​Empowering our early years sector to advance climate solutions

Antwanye E. Ford

President and CEO of Enlightened, Chair of the District of Columbia Workforce Investment Council

Antwanye E. Ford is President & Chief Executive Officer of Enlightened, Inc., a leading Information Technology and Management Consulting firm founded in 1999. Enlightened serves federal, state, and local government agencies, and provides cyber security, software development and integration, management consulting and business process outsourcing services. In 2016, the Company expanded its service offerings to support the transportation and healthcare sectors. As co-founder of Enlightened, Antwanye has led the Company’s growth from a start-up business to a diverse organization with over 200 employees. He continually leads the Company’s corporate vision, strategic planning, and innovation efforts. As a thought leader with a keen eye for emerging trends, his passion is to develop and deliver business solutions to problems of global, national and local significance. Antwanye is Chair Emeritus for the District of Columbia Chamber of Commerce and serves as the current Board Chair of On-Ramps to Careers.

Diana Mendley Rauner, Ph. D.

President of Start Early, Former First Lady of Illinois

Diana Mendley Rauner, Ph. D., learned early from her parents the importance of participating in the community. As a young adult, Diana spent time volunteering at a settlement house in New York to help teach ex-offenders to read. After witnessing the education inequities in our country first-hand, she realized this was an issue she wanted to focus on long term. Today, Diana serves as president of Start Early, a nonprofit public-private partnership that advances quality early learning and care for families with children, before birth through their earliest years, to help close the opportunity gap.

Start Early develops direct center-based and home-based programs and services to children and families, provides professional development tools and trainings, and champions effective public policies and funding. Start Early is also the home of the Office of Head Start’s National Center for Parent, Family and Community Engagement and the parent organization of the First Five Years Fund, an advocacy and communications effort focused on Washington, DC. In partnership with the Buffett Early Childhood Fund, Start Early has built the Educare Learning Network, starting with one school on the south side of Chicago to a national network of 25 schools sharing and scaling best practices.

Prior to joining Start Early, Diana was a Senior Research Associate at Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago and an associate at private equity firms in San Francisco and Chicago. Diana holds a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the University of Chicago, an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a B.A. from Yale University. She and her husband, former Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner, are blessed with six children and two grandchildren.

Andrew Garner

Professor of Pediatrics, Schubert Center for Child Studies, Case Western Reserve University

Andrew Garner, MD, PhD, FAAP, is a pediatrician, author and child advocate. He is a graduate of Swarthmore College (BA with Distinction in Psychobiology), the medical scientist training program (MD, PhD in Neuroscience) at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), and the pediatric residency training program at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Garner has practiced primary care pediatrics with University Hospitals of Cleveland for more than twenty years. A Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at CWRU, Dr. Garner co-authored the American Academy of Pediatrics’ two policy statements (2012, 2021) on childhood toxic stress and a book (2018) entitled “Thinking Developmentally: Nurturing Wellness in Childhood to Promote Lifelong Health.” When not practicing pediatrics, writing about relational health, or advocating for children and their families, Dr. Garner enjoys hiking, fishing, watching baseball, and spending some quality time with his wife, two adult children, and the family dog, Bear.

Angie Garling

Vice President of Early Care & Education, Low Income Investment Fund

Angie joined the Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF) in 2019. At LIIF, she oversees the organization’s national ECE footprint, which currently includes robust programs in California, New York City, Washington, DC and most recently Atlanta. Through national and state policy advocacy and forging public-private partnerships, she has continued to grow this sector at LIIF, which to date has invested more than $251 million to create and preserve 308,000 ECE slots nationwide. With her team she spearheaded a COVID response effort for the ECE sector that marshalled over $40 million for ECE women of color-owned small businesses. She also serves as the Co-Chair of the National Children’s Facilities Network.

Prior to her work at LIIF, Angie served as Alameda County’s ECE Program Administrator where she was responsible for the development and implementation of federal, state, and local ECE programs, as well as family support programs. In 2018, her office developed and vetted the Child Care and Early Education Plan for a local measure designed to allocate $150 million annually to increase child care, preschool and early education scholarships for low-income families, while also improving quality and increasing wages of early educators.

