smart starts for children and families: building upon early … · 2015. 5. 12. · smart starts...

Smart Starts for Children and Families: Building Upon Early Learning Innovations Speaker Biographies

Two Generations. One Future. Ascend at the Aspen Institute • ascend.aspeninstitute.org

Lynn Appelbaum Chief Program Officer, Educational Alliance As Educational Alliance’s chief program officer since October of 2006, Lynn has the overall responsibility for developing, overseeing, and enhancing high quality programs; cultivating and promoting inter- and intra-departmental program integration and collaboration; and assessing and strengthening policies, operations, and organizational structure to ensure alignment with the organization’s mission. Before coming to The Alliance,

Lynn was the director of Policy at Family Justice, a national nonprofit based in downtown Manhattan that taps the strength of government, the expertise of families, and the resources of communities to break cycles of involvement in the criminal justice system. Prior to this, Lynn worked for more than 10 years at Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, a 116-year-old settlement house on Manhattan's East Side. She has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Haverford College and is a recipient of the Haverford Award for Service to Humanity. Throughout her career, Lynn has been dedicated to working in partnership to help people develop the skills to enhance their lives and their communities.

Anthony Barrows Vice President, ideas42 Anthony Barrows is a vice president at ideas42, a non-profit focused on applying behavioral science to tough social issues. Barrows previously worked more than ten years in the public and non-profit child welfare sphere in direct service, supervision, training, advocacy, project management, and system improvement. As a practicing artist, he is also invested in expanding creative opportunities for young people and has led

art classes and arts-oriented youth development programming. Barrows is committed to public service and has served on numerous governmental and non-profit boards and advisory councils. Barrows holds a BA in philosophy and art from UMass Boston, an MFA in printmaking from the San Francisco Art Institute, and an MPA from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government where he was a Gleitsman Fellow at the Center for Public Leadership.

Two Generations. One Future. Ascend at the Aspen Institute • ascend.aspeninstitute.org 2

Rynn Bell Teacher’s Associate, Jefferson County Head Start Rynn Bell currently serves as a teacher’s associate for Jefferson County Head Start. She has been in this position for two years and is also a previous parent of Head Start. For the last four months, she has been a member of Jeffco Prosperity Project and serves on the Advisory Committee for this program. Rynn is a single mother with three children, two boys and one girl. Currently, she is attending Red Rocks Community College to pursue an

associate’s degree in general studies. Her goal for the next few years is to continue to improve herself and the dynamic of her family. Rynn strongly supports the two-generation approach.

Reggie Bicha, 2012 Ascend Fellow Executive Director, Colorado Department of Human Services Reggie Bicha is a social worker, administrator, educator and national leader. In January 2011, Governor John Hickenlooper appointed Bicha executive director of the Colorado Department of Human Services. He has extensive experience working on child welfare, education, employment, and health issues at the county, state, and national levels. Bicha has undertaken a bold initiative to redesign and refocus early

childhood services in Colorado. Through the new Office of Early Childhood, Colorado will integrate early childhood programs in four state agencies, improve access for young children and their families, and help more children be prepared for kindergarten. Executive Director Bicha was recently awarded the Local/State Partnership Award by Colorado Counties, Inc. for his leadership on reducing administrative burdens and unnecessary mandates to counties and other partners. Prior to coming to Colorado, Bicha served as the Inaugural Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families.

Melissa Bradley Professor of Practice, McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University Melissa L. Bradley has more than 20 years of entrepreneurship, investment, and leadership experience. She is a professor of practice at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University, where she teaches impact investing, social entrepreneurship, and innovation to graduate students across the university. Bradley also serves as a faculty advisor for the Social Venture Lab and runs experiential learning opportunities for students across

the entire university. Previously Bradley served as the chief strategy officer at the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). As a presidential appointee, Bradley successfully revised the CNCS four-year strategic plan, completed a feasibility study for a congressionally chartered foundation, and served as the policy lead on the Performance Partnerships Pilot for Disconnected Youth. Bradley also served as a member of a cross-agency team to develop and


draft the Notice of Federal Funding Opportunity for an $11 million pay for success pilot, the second largest offered by the federal government.

Vince Breglio President, VJ Breglio and Associates, Inc. Vince Breglio has more than forty years of senior management experience in strategic communication consulting and survey research. In 1988, he served the Bush-Quayle presidential campaign as director of survey research and the 1980 and 1984 Reagan / Bush campaigns as deputy director of strategy and communication and as member of the kitchen cabinet. Numbered among his clients are an impressive list of Fortune 500

companies such as the Hong Kong Shanghai Bank Corporation, Deutsch Bank, Caterpillar Inc., the GM Corporation, and the Altria Group as well as prestigious foundations, associations, and educational institutions such as the Aspen Institute, the Civil Society Institute, the Kellogg Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the National Center for Education and the Economy, the Stanford University Center for Longevity and the Gates Foundation. Vince continues his service as a senior consultant in communication strategy with particular interest in building problem solving skills and the art of compromise.

