Our History

Since 1989

In 1989, a small group of Arizonans with big hearts and even bigger dreams launched a vision for educational equity. They believed every child deserved access to high-quality preschool—and that real, lasting change begins with families.

With the support of the Isaac School District, they brought that vision to life through a pilot preschool program serving four-year-olds most at risk of falling behind. What started as a bold experiment quickly became a model for success.

Over the next three decades, A Stepping Stone Foundation expanded to serve more than 1,900 families—impacting over 6,000 lives across five Arizona school districts, including Alhambra, Fowler, Isaac, Globe, and Murphy.

Today, two LEAF (Literacy Elevates Arizona Families) program sites continue that legacy in partnership with the Isaac and Alhambra School Districts—offering tuition-free preschool, adult education, and intergenerational learning for families committed to building brighter futures.

Still True Today

“We are incredibly proud of our children and everything they’ve accomplished this year. They’ve learned to recognize colors, shapes, and numbers; to use scissors, hold a pencil, take turns, share, and follow directions.

But even more important, they’re gaining confidence. They’re beginning to believe in themselves—who they are, what they can do. They’re developing a love for school and a joy for learning.

Thank you for investing in our children’s future. Your support truly makes a difference—for them and for their families.”

– Teacher Carmen Sanchez (At First Year-End Celebration)

The First Decade

1989 – 1999

A Stepping Stone Foundation began with a bold vision: that education can transform families—not just individuals. It started in 1989, when Rev. Bill Smith and members of Shadow Rock Congregational Church, along with early childhood educators Eileen Hoard and Marilyn Rampley, laid the foundation for what would become a nationally recognized two-generation model.

In September 1990, with only 40% of the needed funding secured, the first classroom opened at Mitchell Elementary in the Isaac School District. Twenty children from diverse cultural backgrounds attended preschool. Two teachers and parent volunteers provided language-rich experiences, cognitive development, social-emotional learning—and a hot breakfast and lunch. While the children learned, their parents enrolled in ESL and GED classes.

From the beginning, family engagement was at the core: over 240 hours of parenting workshops were offered that year, and monthly home visits built trust and reinforced learning goals. By the end of year one, every family had grown—and the Foundation had enough support to continue.

In the following years, growth accelerated. The program expanded into a dedicated preschool site at Isaac and began collaborating with Even Start, Head Start, and special education teams. By 1995, a second classroom was added. By 1997, A Stepping Stone Foundation served 80 families and formed an Advisory Board to support future replication of the model.

By the end of its first decade, A Stepping Stone Foundation had tripled its capacity and proven that when children and parents learn together, everything changes.

The Next Nine Years

2000 – 2009

In 2000, A Stepping Stone Foundation hired its first paid staff member—Cynthia Gattorna—as a part-time director. The following year, Marisa Benincasa, daughter of one of the program’s first teachers, stepped into the director role. By 2002, Cynthia returned as full-time Executive Director, working alongside Marisa to strengthen both programming and development efforts.

During this time, the Foundation launched a three-year pilot program in the Murphy School District, thanks to support from the Kemper and Ethel Marley Foundation. While the pilot eventually ended due to funding challenges, it offered valuable insight into the costs and sustainability of localized replication.

This decade also marked the beginning of two major milestones:

With support from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust, Stepping Stone’s original co-directors authored a “how-to” guide to encourage replication of the family literacy model.
In 2003, the Foundation launched the Billie Gannaway Memorial Scholarship Fund, seeded with a $30,000 gift from Mrs. Gannaway to support former preschoolers pursuing postsecondary education.

Over the next several years, the Foundation embraced strategic fundraising efforts and community partnerships. Events like Stepping into Paradise, golf tournaments, and Cena y Serenata dinners with the Hispanic community helped fuel growth.

In 2007, former Stepping Stone preschooler Maritza Hernandez joined the board—the first alum to take on a leadership role. In 2008, the Foundation hired its first Program Coordinator, Paulette Harshberger, and in 2009, opened a new site at Fowler Elementary in partnership with Fowler Elementary School District, once again supported by the Kemper and Ethel Marley Foundation.