For over 25 years, she has served as an advocate, funder, policy analyst, researcher and program developer dedicated to quality care and education for all children. Angie holds a Bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College and a Master's degree from UC Berkeley in Educational Psychology and Human Development. She lives in Berkeley, California with her family.

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Angie is the Vice President for Early Care and Education at the Low Income Investment Fund. She joined LIIF in 2019 where she oversees the organization’s national ECE footprint, which currently includes programs in California, New York City and Washington, DC and Atlanta. Through national and state policy advocacy and forging public-private partnerships, she continues to grow this sector at LIIF, which to date has invested more than $251 million to create, enhance and preserve 308,000 ECE slots nationwide.

Previously to LIIF, she spent more than 18 years as Alameda County’s ECE Program Administrator where she was responsible for the development and implementation of federal, state, and locally funded ECE programs. For over 25 years, she has served as an advocate, funder, policy analyst, researcher and program developer dedicated to quality early care and education for all children.

She lives in Berkeley, California with her family.

Barry Ford

President and CEO, Council for a Strong America

Prior to joining the staff of Council for a Strong America, Barry served as the Director of Public Affairs and Advocacy for the United States Tennis Association (USTA), where he led the Association’s efforts to build and deepen its relationships with public sector policymakers at every level of government, and to expand the availability of quality tennis programming and facilities throughout the country.

Barry’s past experience includes serving as Vice President for External Relations at The After-School Corporation (TASC), now an ExpandED Schools, working as a local lobbyist in New York City, being a two-time candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, and an associate with the international law firm Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton.

He is chair of The National Collaborative for Infants and Toddlers Steering Committee and a board member of the Afterschool Alliance. Barry is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School.

Alicia Mousseau

Vice President, Oglala Sioux Tribe

Dr. Alicia Mousseau is the daughter of the late John and Vera Mousseau and the granddaughter of the late James and Lena Mousseau from Porcupine, South Dakota. Her hunka parents are Howard Brown and Karen Spoonhunter-Brown of Arapahoe, Wyoming. Her hunka children are Marcella and Alexander Brave Heart and Sarayah, Gia, and Jo Weston. Dr. Mousseau received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Wyoming in 2012. Before becoming the Vice President for the Oglala Sioux Tribe, she culturally adapted, implemented, and evaluated prevention and intervention programs with American Indian youth and families. Dr. Mousseau’s commitment to her Tribe, community, and Oyate (people) has influenced her Vice Presidential platform to bring trauma/healing informed care as well as a Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM) Research and Training Center to the Oglala Sioux Tribe. Overall, Dr. Mousseau is dedicated to promoting prevention and health equity in American Indian communities through culturally and contextually relevant ways of knowing and capacity building.

Claudia Benitez-Nelson

Associate Dean & Professor of Marine Studies, University of South Carolina & Leader, Science Moms

