Barbara
Fox Mason, Executive Director
In 1984, Barbara Fox Mason joined a group of women living
in a housing project in Alexandria, Va. and founded the
Alexandria Community Network Preschool (now the Child and
Family Network Centers, CFNC). From that humble beginning
she has been the driving force behind CFNC’s growth
from one preschool serving 6 children to a model program,
accredited by the National Association for the Education
of Young Children, serving 140 young children and their
families.
Mason created the preschool’s teaching program, introducing
the High/Scope curriculum, which is nationally recognized
as especially effective for at-risk children in multi-cultural
settings. She also brought in services to diagnose and treat
learning delays, speech/language therapy, psychological
assessments, social skills groups, occupational therapy
and dental, hearing and vision screenings for students.
Mason organized a family support program that encourages
parent’s involvement in their child's education and
helps families’ move toward self-sufficiency. This
program includes job training, case management, family counseling,
parent workshops, parent advisory groups, and English as
a second language/literacy classes.
Ms Mason is recognized as a strong advocate for programs
for at-risk children and a community leader. She has served
on Alexandria’s: Special Education Advisory Board,
Community Health Coalition, Economic Opportunities Commission,
Early Childhood Task Force, Early Childhood Development
Commission, Preschool Intervention Project Advisory Board,
the Task Force on Alexandria City Contributions to Nonprofit
Human Service Agencies and The White House Conference on
Childcare. She is also an active member of the Alexandria
Council of Non-Profits, Northern Virginia Human Services
Coalition, Northern Virginia and National Association for
the Education of Young Children, Alexandria Director’s
Association, the Virginia Preschool Initiative Planning
Committee and The Non-Profit Round Table of the greater
Washington Area.
Ms. Mason has made presentations at: the Annual Conference
of the Virginia Association for Early Childhood Education,
Annual Conference of the Association for Supervision and
Curriculum, American Bar Association, Virginia Conference
on Preschool for At-Risk Children, George Washington University’s
summer institute, and the Second Annual Conference on Welfare
Reform. Her community leadership and professional expertise
have been recognized by, the Alexandria Commission on Women
for “Outstanding Achievement in Public Education”,
the Sertoma Club for her “Service of Mankind”
and by the Washington Area Women’s Foundation for
her leadership.
Steve Nearman
President of the Board
Steve Nearman is President and CEO of Nearman Financial Consulting Inc., which provides financial advice and planning, investment advice, and management, as well as life, health, dental, disability, and long-term care insurance to individuals and small companies. Fee-based advice is managed by Jefferson Pilot Securities Corp., a registered investment advisor. He also has been a sports columnist with The Washington Times since 1991, as well as a freelance sportswriter for print and online publications since 1982. In addition to his role as President of the Board of Child and Family Network Centers, he also serves as a board member of Alexandria Chamber of Commerce and is a Masters Athlete with USA Track and Field. He has a Bachelor's degree from the University of Rochester, and an MBA from George Washington University.
