December 2017
Everything Woman Bio
Teresa Rupp has led Child Start since 1983. As Executive Director, she works in partnership with the Board of Directors to see that their vision is carried out in the day to day services and activities of the organization, leads the organization’s staff, serves as Child Start’s primary spokesperson, and builds partnerships and area-wide capacity to address the needs of young children. Teresa began her career in college student services at Colby Community College and later served as a human resources planner for Springfield, Missouri. She earned a Master of Public Administration from the University of Kansas and a bachelor’s degree in Home Economics from Kansas State University. Teresa was selected as a Kansas Health Foundation Leadership Fellow in 1999 and serves on the Wichita Metro Chamber’s Business and Education Alliance and on the board of the Wichita Business Coalition on Health Care. This year Child Start hosted its third annual Polar Express Literacy Event at The Hotel at Old Town. At this event, Child Start held auctions to benefit the organization overall and to help raise funds for college scholarships given to two local high school seniors who were enrolled in Head Start as preschoolers. As part of the event, Child Start also partnered with the WSU Student Involvement Community Service Board and with Reformation Lutheran Sunday School to collect books to put in the hands of the 660 Head Start children they serve.