Ms Meleady was previously chair and head of service at the pioneering Sheffield Children Centre.
She was also chief executive of Sheffield Racial Equality Council and South Yorkshire Race Discrimination Service.
The role is a new one for the organisation and has been made possible with grants of 70,000 over three years from the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust and 64,000 over two years from the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation.
Early Years Equality chair Gerri Ross said, 'Chrissy stood out because she is a key player in the early years and race equality fields. We are thrilled to get someone with such passion for this role. It is the first time EYE has had a chief executive and it will make a difference to how we operate. There is much more we need to do as the only early years equality organisation looking at race issues.'
She said the organisation had been 'swamped' with calls for training in race equality from local authorities, EYDCPs and colleges.
EYE will recruit a training co-ordinator next year to work on developing race equality strategies with local authorities.
Ms Meleady said she was delighted with the appointment. 'I see it as a fantastic opportunity. EYE is seen as the custodian of race equality in the early years field. We work towards embedding early years racial equality into the national equality and social cohesion agenda, because early years is integral to this process and is a fundamental axiom of equal opportunities.'
EYE has around 700 members including EYDCPs, pre-schools, private and voluntary sector nurseries and nursery schools.
* The EYE annual general meeting is on 18 November at St Thomas' Early Excellence Centre in Birmingham. For details visit www.earlyyearsequality.org.