked with special education classes for her 4-H projects. She was disturbed to see special education students relegated to the worst classrooms and excluded from the school milieu. “I saw the importance of all people being treated equitably,” Garcia said. “I always believed in giving everyone a voice.” Throughout her career, Garcia has emphasized involving families in any work regarding children.“In our community, families are an integral part of what we do. It’s not just parents, it’s grandparents, it’s aunts, it’s uncles, it’s godparents,” Garcia said. “That also means that our role is to help families, especially in the early years, learn how to be advocates for their own children so that they have that voice and that strength. And that, in turn, will help not only them but their kids to have the skill and confidence they need to be the self-sufficient life-long learners who are engaged in a community.”As vice president, Anna Marie’s goal is to scrutinize, in the best way, what the Foundation can do for communities as a continuum from cradle to career. To be influential in ensuring that children, prenatal to age five, can be more ready for kindergarten. Therefore, K-12 staff can further leverage their work so those kids can be ready to apply for scholarships, becoming lifelong learners. Garcia is now expanding that vision to encompass all LANL Foundation programs, supporting the Foundation’s mission of inspiring excellence in education and learning in Northern New Mexico.Learn more about the LANL Foundation’s Early Childhood Program at https://www.lanlfoundation.org/our-work/early-childhood-programAbout Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Foundation Since 1997, the LANL Foundation has been investing in education, learning, and human potential in Northern New Mexico. Through our diverse programming and collaboration with key partners, we work to ensure that all New Mexicans have the skills and confidence they need to be self-sufficient lifelong learners who are engaged in their communities. For 25 years, the LANL Foundation has been serving Northern New Mexico communities, enhancing students’ access to academic and technical opportunities and leading to quality jobs by supporting the growth of college and career readiness in schools, districts, communities and Pueblos, Tribes, and Nations.