Dr. Claudia Benitez-Nelson is the Senior Associate Dean for College Initiatives and Interdisciplinary Programs and a Carolina Distinguished Professor & Endowed Chair in Marine Studies in the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of South Carolina. As a Senior Associate Dean, Dr. Benitez-Nelson has direct oversight of a number of interdisciplinary units and institutes as well as college initiatives that encompass faculty scholarship grants, fellowships, and mentorship programs. Her research focuses on the biogeochemical cycling of phosphorus and carbon and how these elements are influenced by both natural and anthropogenic processes. Over the past two decades, Dr. Benitez-Nelson has authored or co-authored more than 130 peer-reviewed articles, including lead author publications in the journals Science and Nature. She has been continuously supported by substantial, multi-year research and education grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, among others. Her many research honors include the Early Career Award in Oceanography from AGU and Fulbright and Marie Curie Fellowships. In 2015 she was named an AAAS Fellow, and in 2017, was named an ASLO Sustaining Fellow. Dr. Benitez-Nelson is also highly regarded as a teacher and mentor, having received the National Faculty of the Year Award from the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and the University of South Carolina’s Distinguished Professor of the Year Award, SEC Faculty Achievement Award, and Outstanding Faculty Advisor of the Year. In 2014, she received the Sulzman Award for Excellence in Education and Mentoring from the Biogeosciences Section of AGU. Dr. Benitez-Nelson is regularly called upon by national and international scientific and policy agencies for her expertise and currently serves or has served as a member of the Advisory Committee to the Geoscience Directorate of NSF, the EPA Science Advisory Board, and the National Academy of Science’s Ocean Studies Board. She is the current Chair of the Ocean Studies Board and a member of Sciencemoms, a group founded to help moms concerned about climate change who are seeking more knowledge and how they can help. Dr. Benitez-Nelson earned a B.S. in chemistry and oceanography from the University of Washington and a Ph.D. in oceanography from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute/Massachusetts Institute of Technology Joint Program in 1999.

Leah Austin

President & CEO, National Black Child Development Institute

Dr. Leah Austin is an accomplished, multi-faceted and visionary leader who has been working on behalf of Black children and their families for over two decades. Leah began her career as a public school teacher in southeast DC teaching kindergarten and first grade. More than “just” a teacher, she found herself working with parents to ensure their children received the resources they were due while butting up against a system that wanted to prematurely label them. Forever the educator and advocate she went on to work for several nonprofit and philanthropic organizations over her career. In fact, Leah credits the summers she spent outside of the classroom interning at the National Black Child Development Institute as both giving her a solid grounding in the intersections of policy, practice and programs and an unwavering commitment to asset-based framing of Black children and their families.

Leah has enjoyed a dynamic career that has included teaching, grantmaking, organizing, research and evaluation. She is an educator, an advocate and a futurist working to create conditions that allow people to imagine and plan better futures. Her professional trajectory includes leadership positions with the United Way of Greater Atlanta, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Southern Education Foundation, Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs and most recently the Schott Foundation for Public Education.

In each of these organizations she helped to accomplish great things by overseeing efforts to advance educational equity in the South, managing an investment portfolio designed to increase the education achievement of students in Atlanta, GA, providing language and literacy resources to teachers and families, establishing a national literacy campaign encouraging reading between boys and men, working on grassroots organizing efforts to successfully advocate for universal prekindergarten legislation in Washington DC and strengthening the education justice movement by providing research, policy analysis and funding as well advocating within philanthropy to increase investments that support racial justice in education.

Leah is also passionate about her own learning, she holds an undergraduate degree in psychology from Fisk University, a Master’s degree in School Psychology from Howard University and a Doctorate of Education from the University of Pennsylvania. She recently obtained a certificate in Strategic Foresight from the University of Houston. Lastly but far from least she is the mother of an energetic and insightful son.

Louis Finney Jr.

Board President, National Association of Family Child Care & CEO, Smart Start of Forsyth County (NC)

Dr. Finney has over two decades of experience leading transformational change and opportunities in Early Childcare. He is an experienced Non-Profit Executive with experience as a Principal Investigator for Securing over $200 million in federal grants to support Early Childhood and Head Start initiatives.

Dr. Finney is the founding President of the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Black Child Development Institute and the current President of the National Association for Family Childcare. He is an active member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated where he is the current President of the Alpha Pi Lambda Chapter in Winston-Salem, NC.

