For nearly 20 years, Elliott Robinson has been a familiar face on the First 5 Commission. He joined the Commission in August 2001 after taking the role as the Director of Social Services for Monterey County. This summer he is set to retire.

We recently sat down with Commissioner Robinson to learn more about his diverse experience with First 5. As a force for change in many different settings, he has served as a champion of children and families on the Monterey County Children's Council and Impact Monterey County, to name a few.

We thought we would share three key takeaways from our conversation with him.

Children and Families are the Center of Our Work
Commissioner Robinson sees his role at First 5 about children and families. He feels his decisions looked "to delivering and maximizing services effectively." In the end," it comes down to serving the community and strengthening that purpose."

Early Childhood Events Can Have Lasting Impact
Commissioner Robinson feels the Wonder of Learning exhibit changed the way many providers and the community interacted with young children, "It was very, very valuable for our communities in trying to buck the trend of screens, gadgets, and following orders to promote a young person's exploration, definition of self, and simple fun." It helped shift thinking towards "celebrating children and curiosity."

Maximizing Resources Led to Creative Programming
With the reality of limited funds, Commissioner Robinson remembers making hard decisions. He admires the Commission's ability to maximize resources while still working on "cutting edge solutions" throughout the years. These include family, friend and neighbor; playgroups; and mental health support around early childhood trauma. He also values the move towards organizations working closer together to deliver quality services to families with young children.

It is hard to believe we are bidding a fond farewell to the First 5 Monterey County Commission's longest-standing Champion for Children. We will miss Commissioner Robinson's in-depth knowledge of issues that affect young children, his desire for quality programs that matter to families, and his strong fiscal knowledge. While his departure will leave a large void on the Commission, we wish him all the best in retirement (and in his rock climbing adventures ahead).

We welcome Acting Director of Social Services Henry Espinosa to the Commission effective upon Commissioner Robinson's retirement on August 10, 2018.