Get acquainted with leadership staff from the Office of Head Start (OHS) at the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Shawna Pinckney, Acting deputy director

Shawna Pinckney is the acting deputy director at OHS.

Shawna previously served as the director of the Grants Division, where she led the strategic execution of all discretionary, competitive grant programs and the OHS Interim Management Program. Shawna was also responsible for the implementation of the Designation Renewal System, the Early Head Start Expansion and Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships initiative, and other Head Start expansion efforts.

Before joining OHS, Shawna worked on a range of initiatives to improve the experiences of the children and families served in Head Start communities. At the Office for Children in Virginia, she was the founding executive director of Fairfax Futures, an organization created to raise awareness and build support for quality early childhood education and school readiness in Fairfax County. Shawna has also held multiple leadership positions during her tenure at the National Head Start Association. Most notably, she oversaw the creation and launch of the HeadsUp! Network, the nation’s first satellite television distance-training network for early childhood professionals.

A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Shawna received a Bachelor of Arts in communications. She also holds a Senior Managers in Government certificate from the Harvard Kennedy School and is an Excellence in Government Senior Fellow.

Shannon Griffin, Contracts division director

Shannon Griffin serves as a business advisor, responsible for the oversight of contract operations for OHS’s congressionally mandated and business systems, developing acquisition policy, and the strategic planning of OHS’s $760 million acquisition portfolio. She leads her division’s efforts in providing expert guidance to OHS contracting officer representatives on acquisition and contract administration, and professional development of the OHS acquisition workforce.

Shannon has 20 years’ experience and knowledge in providing cradle-to-grave acquisition services, which includes leading complex/high dollar value and simplified procurement actions, Federal Acquisition Regulations, and administration of federal contracts. She previously served at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) where she was a branch chief for the NIH/NHLBI Consolidate Operations Acquisition Center. Shannon began her career as an IT specialist in the United States Air Force (USAF) PALACE Acquire Intern Program. She transitioned to the contracting career field supporting the USAF and the U.S. Department of the Interior, Acquisition Services Directorate as an unlimited warrant contracting officer and in various leadership roles.

Shannon holds a Bachelor of Science in Business from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Cincinnati. She is also a member of the National Contract Management Association and is a certified federal contracts manager. She is FAC-COR Level III and FAC-C (Professional) certified.

Kesley Shaw, Competitive Grants division director

Kesley Shaw leads efforts in managing all discretionary grant competitions and oversight of OHS National Interim Management services.

She has over 15 years of experience in early childhood education, including being a teacher, administrator, adjunct faculty, training and technical assistance (TTA) specialist, and policymaker. Prior to her role at OHS, she served as the bureau director for Early Learning Policy and Professional Development for the Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Department of Education (PDE) with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In this role, she led collaborations with DHS and PDE to ensure early education programmatic policies align to improve cross-systems efficiencies, identify potential policy barriers, leverage policy opportunities, and guarantee access to high-quality early care and education settings.

Kesley previously served as a senior TTA specialist working on the Preschool Development Grant Birth Through Five and as an American Indian and Alaska Native TA specialist with the National Center on Tribal Early Childhood Development. She also served as a Tribal Child Development Head Start and Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) program administrator.

Kesley received a Master of Science degree in early education studies with an emphasis in administration and management, and a Bachelor of Science degree in child development.

Heather Wanderski, Program Operations division director

Heather Wanderski leads efforts in providing oversight, direction, and guidance to Regional Offices supporting grant recipient operations. She is also responsible for planning work, implementing administration priorities, and developing strategies to carry out legislative initiatives and national goals to improve the effectiveness of Head Start programs.

Since 2004, Heather has served in multiple roles within OHS, including as program specialist, supervisory program specialist, and regional program manager within the Chicago regional office. During her tenure, Heather has provided guidance and technical assistance to Head Start grant recipients on policy and program implementation matters, conducted monitoring reviews to assess compliance, and evaluated and negotiated grant applications.

Heather holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in community psychology and social change.

Sharon Yandian, Comprehensive Services and Training and Technical Assistance division director

Sharon Yandian leads efforts to support Head Start programs in delivering high-quality services to children and families through management of a national and regional TTA system. Within the division, her leadership includes providing content expertise in supporting the workforce, education, disabilities, health, behavioral health and wellness, family engagement, cultural and linguistic responsiveness, and program and fiscal management.

Sharon has been in the field of early childhood education for over 30 years, including as a program specialist at the former Head Start Bureau and a preschool teacher. She previously served as the OHS early language specialist, leading efforts on working with children who are dual language learners and their families. Before joining OHS, Sharon served as director of the Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Technical Assistance Center and vice president/director of the Center for Early Care and Education at the Academy for Educational Development. She also held the position of training and special projects director at Teaching Strategies, Inc.

Sharon holds a Master of Education degree in curriculum and instruction, with a particular focus on multicultural bilingual education, from George Mason University. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in psychology with a minor in political science from Bowdoin College.

Amanda Bryans, Education and Research to Practice senior branch chief 

Amanda leads OHS’s work on education and research to practice, working to ensure Head Start children have access to the best the nation has to offer.

Amanda began her Head Start career over 30 years ago, spending five years as disabilities services and education coordinator and then five years as the director of a Head Start program in Albany, New York. She arrived in Washington as a National Head Start Fellow in 1998 and never left OHS. During this time, she has led efforts to improve the quality and effectiveness of program services through regulations, research, program monitoring, and training and technical assistance. In addition to early childhood education and research, her expertise includes program leadership and transportation services.

Amanda has a B.S. from Cornell University in Human Development and Family Studies and an M.S. from the State University of New York at Albany in educational psychology, measurement, and statistics. She also has a management certificate from Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations and was an Excellence in Government Fellow.

Adia Brown, Monitoring lead

Adia Brown leads efforts in assessing grant recipient performance, quality, and compliance with applicable requirements and regulations through monitoring.

Adia has worked for over 31 years in early childhood education, including as a teacher, nonprofit executive, and policymaker. Since 2001, Adia has served in multiple roles within OHS, including program specialist in Philadelphia and Atlanta, and monitoring lead as well as serving as acting director in the Division of Policy, Planning, and Oversight. During her tenure, Adia has created monitoring and oversight policies and procedures, and conducted monitoring reviews. She has also provided guidance and oversight of OHS contracts, evaluated and negotiated grant applications, and developed IT systems for oversight and quality assurance for Head Start grant recipients.

Adia holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and master’s degrees in early childhood education and curriculum development.

Alana Buroff, Information Systems and Communications team lead

Alana Buroff oversees OHS public communications through the media, official websites, and social media platforms. She also manages direct correspondence with the public.

Alana has been with OHS for over 15 years, beginning as a Presidential Management fellow supporting the Head Start Collaboration Offices. She has also served as a communications specialist and as a program specialist for data and information systems. Before joining OHS, Alana worked in global health, enhancing capacity of local agencies through staff training, board development and grant acquisition.

Alana received a Master of Public Health degree from Tulane University and bachelor’s degrees in biology and Spanish from Pepperdine University.

Last Updated: November 19, 2025