Alethea Arguilez, M.A. is the Executive Director of First 5 San Diego, the region’s primary organization for promoting the health and well-being of children 0-5 years of age and their families. Alethea has dedicated the past 20 years to the field of early childhood education, starting her journey in the field as an infant and toddler Master Teacher. Her early experience working to create and support pathways for families facing adversity to achieve self-sufficiency in direct services helped form the foundation for her work. Most recently, she was the Director of Child Development for the Metropolitan Area Advisory Committee where her responsibilities included oversight of contracts governing regulations for early childhood programs and working with key community stakeholders. She has been dedicated to program administration for the birth to five community delivering Early Head Start, Head Start and the California Department of Education Preschool Program services, and served as a board member of the California Head Start Association. She currently serves on the San Diego County Child Care and Development Planning Council as co-chair of the public policy committee.