Meet the PFA Family Connector Organizations and Family Navigators!
Family Connector Organizations play an important role in working with our priority groups to access preschool seats. For example, families that are waitlisted can ask to work with a family navigator to receive personalized, culturally specific support with updating their preschool waitlist choices. Additionally, FCOs can help with wraparound services by connecting families to community resources available outside of Preschool for All.
PFA Family Connector Organizations:
- Black Parent Initiative
- Immigrant & Refugee Community Organization (IRCO)
- Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA)
- Latino Network
Learn more about each of the Family Navigators we work with below!
Black Parent Initiative, BPI
Jada Pierce
Jada Pierce is a Portland, Oregon, native dedicated to strengthening families and early childhood systems of care in her community. She is a graduate of Central Catholic High School, earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, and completed her graduate studies at Biola University in Southern California.
Jada has worked with children and families for the past eight years in various capacities. Most recently, working as an in-school therapist for elementary-aged kids. Bringing a depth of experience in mental health, family engagement, resource connection, and community partnership. She currently serves as the ECB Program Manager and Together We Can (Home visiting) Program Manager at BPI, where she has worked for over a year. She has most recently begun supervising the Family Connector Organization (FCO), supporting Preschool For All's efforts to expand access to early learning opportunities for families. Jada’s work reflects a strong commitment to establishing equity in Oregon, providing families with resources and access to services and support they deserve, and creating environments where children and families can thrive.
Yaisha Lavine
Yai Lavine is a native of Portland, OR, and a graduate of Benson High School and Portland State University. She has dedicated her career to roles focused on community engagement and service.
Her experience includes positions with the Multnomah County Health Department, Clark County Juvenile Courts, and the Department of Human Services. These roles involved working directly with youth and families from marginalized and high-risk communities.
Most recently, she served for six years as the Program Manager of Adult Re-entry Services for a local non-profit organization. In this role, she helped over 500 individuals who had been incarcerated or were on parole or probation. Her work focused on providing industry-recognized credentials, job placement, and connections to essential services like mental health care, treatment, and other supports to overcome personal challenges.
As BPI’s Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant and a Family Navigator for the Preschool for All program, Yai is enthusiastic about supporting educators, children, and parents in a new capacity. These roles will allow her to build supportive relationships focused on culturally specific children and children with disabilities. She is committed to closing opportunity gaps and creating a voice for those who have previously felt unheard, bringing crucial cultural awareness to the forefront. She looks forward to a successful upcoming school year for everyone she works with.
Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization, IRCO
Anna Selvanovich
Anna Selvanovich wears a few different hats as a Preschool FCO Family Navigator, ELM-PES Kindergarten Transition Parent Educator, and Assistant Instructor. Each of these roles allows her to walk alongside families and support them as they prepare their children for preschool and kindergarten. She is honored to serve families through work at IRCO in the Early Learning Division.
As a mother of five, Anna knows firsthand how overwhelming it can feel to find the right resources and opportunities for young children. Her own journey inspired her to dedicate her career to helping families feel confident, supported, and empowered during these important early years. Being bilingual in English and Russian also allows Anna to connect with families from diverse backgrounds and ensure that language or culture is never a barrier to the support they deserve.
Outside of work, Anna loves spending time with her children, cooking, and exploring new places. Her family is her greatest inspiration. Every day they remind her why this work matters and why it’s so important to build strong, welcoming pathways for every child and family in our community.
Kimlien de Leon
Kimlien de Leon is a Family Navigator and Program Coordinator at IRCO with over a decade of experience working with diverse communities. As she witnessed the importance of her own children’s early learning experiences, she knows how essential a strong start is for young children. She enjoys doing outreach and sharing information about preschool programs with families. She also facilitates culturally specific parent groups to increase their knowledge of early learning strategies and discuss community needs. She finds her work very rewarding, especially when she sees children and families grow and achieve their dreams. In her spare time, she likes to go hiking and traveling with family and friends.
Maryan Abdiyo
Maryan Abdiyo is originally from Somalia. Her parents, four sisters, and brother moved to the US from a Kenyan refugee camp in 2006. Maryan graduated from Madison High School and is currently in college for Early Childhood Education. For the past four years, she has been working as a parent educator. This is a role she is truly passionate about, because it allows her to support families and to help her community.
Outside of work, Maryan absolutely loves hiking. It's her way of disconnecting from the daily hustle and reconnecting with nature. She also likes tennis, sewing, and going to cute cafes. Her favorite seasons are summer and autumn, because of the weather, drinks, and colors.
Latino Network
Beatriz Gutierrez
Beatriz Gutierrez is the Preschool for All Family Navigator with Latino Network. She has been working with low-income and communities of color in the Portland area for ten years, providing programming and resource connections. As a family navigator, Beatriz helps families identify their priorities for the preschool that will best suit their needs, and reduces language, technological, and cultural barriers to accessing preschool. She is also a mom to a preschooler and understands how difficult a decision it is to trust someone with the care of your child, both for the first time and every time they are in the care of someone new. In their free time, Beatriz and her family do puzzles and go on bike rides.
Sandy Gongora
Sandy Gongora is an Early Learning Program Manager at Latino Network. She has been at Latino Network since 2015, working in different roles. Sandy is a native Portlander, and also has roots in Yucatan, Mexico. When completing her studies in social work, her mission was to serve marginalized communities.
Outside of work, Sandy enjoys traveling to places that are warmer, going on walks out in nature, or simply watching a comedy movie with an iced coffee.
Native American Youth & Family Center, NAYA
Brandi Starbird
Brandi Starbird is the Early Childhood Services Manager at the Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) in Portland, OR. She’s worked with NAYA's Early Childhood Services since 2016, where she began as a social work intern through Portland State University.
Brandi currently manages a suite of early childhood programs ranging from early care and education through family support and policy advocacy.
Brandi has a master's degree in social work and a graduate certificate in Infant and Toddler Mental Health from Portland State University, bringing almost ten years of experience in the fields of early childhood development, early learning, and care.
Jessica Adams
Jessica Adams assists the PFA navigator at NAYA. She has been with NAYA for nearly five years, and works as a family advocate and a coordinator for NAYA's Early Childhood program. As a member of the Kashia band of Pomo Natives, their Rancheria resides in central California. Jessica was born and raised here in Oregon, but most of her family lives in California. She has two children, aged 18 and 10. Her 18-year-old will be attending the University of Oregon this year!
Melinda Naranjo
Melinda Naranjo is a PFA navigator for NAYA. She has been with NAYA and PFA for over three years now. She is bilingual, speaking both Spanish and English. Melinda loves getting the opportunity to meet and interact with potential and current Preschool for All families.
Melinda has lived in Oregon for a good portion of her life. She was born in Idaho, but after a year, her family moved to Mt. Angel, Oregon.