By the end of the decade, A Stepping Stone Foundation had expanded both its reach and its long-term vision, laying the groundwork for the next generation of impact.

With a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Foundation, former Stepping Stone co-directors, Marilyn Rampley and Eileen Hoard, who were preschool directors at Shadow Rock Preschool, wrote the first how-to narrative in hopes of encouraging other communities to replicate the Stepping Stone LEAF model.
NEW INITIATIVE: providing scholarships to former preschoolers who had graduated high school and needed financial assistance to continue post-secondary studies. After a $30,000 seed gift from Mrs. Billie Gannway, our Billie Gannaway Scholarship Fund took flight.
Additional heroic fundraising over this decade allowed for planned growth and implementation of sustaining strategies. The Foundation created special events like Stepping into Paradise, nine golf tournaments, and the newly established Cena y Serenata dinner event with friends from the Hispanic community. Great marketing and a general spreading the word allowed A Stepping Stone to maintain its policy of having six months of funding in the bank at all times.
Board diversity became a strategic goal and in 2007, Maritza Hernandez, became the first former preschooler to join the Stepping Stone Board.
The Foundation hired its first Program Coordinator, Paulette Harshberger, in the fall of 2008.
The Foundation created a fourth public school district partnership with Fowler Elementary School District. That site opened in January of 2009 at Fowler Elementary thanks to another generous grant from the Kemper and Ethyl Marley Foundation.

Lean Years

2010 – 2013

Like many educational programs, A Stepping Stone Foundation felt the effects of the Great Recession. Between 2010 and 2013, the organization was forced to close sites at Isaac Preschool and Granada Primary in the Alhambra School District. Despite the closures, Isaac District was able to sustain a version of the program using other funds and was later recognized as a national model through participation in the $33 million CLIO literacy initiative.

Soon after Stepping Stone withdrew from these sites, major federal and state education funding—like the Early Childhood Block Grant and Even Start—disappeared. Fowler Elementary School District also saw its program end when grant funding ran out. Though some preschool classrooms remained open through First Things First support, the critical family literacy components (adult education, home visits, PACT Time) were no longer funded at those sites.

Yet even during this period of contraction, the Foundation planted new seeds.

The Launch of the Scholarship Program

Since 2003, A Stepping Stone Foundation had awarded scholarships to former preschoolers through the Billie Gannaway Memorial Fund. As students aged into college, the Foundation introduced Stepping Into College, an annual workshop to guide them through applications, financial aid, and planning.

In 2012, the Foundation expanded its reach with a new Internship Program, hiring former preschoolers to support operations at the Foundation’s office (hosted by Climatec Inc.). It was the beginning of a full-circle moment—former students stepping into leadership.

In 2013, national attention arrived. A Stepping Stone Foundation was featured on ABC’s Secret Millionaire, where the organization received a surprise $50,000 donation from philanthropist Jay Deutsch. The gift—and the visibility—helped stabilize the Foundation and signaled that brighter years were ahead.

Scholarship Program

Since 2003, A Stepping Stone Foundation had been using a small endowment fund to provide college scholarships. Supporter Billie Gannaway seeded the endowment with $30,000 to provide education scholarships to program graduates.

As our first preschools began going to college, we also started an annual workshop event called Stepping Into College. Today, our Stepping into the Future Initiative now consists of the Stepping Into College event, the Billie Gannaway Memorial Scholarship program, and an award dinner, Bill and Billie’s Kids Go to College.

Internship Program

As part of that initiative in the fall of 2012, A Stepping Stone hired its first former preschoolers to work in the administrative office hosted by Climatec Inc. This was the beginning of our Internship Program.

As if the fates wished to tell us that brighter times were on their way, ABC featured A Stepping Stone Foundation on the Secret Millionaire television program, which aired in 2013. It came with a surprise $50,000 gift from our Millionaire Jay Deutsch of BDA, Inc.

