Lori Alvarado starts Aug. 1, 2011, as executive director of the Kansas Head Start Association, which is based in Lawrence.

The Kansas Head Start Association will welcome a new executive director to its Lawrence headquarters Aug. 1.

Lori Alvarado, who served for the past three years as a regional director for the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, will take over for Mary Baskett, who is retiring after having served as the association’s leader since 1999.

The association, 932 Mass., Suite 301, represents all 28 Head Start programs in the state, which provide child development services to economically disadvantaged children and families, with a special focus on helping preschoolers develop early reading and math skills to be successful in school.

Before her work at SRS, Alvarado served as director of DCCCA Family Service Center and DCCCA Regional Prevention Center, both in Lawrence.

Alvarado also has worked previously with Head Start and Early Head Start programs as a trainer, helping to incorporate prevention strategies into existing curricula and into parent education.