In 1977 in a Washington, D.C. basement, four women with diverse cultural backgrounds and a single passion for educational excellence and opportunity founded the enterprise that would become Creative Associates International. Collaboration on a project in early childhood development by the four inspired a company that began by focusing on domestic education and human development programs, with one of its first clients being the national early childhood education program, Head Start. As this domestic focus turned to international educational development and supporting communities in transition "Creative" would become synonymous with innovation, initiative, and flexibility. Charito Kruvant was a pioneer in bilingual education who had worked with Head Start in minority neighborhoods in New Jersey. Mimi Tse, originally trained as a chemist, was fascinated by child psychology and the development of the young mind. Diane Dodge was an early childhood specialist and Cheryl Jones was an accomplished education practitioner. Today, Charito and Mimi continue to lead Creative. Diane develops early childhood curricula and Cheryl is engaged in field work with the Africa Development Foundation.