Guilford Child Development recently hired Martha Durhal to serve as Director of its Head Start/Early Head Start program which serves more than 1,100 children in Guilford County.
As Director, Martha will oversee all aspects of the agency’s Head Start/Early Head Start program, which includes the operation of 13 childcare centers throughout Greensboro and High Point. Additionally, she will be responsible for the successful delivery of all program services like health and wellness screenings, disability services and home-based learning. Also on her list of duties is recruitment and maintenance of required enrollment numbers, a task that has been a challenge for many childcare centers during the pandemic; but it’s one that she is ready to take on along with expanding agency services and building on existing community partnerships.
“This time has taught us to be very innovative,” Martha said. “With us being virtual and still providing services, that’s what I want to focus on, thinking outside the box to meet our families where they are.”
Martha has an extensive background in Head Start and comes to Guilford Child Development from Chapel Hill Training Outreach Project where she worked as Director as well as Assistant Director since 2018. She also worked as Director of Children and Family Services at WAGES Head Start/Early Head Start in Goldsboro; and as a Head Start Consultant in Washington, DC and Maryland.
A Detroit native, Martha graduated from Central Michigan University and Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan where she earned a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education.
“We are excited about the wealth of knowledge and expertise Martha brings to Guilford Child Development and to our Head Start/Early Head Start program,” said Chief Executive Officer Maria Layne-Stevens. “Her innovation and the passion she exhibits for children and families is exactly what we need to effectively serve our community – especially under such challenging circumstances.”