Shantel E. Meek

Founding Director, The Children’s Equity Project, Arizona State University

Shantel E. Meek manages strategic partnerships with CEP partners at 16 universities and non-profit organizations, policymakers, and national organizations, and sets the strategic direction of the CEP. Dr. Meek previously served as a consultant in early childhood policy and strategy at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington D.C. where she advised senior staff on a range of federal and state equity and early childhood policy issues. Prior to founding the CEP, Dr. Meek served in the Obama Administration as a Senior Policy Advisor for Early Childhood Development at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and as a Senior Policy Advisor for Education in the Domestic Policy Council at the White House. During her time in the Obama Administration, Dr. Meek advised senior officials at HHS and The White House on a wide array of policy issues including Head Start, child care, public Pre-K expansion, and promoting equity and reducing disparities across the early care and education system. She also worked on drafting official guidance related to Head Start and the Child Care and Development Block Grant and worked closely with states, communities, and stakeholders on implementation. Dr. Meek also played a key role in President Obama's My Brother's Keeper Initiative, leading the early childhood policy component of the initiative. She has published pieces in the New York Times and the Washington Post. Dr. Meek serves on the boards of Child Trends and the Pyramid Model Consortium and is a member of the Ideal Learning Roundtable. Dr. Meek holds a B.A. in Psychology and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Family and Human Development from Arizona State University. She is the granddaughter of Mexican immigrants and her personal experiences as a Latina and first-generation college graduate from a small border town inform her work and contribute to her drive to improve the learning conditions of children from historically marginalized communities. Today, she lives in Phoenix with her husband and two babies, both of whom are growing up bilingual.

Derek Walker

Vice President of U.S. Climate, Environmental Defense Fund

Derek Walker is the Vice President for the U.S. Region at Environmental Defense Fund, where he oversees a portfolio of policy initiatives aimed at achieving a fair transition to a net-zero U.S. economy, combatting climate change, building resilience, and promoting equity and environmental justice. In 15 years at EDF, Derek has served as the organization’s Chief of Staff and led climate and clean energy work at the global, national, and state level, including several years directing the organization’s work to shape and support implementation of California’s Global Warming Solutions Act.

Derek was the long-time chair of EDF’s Diversity Committee, helping EDF create and implement its first-ever diversity strategic plan. He co-chairs the Steering Committee of the Bluegreen Alliance and served as a member of the University of California President’s Global Climate Leadership Council. Derek is also an Adjunct Professor of International Climate Change Law at Vermont Law School and is a member of the Early Years Climate Action Task Force.

Prior to joining EDF, Derek was Executive Director of the Maryland Democratic Party and Senior Vice President of the Hawthorn Group, a public affairs firm.

Elizabeth Bechard

Senior Policy Analyst, Moms Clean Air Force & Author, Parenting in a Changing Climate

Elizabeth Bechard is a Senior Policy Analyst with Moms Clean Air Force, and a graduate student in public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She is the author of Parenting in a Changing Climate: Tools for Cultivating Resilience, Taking Action, and Practicing Hope in the Face of Climate Change. She is also a graduate of the Yale Climate Change and Health Certificate program and is currently working on a master’s thesis exploring the impact of climate change on parents’ mental health. Prior to shifting her career towards climate change, Elizabeth was a research coordinator and health coach at Duke Integrative Medicine, where she worked on research on trauma resilience and behavior change. She lives in Durham, NC with her husband and young twins.

Felicia DeHaney

Director of Program and Strategy, W.K. Kellogg Foundation

Felicia DeHaney is director of program and strategy at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Michigan. In this role, she supports foundation efforts to promote thriving children, working families and equitable communities.

As director of program and strategy, DeHaney leads the foundation’s national team. In this role, she manages the execution of the foundation’s strategic framework within employment equity, food systems, health equity and early childhood and education systems, managing day-to-day human, technical and financial resources. She provides programmatic oversight and ensures alignment, coordination and execution, working in collaboration with national and place-based directors, teams and other stakeholders in order to achieve positive outcomes in early childhood education, child's health and well-being and family economic security – all grounded in our DNA of racial equity, community engagement and leadership.

Prior to joining the foundation, DeHaney was president and CEO of the National Black Child Development Institute in Washington, D.C., an organization whose mission is to improve and advance the lives of Black children and their families through education and advocacy. In this role, she led the organization’s effort to establish long-term goals, strategies, plans, policies and organizational credibility. She also served as the Assistant Superintendent of Early Childhood for the Office of the State Superintendent of Education in the District of Columbia. As the principal advisor to the state superintendent of education, she provided leadership and coordination to ensure that all District children, from birth to kindergarten entrance, were well prepared for school.