Rahil Briggs, PsyD Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and Director, Healthy Steps at Montefiore, The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Rahil Briggs, PsyD, is assistant professor of pediatrics and director of Healthy Steps at Montefiore. These cutting-edge programs are designed to provide preventive developmental and mental health care to families with young children, seamlessly co-located within their outpatient pediatric medical home. Prior to heading these programs, Briggs completed a

postdoctoral fellowship as chief resident with Mary Claire Heffron, a nationally recognized leader in the field of infant mental health and director of the early childhood mental health programs at Children’s Hospital and Research Center at Oakland. Briggs completed her undergraduate work at Duke University (magna cum laude) and her doctoral work at New York University.

Jennifer Brooks, PhD Division Director, Economic, Human Services, and Workforce Division, National Governor’s Association Jennifer Brooks, PhD, heads up the division on economic, human services, and workforce at the NGA Center for Best Practices. She is an expert in the use of evaluation, evidence, and data to drive improvement in services for low-income populations. She has over 14 years of experience building and translating research evidence into actionable policy and practice, and in


helping public and private agencies use data for continuous improvement of their operations. Brooks has worked on a wide variety of social issues, including youth development, child welfare, early childhood, and employment and training, all with a focus on identifying practices and policies to support the well-being of children and youth. She has worked at the federal, state, and local level. Brooks holds a PhD in human development and family studies from Penn State and a master’s degree in public policy studies from the University of Chicago.

Emma Brown National Reporter, Washington Post Emma Brown writes about national education and about people with a stake in schools, including teachers, parents and kids. She’s also covered Virginia schools and written obituaries for the Post. She’s a latecomer to journalism who worked as a wilderness ranger in Wyoming and as a middle-school math teacher in Alaska before joining the newspaper in 2009. Rosa Maria Castañeda Program Officer, Annie E. Casey Foundation Rosa Maria Castaneda is a senior associate (program officer) at the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF). Her work supports family economic success, two-generation programs and policy, economic mobility for immigrant families and children, and strategies that help advance low-income rural families. Prior to joining AECF, she was a manager at Pew Charitable Trusts and a research associate at the Urban Institute.

Jesse Cunningham Father, Colorado Parent Employment Project (CO-PEP) Jesse Cunningham is a non-custodial parent participating in the Office of Child Support Enforcement’s Child Support Parent Employment Project in Colorado. Mr. Cunningham is the father of three children and a veteran of the United States Navy. Mr. Cunningham participates in fatherhood classes and is an active member in his church. His long-term employment goals include managing a gym and providing physical fitness services to his community. Utilizing services available through the Veterans Affairs office and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, he is pursuing his education in business management.


Blanca Enriquez, EdD Director, Office of Head Start, Administration for Children & Families, US Department of Health and Human Services Blanca Enriquez is the director of the Office of Head Start. She has been an administrator and supervisor of Head Start programs since 1987. Enriquez has been active in early childhood education for more than 40 years. Most recently, she was the executive director of a Texas Head Start program that has won many local, state, and national awards for excellence. She also has

served on the Texas State Secretary's Advisory Committee on Early Childhood Education and was appointed by former President George W. Bush as an advisory board member for the National Institute for Literacy. She holds a master's of education degree from the University of Texas at El Paso and a doctorate in education administration from New Mexico State University.

Yvette Sanchez Fuentes President, National Alliance for Hispanic Families Yvette Sanchez Fuentes brings extensive experience in providing services to children and low income families at the local, regional, and national level as president of the National Alliance for Hispanic Families (NAHF). In her role as president, Sanchez Fuentes will help lead NAHF’s critically important mission to build on the Hispanic communities’ assets in the areas of research, program, and public policy to better serve families in need. Prior

to joining NAHF, Sanchez Fuentes served as the director for the Office of Head Start at the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) under the US Department of Health and Human Services. She helped lead ACF’s critically important mission of enriching the quality of early childhood development for our nation’s most vulnerable children. Prior to her appointment, Sanchez Fuentes was the executive director of the National Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Association. She worked with early education services, policies, and resources for migrant and seasonal farm worker children and their families.

