Kelli Bohanon brings more than twenty-five years of dedicated experience in early childhood and human services, with a career spanning community, state, and national nonprofit sectors. As vice president for family and community well-being at Akin, she currently leads the team responsible for the design and implementation of Akin’s Family Resource Center (FRC) service models across Washington state.
Her extensive background includes leadership roles such as executive director of the Center for Early Relational Health (formerly the Washington Association for Infant Mental Health). Kelli also spent several years at Washington’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF), serving as director of early learning programs and overseeing key initiatives such as the state’s pre-K program (ECEAP), the Head Start Collaboration Office, and the Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five. Prior to that role, she served as the DCYF ECEAP/state pre-K administrator.
Further demonstrating her commitment to the field, Kelli served for four years as an adjunct instructor in early childhood and family studies at the University of Washington.
Earlier in her career, Kelli held positions at ZERO TO THREE as assistant director of the Maternal Infant Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Technical Assistance Center and as deputy director of Child Care Aware of Washington, where she and her team were responsible for implementing the state’s Quality Rating and Improvement System, Early Achievers. She also spent many years with the Department of Early Learning (DEL), providing leadership for programs including ECEAP, the Head Start Collaboration Office, home visiting, and Early Support for Infants and Toddlers (ESIT). Kelli began her journey at DEL as the Head Start State Collaboration Office director.
Her foundational experience includes nearly a decade at the Enterprise for Progress in the Community (EPIC) Head Start, Early Head Start, Migrant and Seasonal Head Start, and ECEAP program in Yakima, Washington, where she began as a teacher for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with disabilities and advanced into a variety of management roles.
Outside of her professional work, Kelli is the proud mother of Arizona, who serves in the United States Air Force. She enjoys spending her free time with coffee, good food, farmers markets, music, art, travel, and a variety of outdoor adventures.