Dr. Tammy Mann, President and CEO of the Campagna Center, Announces Plans to Explore Her Next Chapter
ALEXANDRIA, VA-Dr. Tammy Mann, who has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Campagna Center since 2011, has announced she is stepping down from the nonprofit, effective April 30, 2025. Mann has worked for nearly 35 years in organizations devoted to improving life outcomes for children and youth.
“In July 2011 I had the great honor of starting my tenure as President & CEO of the Campagna Center – an organization that has had education as a bridge to opportunity at the heart of its mission since its founding,” said Mann. “I came to this role with an aspiration to focus on outcomes and to expand the organization’s scope and reach. I believe those aims have been achieved and the organization is ready to embrace its next level of impact with a new leader at the helm.”
Spanning nearly 35 years in organizations devoted to improving life outcomes for children and youth, her work has impacted several communities and organizations and included notable leadership roles, such as Executive Director of the Frederick Patterson Research Institute and Deputy Executive Director of ZERO TO THREE, among others. Additionally, she has played a major role in several key initiatives, including serving as Board President and at-large Governing Board member for the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and as former Chair of Alexandria’s Children, Youth, and Families Collaborative Commission. Mann has also contributed to national committees and authored influential written works that focused on the emotional well-being of young children and how culture shapes development.
Campagna Center has enjoyed growth and expansion under Mann’s leadership. When she joined, the organization had recently integrated New Neighbors, a program supporting immigrants and refugees to learn English, into its fold. During her tenure, Campagna Center established a network of family child care providers to expand the availability of infant and toddler care for under-resourced families in 2015. In 2017 the agency integrated Wright to Read, a literacy program aimed at helping elementary students become proficient readers, as a program of Campagna Center, and in 2018 the Early Learning Center was opened to expand access to preschool through a partnership with AHC Inc. This past year 2,495 lives were touched, a 66% increase over its reach in 2012. One of her most significant accomplishments involves restoring the place Campagna has called home since 1981 through Forward Together, a $6.7M capital campaign which successfully concluded in 2023.
Mann has always been deeply committed to the power of collaboration. She understands that achieving great things for children and youth requires collective effort and she has demonstrated that commitment by lending her time to several noteworthy initiatives in Alexandria. She served as the first Chair of the Collaborative Commission on Children, Youth, and Families that created the city’s first Children and Youth Master Plan. She embraced the power of collective action when it came to making early care and education more accessible to families in our community by serving on Alexandria’s Early Care and Education Work group, an entity that has evolved into Kids First Years, where she serves on the Board.
In addition to local efforts, Mann also maintained her involvement in state and national initiatives, helping to bring knowledge and resources to the work within and beyond the Center. In 2018 she was appointed to serve on the Virginia State Board of Education just as the Department of Education was taking on regulatory responsibility for all birth-to-five early care and education programs across the Commonwealth. She has served on foundation and other national nonprofit boards committed to improving outcomes for children and youth, including as former Board Chair for the National Association for the Education of Young Children and currently as Vice President on the Board of ZERO TO THREE. In 2020 the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce named her Business Leader of the Year.
“As I prepare to step into my next chapter, I am beyond grateful for the many wonderful people I have met along the way,” said Mann. “Any measure of success I have realized during my time with Campagna has been possible because of the village–my board, the staff, supporters, and community partners–that embraced my leadership and my heart for service. For that I will always be forever grateful.”
“As Dr. Mann prepares to transition from her role, the Board is deeply grateful for her leadership and service,” said Board Chair Stephanie Wiggins. “The organization is well positioned financially and otherwise to move our mission forward given the impact of her work. An executive search firm will be engaged to conduct a national search for Mann’s replacement.”
Website: www.campagnacenter.org
About Campagna Center
Campagna Center, one of Alexandria’s oldest nonprofit organizations, equips children and families with a comprehensive set of tools to thrive and succeed. Since 1945, we have served the community by offering a range of programs that foster a dedication to learning among children, youth, and adults. Over 2,000 children and families take advantage of our services each year.
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