DeHaney is a former early childhood teacher, elementary school teacher and university adjunct professor. She has served on various national and state boards and committees, always advocating for high quality systems for America’s youngest and most vulnerable populations. DeHaney has served as keynote speaker at various conferences and convenings, including “America Samoa: Gear Up Early Childhood Education Summit” and “Jack and Jill of America.”

DeHaney holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Howard University, Washington, D.C., a master’s degree in educational psychology from Columbia University’s Teacher’s College, New York, and a Ph.D. in educational psychology from Howard University, Washington, D.C.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), founded in 1930 as an independent, private foundation by breakfast cereal innovator and entrepreneur Will Keith Kellogg, is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States. Guided by the belief that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive, WKKF works with communities to create conditions for vulnerable children so they can realize their full potential in school, work and life.

The Kellogg Foundation is based in Battle Creek, Michigan, and works throughout the United States and internationally, as well as with sovereign tribes. Special attention is paid to priority places where there are high concentrations of poverty and where children face significant barriers to success. WKKF priority places in the U.S. are in Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans; and internationally, are in Mexico and Haiti. For more information, visit www.wkkf.org.

Jennifer McClellan

State Senator, Commonwealth of Virginia (District 9)

Growing up as the child of community leaders and educators, Jenn McClellan has always felt a calling to public service to strengthen her community and ensure that every Virginian has an opportunity to succeed.

She brought those values, passion and commitment to justice to the Virginia legislature, representing the greater Richmond area. She served in the House of Delegates from 2006-2017 and has served in the Senate since 2017.

Jenn has earned a reputation as an effective, constituent services-oriented legislator. She’s been a driving force for progressive change in Virginia, leading the passage of landmark laws to invest in education, grow small business, expand health care access, ban discrimination, safeguard workers’ rights, civil rights, and voting rights, reform the criminal justice system, remove barriers to reproductive health, and tackle climate change.

Jenn’s legislative accomplishments include passage of The Virginia Clean Economy Act, The Solar Freedom Act, The Voting Rights Act of Virginia, The Pregnant Worker Fairness Act, The Domestic Worker Bill of Rights, The Reproductive Health Protection Act, Ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment; and legislation to create a state-based health exchange under the Affordable Care Act; end the school-to-prison pipeline; expand protections and incentives for public housing; assess needs for construction and repair of school buildings; establish lactation policies in public schools; end prison gerrymandering; increase penalties for stalking; authorizing new business models such as benefit corporations and contract brewing; and establish protections against predatory lending.

As Chair of the Virginia Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission, Jenn promotes Dr. King’s legacy and continues his work, particularly racial healing, economic and social justice, and community engagement. She also serves as Vice Chair of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, leading legislative efforts for civil rights and equity. As the first House member to be pregnant while in office, she has been a fierce protector of reproductive rights, children, and families.

Jenn has been a community leader in Richmond and across the Commonwealth, serving on a wide variety of nonprofit and community organization boards. She has also been a leader in the Democratic party at the local, state and national levels.

Jenn has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors for her work as a legislator and in the community.

Jenn lives in Richmond with her husband, David Mills, and their two children in Richmond Public.

Kahlil Kettering

Bezos Earth Fund Project Director, The Nature Conservancy

Kahlil is The Nature Conservancy’s Bezos Earth Fund Program Director. In this role he provides strategic management and oversees all TNC deliverables associated with the $100M Bezos Earth Fund gift to TNC. He serves as the point person working with project teams around the globe to collaboratively deploy and scale natural climate solutions to capture greenhouse gas emissions.

Prior to this position Kahlil served as the inaugural Urban Conservation Program Director for The Nature Conservancy Maryland/DC Chapter from 2015-2021 where he developed conservation strategies in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, centered on implementing projects that elevate the intersection of protecting nature in urban areas and the benefits nature provides people in cities.

