ParentChild+ Staff Spotlight: Faiza Mahamud

I started working here in August 2016 and am beginning my fourth program year as a ParentChild+ coordinator. Before I began as an employee, I was actually a participant in the program (known then as the Parent-Child Home Program). When there was an opening, I applied because it impacted my family so much and I wanted to be able to bring that benefit to other people in my community.

This year I will supervise four bilingual Somali-speaking Early Learning Specialists who serve families all over the metro area, mostly in Hennepin County.

Building the trust with the families during the recruiting and intake process so they understand what the program is about. I also enjoy connecting families to resources that they didn’t know were available or that they could access.

I love all the books and toys from when I was a participant in the program. We still read most of the books now and the medical kit toy with the doctor’s coat gets used all the time in my house. My daughter told her cousin that she wanted to be a doctor when she grows up. I love that she is setting a high goal from an early age.

When I am doing home visits in my current role, I don’t have any favorites because it just depends on what the child I am working with is interested in.