Dr. Kristi Lee Snuggs

Dr. Kristi Lee Snuggs is the Interim Director of the Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE). She began her career in 1994 working with Montgomery Community College as an Early Childhood Instructor, Department Chair and Director of the College’s Child Development Center. During her tenure, Montgomery County received their first Smart Start grant and the Child Development Center Teaching Laboratory obtained the first 5-Star Child Care License in Montgomery County.

In 2001, Dr. Snuggs left the college to become an Educational Consultant for Early Childhood, Teacher Education, and Public Service Technologies with the North Carolina Community College System Office in Raleigh. Dr. Snuggs’ position provided support and technical assistance for all 58 community colleges’ early childhood programs. While working as an Educational Consultant with the North Carolina Community College System, Dr. Snuggs worked collaboratively with Appalachian State University, East Carolina University and multiple community colleges to develop a cohort model of local educational attainment known as the Appalachian Learning Alliance and the State Employees Credit Union Partnership East. These initiatives were instrumental in developing “home grown teachers” which have been catalysts for economic development in rural, underserved areas of the state. Additionally, Dr. Snuggs began work with several state agencies, the NC University System, and private 4-year institutions to create a seamless pathway through a statewide articulation agreement for early childhood education students. Dr. Snuggs also served on the inaugural NAEYC creation and selection team for accreditation criteria for two-year associate degree educational programs. As a member of the team, she led the first cohort of 17 NC community colleges through the process of obtaining program accreditation. Finally, Dr. Snuggs partnered with researchers from UNC’s Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center to secure a $2.5 M dollar Department of Education grant to create the first online early childhood education courses and a delivery and support system for early childhood teachers. She left the North Carolina Community College System in August of 2005, shortly after working with Representative Joe Tolson to help pen legislation allowing community colleges to assist in educating lateral entry teachers in collaboration with university partners and the Department of Public Instruction.

In September of 2015, Dr. Snuggs accepted the position of Vice President of Instruction with Edgecombe Community College. As a senior administrator, Dr. Snuggs continued her work on articulation with an 18-month appointment on the state-level Comprehensive Articulation Agreement Steering Committee rewriting the original statewide articulation document. Additionally, she was chosen by Dr. Scott Ralls, NC Community College System President, to serve as one of four academic administrators on the Steering Committee for establishing Performance Measures for institutions of higher education and an additional funding mechanism for superior performing institutions. She also served on the Development Education Initiative’s Steering Committee as North Carolina redesigned their developmental education programs.

Under Dr. Snuggs leadership the college saw unprecedented growth in enrollment, and she led the college through its 10-year reaffirmation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges with no recommendations.

In 2014, Dr. Snuggs left the college to become the Child Development Division Director of NEED, Inc. in Rocky Mount. NEED, Inc. is a multi-faceted, non-profit Community Action Agency which operates and administers a wide variety of anti-poverty programs such as Head Start, USDA Child and Adult Food Program, HUD-Section 8 Housing program, and the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) program. Dr. Snuggs oversaw the Head Start program which served 633 children and families, including 36 NC Pre-K children spanning three counties. Under Dr. Snuggs leadership the program secured additional funding for NC Pre-K slots and training initiatives, elevated all eight child care facilities to 5-Star Licensed centers, and successfully passed seven federal reviews from the Administration of Families and Children, Office of Head Start with no findings. She joined the Division of Child Development and Early Education in January of 2018 as the Deputy Director.

Dr. Snuggs received her doctorate degree in Educational Leadership from East Carolina University in Greenville and her master’s in Child and Family Development and bachelor’s degrees from Appalachian State University in Boone. Dr. Snuggs is married to Phillip and has two daughters, Kali, 26 and Keslee, 23.