The Kenneth Rainin Foundation announces the appointment of Dana Cilono as its new Education Program Officer. Cilono will help guide the Foundation’s strategies in early childhood literacy to produce more equitable results for all Oakland children. The Rainin Foundation is working toward ensuring that every child enters kindergarten ready to learn and is reading at or above grade level by third grade.
“Dana’s career reflects a commitment to Oakland and to expanding high-quality learning opportunities for all students,” said Shelley Trott, Chief Program Officer. “Her insights as a Foundation grantee along with her collaborative style will be instrumental as we continue to work with the community to break down systemic barriers and co-design comprehensive solutions for early childhood education.”
“Dana’s career reflects a commitment to Oakland and to expanding high-quality learning opportunities for all students.”
Shelley Trott, Chief Program Officer
Cilono joins the Rainin Foundation with 15 years of early childhood education experience rooted in Oakland. Most recently she was the Program Director at FluentSeeds, a nonprofit that promotes early learning and literacy through the SEEDS of Learning professional development program. SEEDS of Learning was funded and implemented by the Rainin Foundation in Oakland schools. Prior to that she was a curriculum director and trainer, instructional coach, and early education teacher. In those roles she helped develop and implement early learning innovations that drastically improved literacy growth for Oakland children. Cilono assumes her new role in February.
“My career has been driven by my passion to fulfill children’s civil right to read and I’m thrilled to continue this work at the Rainin Foundation,” said Dana Cilono. “I look forward to listening to and collaborating with stakeholders to support the success of Oakland’s children, families, educators, and community partners.”
“I look forward to listening to and collaborating with stakeholders to support the success of Oakland’s children, families, educators, and community partners.”
Dana Cilono, Education Program Officer
