Ashy Hosseinmardy started out with ABCD like thousands before her: she was a Head Start parent. Now, 23 years later, through hard work and a keen sense of dedication and passion for her work, Ashy is the Program Director for ABCD’s South Side Head Start programs, serving Roslindale, Hyde Park and West Roxbury.

She is Iranian-born, moving to America in 1979 after a four-year stint in England where she studied for her civil engineering degree. She married and had three children, all of whom enrolled in ABCD’s Head Start program. Right away she says she received so much. “It was warm and comfortable,” she said. “To me, it was like a second home.”

And she appreciated Head Start’s philosophy. “ABCD’s message is to not only teach, but to ready for life,” she said. “I really admire that, and try to advocate the philosophy in everything I do as director.” To hear it from those around her, she already has.

“Ashy truly epitomizes Head Start,” says ABCD Vice President for Head Start & Children’s Services, Sharon Scott-Chandler. “She goes the extra mile, and really sees the ABCD Head Start family as a whole, not just focusing on her site. That’s the key to Ashy’s success.”

ABCD President/CEO Bob Coard praised Ashy’s determination to help staff and parents move forward with their lives. “She not only gives Head Start children a wonderful start in life, but she makes sure their parents and their teachers have every opportunity to move up the educational and economic ladder to success,” he said. “Ashy understands what people need – especially the many immigrants who turn to her centers for help.”

Along with Head Start, Ashy’s Roslindale center administers an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program serving almost 120 students and with a waiting list of 200 persons.