Noreen Landis-Tyson

Contact:  CPCD Director of Community Relations Marty Kemmer-Contreras

719-271-8854

 

CPCD…giving children a head start Announces Retirement of

President & CEO Noreen Landis-Tyson

 

Colorado Springs, CO   For Immediate Release

 

Today, the CPCD…giving children a head start Board of Directors announced President & CEO Noreen Landis-Tyson will retire from the organization in December. Ms. Landis-Tyson has served in the role since 2002 and with the organization since 1991.

 

CPCD Board Chair Chris Graham, Commissioner of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, commented, “We knew the day would come eventually and Noreen’s retirement announcement is a significant marker in the history of this outstanding organization.  The impact, directly and indirectly, that she has had on the children and families of Colorado Springs over the last three decades is immeasurable.” 

 

Ms. Landis-Tyson’s 31-year history with CPCD began with her work in 1991 as Director of Community Resource Development.  Of note, she successfully wrote a grant as part of the first wave of Early Head Start agencies in the entire country in 1992.  This program still thrives today.  In 2000, Ms. Landis-Tyson was promoted to Senior Vice President and ultimately President & CEO in 2002.  During her tenure, she has elevated the importance of early childhood education with family support for our community’s families with young children.  

 

Under her leadership, a number of important projects were created and continue to thrive including the Helen Hunt Center collaboration in the Hillside neighborhood; establishing a Head Start center on post at Fort Carson, the only stand-alone Head Start center on an Army post in the United States; and partnerships with both school districts and El Paso County’s premier early care and education providers to ensure that parents have choices in where and how they receive Head Start services.  Ms. Landis-Tyson also championed the full implementation of a two-generation program in which CPCD supports parents of enrolled children in continuing their education to improve their economic stability.

 

“I am so proud and honored to have led this organization for the past 21 years.  Since 2002 when I became the CEO, we have served over 45,000 children and their families in partnership with our six school districts and our three early care and education providers. We are employing Head Start graduates as well as many parents of Head Start children, showing that we truly are a two-generation program,” explained Ms. Landis-Tyson.

 

Active in civic circles, Landis-Tyson is a past president of the Junior League of Colorado Springs and the Kiwanis Club of Colorado Springs. She is a 2006 graduate of the Colorado Springs Leadership Institute and was named a CSBJ Woman of Influence in 2006 and a Girl Scouts Woman of Distinction in 2017. She currently chairs the board of Joint Initiatives for Youth and Families and is a founding board member of the Colorado Springs chapter of Friends of the Children. Landis-Tyson is an internationally ranked cycling official and was appointed as the President of the Commissaires Panel for the track cycling portion of the Tokyo Olympic Games, the first woman to hold that position.

 

“We are forever grateful for Noreen’s leadership, vision and commitment to serve.  We look forward to celebrating with her as the retirement date nears,” concluded Mr. Graham.

 

Ms. Landis-Tyson will transition leadership of CPCD to a new CEO who will guide the agency into its next chapter. An executive search will commence over the summer as the Board seeks to fill this critical role. Information will be available on the CPCD website once the process is underway.

 

To request a media interview with CPCD Board leadership or Landis-Tyson, contact Marty Kemmer-Contreras, CPCD Director of Community Relations, at 719-271-8854 or martyc@cpcd.org

 

 

 

About CPCD…giving children a head start

CPCD is a nonprofit organization, operating since 1988, that provides free comprehensive early childhood and family development programs for families with children, age birth to 5, who are living in limited income homes, have special needs or experience other adverse circumstances that could challenge their school readiness.  CPCD serves over 1,500 children each year in El Paso County through Early Head Start, Head Start and the Colorado Preschool Program.  For more information, please visit www.cpcdheadstart.org