County Names Danisa McLean as New Director of Preschool for All

Multnomah County has selected a new preschool and early learning director to lead Preschool for All.

Danisa McLean, the interim executive director of early learning and engagement and the director of child care resource and referral at Mt. Hood Community College, will assume her new role at the county on Jan. 26. The county’s Tuesday afternoon announcement notes McLean has had two decades of experience in early learning. She has a master’s degree in nonprofit leadership and management from Arizona State University.

In her positions at MHCC, McLean has previously worked in tandem with Preschool for All.

“I entered this profession as an educator motivated by a desire to make a lasting impact,” McLean said in a statement. “I believe every child deserves the opportunity to dream big, and I look forward to leaning into community partnerships to listen, learn, and build upon the strong foundations already in place.”

McLean’s appointment to the role comes after Leslee Barnes, the county’s inaugural director of Preschool for All, resigned abruptly on July 31. Her resignation came less than 48 hours after WW first reported that Barnes still owned a Northeast Portland preschool, Village Childcare LLC, and that the preschool was one of four cited in a state audit for “wasteful” spending of Preschool Promise dollars. (Preschool Promise is a state program separate from Preschool for All that funds child care for low-income families.)

The audit found that Barnes’ school had collected $833,494 from the state between the 2020–21 and 2022–23 school years for 63 Preschool Promise slots, but that Village Childcare filled only nine of those seats during that time.

Calls for Barnes’ resignation, however, seemed motivated more by the fact that some top county officials had not realized Barnes owned a preschool to begin with. Many said it was an egregious violation of the county’s ethics and conflict-of-interest policies. An external investigation is now underway to examine those policies.

McLean will take the reins of Preschool for All at a pivotal time for the program. The county recently reported plans to dramatically increase seats in the upcoming 2026–27 school year, offering 7,460 to preschool providers and through new seats. At the same time, the latest demographic modeling shows the county’s original goal of 11,000 public seats by 2030 is nearly 3,500 seats too many. New modeling suggests the county may need only enough cash to cover 7,568 seats.

Those projections also spell complications for the county’s financial forecasting of the program, which is currently sitting on a fund balance of about $610 million. In preliminary modeling presented to an advisory group on Dec. 10, that modeling indicated that if the status quo continues, Preschool for All could be sitting on a balance of upwards of $2 billion by 2043. (The surplus comes as Multnomah County itself faces a budget deficit of more than $10 million.)

The program, which is funded by a marginal tax of 1.5% on incomes over $125,000 for single filers or $200,000 for joint filers, and an additional 1.5% on incomes over $250,000 for single filers or $400,000 for joint filers, is also under scrutiny by the state. In the last legislative session, an eleventh-hour amendment to a bill sought to kill the program entirely, and Gov. Tina Kotek has warned that the tax is having downstream economic impacts on Oregonians.

Friends of Preschool for All, an advocacy group, hosted a rally Dec. 8 again asking Kotek to keep her hands off the program as the Legislature begins its short session.

The county says McLean will also focus on improving the Preschool for All experience for providers, who have voiced concerns about a lack of support from the county. Some have said reimbursements by the county don’t appear to cover the costs of stricter requirements imposed by the program. Many have advocated for better resources for children with disabilities or who need additional support. And others have grappled with closing their businesses if they are denied.

“As a champion for early childhood education, Danisa understands that Preschool for All sets our youngest community members up for lifelong success and acts as a lifeline for families,” Rachel Pearl, the interim director of preschool and early learning since August, said in a statement. “Her leadership will be vital as we move toward our goal of universal access.”