Margaret Molloy
It is with great pleasure that board members of Child-Parent Centers Inc. celebrate the career of Maggie Molloy. Maggie began work as a Head Start teacher in 1971 and in 1974 she became the Executive Director of Child-Parent Centers the Head Start grantee for southeastern Arizona. Maggie remained in this position until her retirement in 2014 providing 40 years of visionary leadership. Born and raised on a wheat farm just outside the tiny town of Waterville Washington Maggie moved to the much larger town of Bisbee Arizona in1965. In 1968 she came to Tucson where she earned a BS degree at the University of Arizona in Home Economics and later a MS degree in Child Development and Family Relations from Arizona State University. While studying under the direction of Jean Dees at the University of Arizona Preschool Laboratory Maggie discovered the magic of young children. A later intern experience with a Head Start program in Phoenix opened a larger more diverse world to Maggie that she has nurtured and honored in her work and in her life. In her 40 years as executive director of Child-Parent Centers (CPC) Maggie oversaw a program that grew from five centers in Tucson to a five-county program with 41 centers (Pima Santa Cruz Graham Greenlee and Cochise counties). Underpinning the success of CPC is a culture of respectful relationships where all people are valued and empowered which was modeled and nurtured by Maggie. In the midst of her work expanding CPC Maggie became a single parent to her seven-year-old son Kevin when her husband died in 1983. Her roles as parent and program director often intersected with Kevin spending time in the office with his mother finding ways to be helpful. Under Maggie's leadership Child-Parent Centers was designated as a "Center of Excellence" by the state of Arizona. Due to the reputation for high-quality programs CPC frequently hosted visitors from around the United States and internationally and cooperated with programs at the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, and Pima Community College with the goal of improving services for all children.