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The average salary of Community Action Agency jobs varies according to location, department, and job description as well as experience, skills, and education. All CAAs across the country work to foster pay equity and manage compensation costs, but how does this impact Head Start and Early Head Start staff–especially when they receive an administrative Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) or substantial increases in pay and other CAA staff do not? Join us to explore CAA compensation and benefits structure, current and future workforce needs, and what CAA and Head Start and Early Head Start leadership can do to attract and retain the most qualified employees. 

Panelists: 

Veronica Zhang, Deputy Director and Senior Counsel, CAPLAW

Ms. Zhang advises community action agencies nationwide on strategic, operational, and legal matters, including tax-exempt law, employment law, Head Start and other government grant compliance, and corporate governance. Prior to joining CAPLAW, Ms. Zhang was a business law associate at Goodwin Procter, where she represented public and private companies in mergers and acquisitions and other strategic collaborations. She also helped nonprofit organizations operate and maintain tax-exempt status. Ms. Zhang is a graduate of Yale University and Boston University School of Law.

Caroline Santilli, Staff Attorney, CAPLAW

Ms. Santilli advises community action agencies on legal issues related to governance, strategic collaborations, federal grant compliance, tax-exempt law, employment, and other matters. Prior to joining CAPLAW, she was a corporate law associate in the Boston office of Ropes and Gray where she worked on leveraged acquisitions and debt refinancing transactions. She also represented pro bono clients in connection with their applications for asylum in the United States. Ms. Santilli is a graduate of New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study and Northeastern University School of Law.

Arlene Dobison, Chief Executive Officer, The Agricultural and Labor Program, Inc.
Originally from New York, Ms. Dobison brings over 25 years of experience to the The Agricultural and Labor Program, Inc., including serving as a Federal Reviewer for the United States Government, Senior Manager of Fiscal Services for the Office of the Governor of South Carolina, and CEO of Lowcountry Community Action Agency in Walterboro, SC