2013 and Beyond

2013 – Present

In 2013, A Stepping Stone Foundation partnered with MBA candidates from the Thunderbird School of Global Management to evaluate sustainability and growth strategies. Their work, in collaboration with Executive Director Cynthia Gattorna and the board, sparked a shift toward data-informed decision-making and long-term financial planning.

Over the next several years, the Foundation achieved key milestones:

In 2014, a transformative three-year grant from the Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation allowed Stepping Stone to continue LEAF programming at Alhambra School District during a time of financial uncertainty.
In 2015, the board adopted new bylaws, launched a three-year strategic plan, and prioritized board diversity.
In 2017, the TwoGenEd Affinity Group was created to convene educators, funders, and policymakers around two-generation strategies. The group continues to meet quarterly at partner sites and civic spaces across Arizona.
In 2018, the Rev. William O. Smith Memorial Scholarship was established to honor the Foundation’s founder and recognize students committed to education and community leadership.
In 2020, the Foundation launched a new website and visual identity, reflecting a renewed vision for the future.

A New Chapter of Leadership

In 2023, longtime Executive Director Cynthia Gattorna retired, and Gaby Jimenez stepped in to lead A Stepping Stone Foundation into its next chapter. Under Gaby’s leadership, the organization has strengthened its program partnerships, expanded scholarship offerings, and deepened its commitment to long-term sustainability through capacity building and strategic collaboration.

Today, the Foundation operates three demonstration LEAF sites—including its original Isaac District site and a new partnership with Synergy Public School. Since the launch of its scholarship program, A Stepping Stone Foundation has awarded more than $375,000 to over 180 alumni and continues to expand its postsecondary support through workshops, mentoring, and internships.

Looking ahead, the Foundation is focused on sustainability, alumni engagement, and building a broader ecosystem of support for Arizona families. The mission remains the same: when children and parents learn together, futures change.

In 2014, the Bob and Renee Parsons Foundation granted a significant amount of money for support of LEAF at the Alhambra sites for three years. This was a site-saving grant, which allowed us to continue our LEAF activities at Alhambra School District.
In 2015, the board focused on recruitment, which resulted in our most diverse board to date, new board bylaws and a three-year strategic plan.
A Stepping Stone launched a new board-driven initiative in the fall of 2017 called the TwoGenEd Affinity Group. Its stated purpose was to ensure that practitioners, elected officials, funders and policy makers were communicating and working together for family literacy awareness, funding, projects and political will. This group meets quarterly.
In 2017, the board approved a new logo and in 2020 a new website launched with the new look.
In 2023, Executive Director Cindy Gattorna retires and we transition to our new Executive Director, Gaby Jimenez.

Today, A Stepping Stone Foundation has three demonstration LEAF sites; one at Alhambra Elementary School District’s Westwood Elementary campus, another resides at in the Isaac School District—where it all began in 1990. We have a third site located at Synergy Public School. The Foundation has awarded more than $375,000 in scholarship money to 180 former preschoolers seeking post-secondary education. Eight former preschoolers have interned in the Stepping Stone office and the TwoGenEd Affinity group has met at various demonstration sites and at the Arizona State capitol.

Looking forward, the board and the executive director seek to further stabilize funding, explore internal and external capacity building and examine the relevancy of our programs. If our story has inspired you, please reach out to any of us to see how you can help us on our journey forward.

Our History

Since 1989

“We are incredibly proud of our children and everything they’ve accomplished this year. They’ve learned to recognize colors, shapes, and numbers; to use scissors, hold a pencil, take turns, share, and follow directions.

But even more important, they’re gaining confidence. They’re beginning to believe in themselves—who they are, what they can do. They’re developing a love for school and a joy for learning.

Thank you for investing in our children’s future. Your support truly makes a difference—for them and for their families.”

The First Decade

The Next Nine Years

Lean Years

2013 and Beyond

Creating lasting change through two-generation education.

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(602) 843-8281

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