This involved building momentum for the first ever Stormwater Retention Credit market in D.C. by using natural solutions, like rain gardens and bioswales, that absorb stormwater and reduce runoff pollution into the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers. Kahlil also worked on strategic tree canopy expansion and engaging young people as environmental advocates for the future.

Before moving back to his hometown of Washington, DC, Kahlil worked as an environmental analyst in Miami, Florida for the National Parks Conservation Association, advocating for the protection and restoration of Everglades and Biscayne National Parks. Kahlil has also worked as a consultant for environmental nonprofits, The Cadmus Group, and the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Kahlil holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies from American University, a Master’s degree in Global Environmental Policy from American University, and a Master’s degree in Nonprofit Management and Leadership from the University of Maryland.

Lynette M. Fraga

CEO, Child Care Aware of America

Lynette M. Fraga, Ph.D., is a passionate practitioner, advocate and leader in the field of child care and early learning, working to advance the accessibility of quality child care experiences for all children. Dr. Fraga has over 25 years of experience as an educator, program director and executive leader working on behalf of children and families.

She began her career in early childhood as a teacher in infant, toddler and preschool classrooms, and has since held positions at the local, state and national level within the nonprofit, corporate and higher education sectors. Since her selection in 2012 as the Executive Director (and now CEO) at Child Care Aware® of America, Dr. Fraga has sought to position CCAoA as the nation’s leading voice on child care in policy, practice and research.

She holds a doctoral degree in Family Studies from Kansas State University, a master’s degree in Human Relations from the University of Oklahoma and a bachelor’s degree in Special Education from the University of Arizona.

Melissa Rooker

Executive Director, Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund

Melissa Rooker was named Executive Director of the Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund in February of 2019. Before joining the Cabinet, Melissa served three terms in the Kansas House of Representatives, representing House District 25 between 2013 and 2019. Her primary policy work in the legislature focused on children’s issues and public education. Prior to running for office, Melissa spent 15 years as a development executive at Clint Eastwood’s Malpaso Productions. She retired in 2001 to raise her two kids. Over the years, Melissa served in a variety of leadership positions with local, regional and state PTA in Kansas, and as a legislator served on the Johnson County Education Research Triangle Authority Board, Shawnee Indian Mission Advisory Board and the Kansas Forestry Service Advisory Council. In 1986, Melissa graduated from the University of Kansas with a BFA in Art History. She and her husband Tom make their home in Fairway. They have two adult children (both married) and one grandson.

Michelle Kang

CEO, National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)

Michelle Kang serves as the Chief Executive Officer for the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), a global association advocating for high quality early learning for all children.

Prior to becoming CEO, Michelle served as NAEYC’s inaugural Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer, in which she oversaw the strategy and daily operations for Membership, Early Learning Program Accreditation, Publications, Conference, Market Solutions and Global Engagement. During her tenure, the organization dramatically pivoted to serve the field through the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, including successfully conducting virtual conferences serving thousands of educators, the first-ever Symposium on Developmentally Appropriate Practice and a virtual Professional Learning Institute that delivered more than 235,000 certificates of professional development. She has guided the substantial system adjustments necessary to support child care and preschools attaining and maintaining accreditation through the pandemic and shepherded the development and launch of the fourth edition of NAEYC’s Developmentally Appropriate Practice book, a critical text used widely as the basis for quality early learning.

Prior to joining NAEYC, she served in leadership roles at Bright Horizons, an international provider of early education, most recently as Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and Operational Strategy. Her 16-year tenure at Bright Horizons included building partnerships with leading global employers to develop and implement dependent care supports–child care, back-up care, and educational advising services. In building these partnerships, she gained a deep appreciation for the life-changing work that early educators do every day.

Drawing on her experiences as the daughter of Korean immigrants, Michelle is committed to creating belonging within organizations and developing inclusive leadership and mentoring opportunities. Also an ardent supporter of higher education student development, Michelle has served as a Resident Tutor and Scholar at Harvard University and as a member of the Student Engagement and Leadership Advisory Board for The College of William & Mary.

