Raleigh, NC (December 6, 2019) – The North Carolina Early Childhood Foundation (NCECF) announces the election of two new members to its Board of Directors – Munro Richardson, Executive Director of Read Charlotte, and Sherry Franklin, Technical Assistance Specialist at Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (FPG) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
As the founder and Executive Director of Read Charlotte, a community initiative that unites families, educators and community partners with the goal of improving third-grade reading proficiency in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Munro is a champion for improving children’s language and literacy development from birth through third grade. He has received local and national recognition for his efforts at Read Charlotte. Munro has decades of experience in philanthropy serving local education and community development efforts in Kansas City. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas, a master’s degree from both Harvard University and Oxford University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois. Munro co-authored the book, Read With Me: Engaging Your Young Child in Active Reading with Samantha Cleaver.
For over 25 years, Sherry has worked in the field of Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education on the local, state, and regional levels. Currently, Sherry serves as the Technical Assistance Specialist within the Trohanis Technical Assistance Projects at FPG at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She provides technical assistance to federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) state leaders who serve children with disabilities ages birth to five and their families. Prior to her role at PPG, Sherry was the Part C Coordinator for North Carolina from 2006-2015 leading the work on policy development, professional development, general supervision/monitoring and family engagement. Sherry has a bachelor’s degree from East Carolina University in Social Work.
“NCECF is honored to welcome Sherry and Munro to our Board of Directors. Sherry’s expertise in building local capacity and fluency in implementation support is sure to add great value to our cadre of expertise. It is wonderful to have an FPG representative on our board particularly one with such strong experience in intervention services. Munro is leading a robust and clarion call that better literacy outcomes are dependent upon better literacy tools and techniques. Munro’s brilliance and passion for early literacy have led to Read Charlotte, the organization he helms, receiving national attention for their promising work in the field. NCECF can only benefit from the insights shared by Sherry and Munro,” said Muffy Grant, NCECF’s Executive Director.