With the blessing of two local philanthropists, Robin Layton is celebrating 30 years as president and CEO of San Diego’s Educational Enrichment Systems, which offers low-income working families the opportunity to become self-sufficient by providing quality, affordable, early childhood education. Through its 22 preschools throughout San Diego County, the Linda Vista-based Educational Enrichment Systems, supported in part by La Jolla and Rancho Santa Fe residents Jeff and Deni Jacobs, gives underserved children experiences that help set a strong foundation for their elementary school education. Layton has grown the agency tenfold, as it now serves more than 1,100 children from low-income working families. Layton is considered a standout for her depth and breadth of knowledge of early childhood education. Colleagues and contemporaries applaud her leadership and advocacy, which has built trust with legislators at the local, state and federal levels. Her bottomless energy enables her to serve on numerous committees and task forces to expand access to high-quality early childhood education. But Layton isn’t interested in reflecting on her past success. She is working toward creating what our region needs most: highly educated, skilled and productive youth prepared to improve their quality of life and empowered through technology, medicine, the arts and education. Layton believes that when rigorous exploration is coupled with fun, children thrive. For them, school is a place where they play with friends and bond with teachers. Little do they know they are learning about reading, math, science and more. They are unaware that the musical puppet show their teacher performed in the morning, and the field trip to the Asian market they took in the afternoon, just sparked a passion for life sciences. A steady presence at the helm for three decades, Layton has transformed the landscape of early childhood education in San Diego and improved the lives of thousands of children and families.