Michelle holds a Bachelor’s degree from the College of William and Mary, a Masters of Education in Leadership and Policy from the University of Virginia and a Masters of Science in Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management from Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford (UK). She and her husband live in Maryland with their three children.

Miriam Calderón

Chief Policy Officer, Zero to Three

As the Chief Policy Officer, Miriam Calderón leads the development and implementation of ZERO TO THREE’s policy agenda, priorities, and strategies; oversees the Policy Center, which includes federal and state policy and advocacy; and serves as the principal spokesperson for the organization on public policy matters.

Calderón joined ZERO TO THREE after serving as a Presidential appointee in the Biden Administration in the role of deputy assistant secretary for early learning at the U.S. Department of Education. She also served as a political appointee in the Obama Administration, where she advised the White House on early learning policy at the Domestic Policy Council and at the Department of Health and Human Services. Calderón was appointed by Governor Kate Brown in 2017 to serve as the early learning system director for the state of Oregon, where she led an agency responsible for administration of child care, preschool, and home visiting programs and supports for the early childhood workforce. In this role, she oversaw implementation of the largest expansion of early childhood investments for young children and families in the state’s history.

Prior to Oregon, she served as the senior director of early learning at the Bainum Family Foundation, where she shaped a new $10 million philanthropic investment in a comprehensive birth-to-three system for the District of Columbia. She was also a senior fellow with the BUILD Initiative, leading BUILD’s work related to dual language learners and serving as a faculty member for BUILD’s Equity Leaders Action Network. Previously, Calderón served as director of early childhood education at District of Columbia Public Schools, where she oversaw Head Start and pre-kindergarten programs, including helping to implement universal pre-kindergarten. Calderón also served as associate director of education policy at the UnidosUS (formerly National Council of La Raza), a Hispanic civil rights organization, where she focused on early education policy for Latinx, immigrant, and dual language learner children.

She began her career in early childhood as a mental health consultant in Head Start programs in Portland, Oregon. Calderón holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of Delaware and a Master of Social Work degree from Portland State University.

Patricia Sullivan-Steward

Parent Leader, Darlington County (SC) First Steps

Mrs. Steward is originally from Gaffney, SC, and is currently a Hartsville, SC resident. She graduated from Coker College, now known as Coker University, in May of 2014, with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications. In her role as the Communications Manager, she is responsible for website maintenance, social media management, publishing our quarterly newsletter, internal communication operations, and other external communication efforts.

Mrs. Steward also serves on the Hartsville Housing Authority and graduated from the Leadership Hartsville Program in 2016. Mrs. Steward enjoys making an impact in the lives of others and spending time with her family. She has been with DCFS since September 2014.

Walter S. Gilliam, PhD

Professor of Psychiatry & Psychology & Director, Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy, Yale University

Walter S. Gilliam is the Elizabeth Mears & House Jameson Professor of Child Psychiatry and Psychology at the Yale Child Study Center and Director of Yale’s Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy. Dr. Gilliam is Vice President of ZERO TO THREE; a past president of Child Care Aware of America; Board Treasurer for the Irving Harris Foundation; a board director for First Children’s Finance, the National (Child Care) Workforce Registry Alliance, and All Our Kin; and a former Senior Advisor to the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Dr. Gilliam is co-recipient of the prestigious 2008 Grawemeyer Award in Education for the coauthored book, A Vision for Universal Preschool Education. His research and scholarly writing address early childhood care and education, early childhood mental health, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and adults in early care and education, school readiness, developmental assessment of young children, and race and gender disparities in early childhood, as well as issues of COVID-19 transmission, vaccination, and health and safety promotion in early childhood settings. He is most known for his work on preschool expulsion and suspension, early childhood mental health consultation, and race and gender bias in early childhood settings. His work frequently has been covered in major national and international news outlets, and he actively provides consultation to state and federal decision-makers.