About

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Katie F. Kenyon is the founder and lead consultant of Kenyon Consulting, LLC., a firm specializing in early childhood research, policy, and systems change. Since starting Kenyon Consulting in 2018, Katie’s work has focused on providing strategic planning, data analysis and as well as programmatic and policy recommendations to county and state leaders in the field of child care and early learning. In addition to leading her own consulting business, Katie is a contributing consultant to the Build Initiative and Prenatal to Five Fiscal Strategies, supporting efforts to build a prenatal to five mixed delivery system that is supported and sustained through public investments to meet the needs of all families and their young children. Prior to venturing into the world of consulting, Katie worked for nearly 18 years at First 5 LA, an independent public agency whose goal is to support the healthy development of children birth to kindergarten in LA County. While at First 5 LA, Katie served in a number of roles including, most recently, Director of Early Care and Education and Assistant Director of Research and Evaluation. Katie holds a Ph.D. in Applied Developmental Psychology from The Claremont Graduate University and a B.A. in Psychology from Scripps College. She is a past-president and current member of the Board of Trustees at the Child Educational Center, an innovative, nationally-accredited early care and education nonprofit organization serving over 800 young children in the San Gabriel Valley, with a pioneering focus on progressive education and the outdoor classroom. Katie lives with her husband, Matt, their daughter Camille, and their dog Mimi, in Pasadena, CA.

Chrystina Smith-Rasshan, Ed.D., has extensive experience working in Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties.  She has led numerous social impact initiatives and projects at the local, regional, and statewide level, with an emphasis on improving life outcomes for children and families. Notably, she has worked as a strategic advisor with a diverse range of communities and organizational structures that facilitate multi-partner systems change and integration efforts including alignment of early childhood systems with the K-12 system. Chrystina is especially skilled at working with systems partners who have shared goals but separate systems infrastructure.  Dr. Smith-Rasshan has been engaged in assisting district offices with Universal Prekindergarten Planning and Implementation. She has served as a thought partner and convener by providing technical assistance to large and small districts. Most recently she was asked to testify before the Senate Education Committee as an expert in UPK Implementation.  Outside of her career and academic accomplishments, in her spare time, she enjoys traveling, attending cultural and sports events, concerts and having culinary adventures with her husband and two sons. Overall, her dedication to community and family are essential to the work she does.

Dawn is a developmental psychologist and passionate child advocate. Dawn has extensive experience providing executive leadership for staff who design, implement, evaluate and seek funding for early childhood programs. Dawn is passionate about contributing to the development of an equitable early care and education system that supports ECE professionals and engages children and families in a culturally and linguistically relevant manner. Dawn has played a key role in the design of multiple early childhood initiatives at the local and state level, including Quality Start Los Angeles, Quality Counts California, and the QSLA Dual Language Learner Initiative. 

Dawn’s areas of expertise include strategic planning, program design and evaluation, data-driven decision making, managing organizational change, and cultivating relationships within and across sectors, including community stakeholders, elected officials, county agencies, funders, and members of the media. Dawn has also conducted research, presented and published on the developmental consequences of child abuse and neglect. She currently serves as a board trustee for Pacific Oaks College and Children’s School in Pasadena.