Elliot Gerson Executive Vice President of Policy and Public Programs, International Partners, the Aspen Institute Elliot Gerson is an executive vice president at the Aspen Institute, responsible for its policy programs, its public programs and its relations with international partners. The Institute's policy programs, which number almost 30, focus on both domestic and international issues. They provide neutral venues, do nonpartisan analysis, and promote candid dialogue

among leaders. The Institute's public programs - including the Aspen Ideas Festival and many smaller programs across the country - open the Institute's doors to a broader audience. The Institute has international partners in the Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Romania, and Spain. Gerson also administers the US Rhodes Scholarships. He was a


Rhodes Scholar, a US Supreme Court clerk, practiced law in government and privately, held executive positions in state and federal government and on a presidential campaign, and was president of start-ups in health care and education, and of two leading insurance and health-care companies. He also sits on the National Petroleum Council which advises the Secretary of Energy.

Olivia Golden Executive Director, Center for Law and Social Policy Olivia Golden is CLASP's executive director. An expert in child and family programs at the federal, state, and local levels, she has a track record of delivering results for low-income children and families in the nonprofit sector and at all levels of government. During the eight years she served as commissioner for Children, Youth, and Families and then as assistant secretary for children and families at the US Department of Health and

Human Services (1993-2001), Golden was a key player in expanding and improving Head Start and creating Early Head Start, implementing landmark welfare reform, tripling the level of funding for child care, and doubling adoptions from foster care. As an Institute fellow at the Urban Institute from 2008 to 2013, Golden spoke, wrote, and led major initiatives on poverty and the safety net, families' economic security and children's well-being. Under her leadership from 2001 to 2004, the DC Children and Family Services Agency emerged from federal court receivership and markedly improved the lives of children in the District. Her book Reforming Child Welfare [2009] melds this experience with original research to recommend policy, practice, and leadership strategies to improve outcomes for very vulnerable children and their families.

Tameka Henry Chairperson, Board of Directors, Acelero Learning Clark County Tameka Henry is a native of Las Vegas, Nevada. She is a mother of four, whose experience with Head Start began as a parent at the Acelero Learning Clark County program in 2007. Henry quickly became engaged and one of Acelero’s most vocal advocates on the importance of Head Start, continued funding, and on closing the achievement gap. She is now a board member of the Region IX and National Head Start Associations, and is the former Policy

Committee chairperson and current chairperson of the Board of Directors for Acelero Learning Clark County. She completed her associates degree in general studies with the majority of her course work in early childhood education at the College of Southern Nevada. Henry has also organized and led several advocacy events, including sending over 1000 letters to Congress on behalf of Head Start families and speaking to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his staff on the benefits of the program. Her work in early childhood education advocacy earned her the Martin Luther King Diversity Award in Education presented by College of Southern Nevada. She is also an Ascend Ambassador with the Aspen Institute. Henry is also a proud board member of the Southern Nevada Association for the Education of the Young Child as well as Children's


Advocacy Alliances Strong Start Committee. Henry hopes to not only inspire parents but also to empower them in their roles as their children's first teacher and advocate.

Wendy Lewis Jackson Deputy Directory, Community Development and Detroit, Kresge Foundation As a deputy director for the Community Development and Detroit programs, Wendy Lewis Jackson advances The Kresge Foundation’s efforts to revitalize Detroit and strengthen the social and economic fabric of other large US cities. Through grantmaking, the foundation supports organizations that work to provide economic opportunity for low-income people and address the needs of vulnerable children and families. “We’re fortunate to

work in cities that are at the crossroads of reinvention,” she says. “Every day I’m inspired by a quote on the wall in my office from Robert Storey, a former Kresge Foundation trustee, who said, ‘Detroit is Kresge’s greatest challenge and its greatest opportunity.’ I’m always focused on the opportunity.” Prior to joining Kresge in 2008, Wendy was a program director for children and family initiatives and executive director for education initiatives at the Grand Rapids Community Foundation in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She taught at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, and has co-authored and assisted in the publication of several reports and publications that address community needs and problem solving. Wendy is an American Marshall Memorial Fellow of the German Marshall Fund of the United States; the Association of Black Foundation Executives named her an Emerging Leader in 2008.

Lynn Johnson Executive Director at Jefferson County Department of Human Services, JeffCo Prosperity Project Lynn A. Johnson currently serves as the executive director of Jefferson County (Colorado) Human Services. This agency includes divisions of Head Start, Workforce, Career and Family Services (TANF), Children, Youth and Families (Child Welfare), Justice Services, and Community Assistance which includes Medicaid, Food Stamps, and Aging and Adult Services. Johnson has

been appointed to numerous task forces and committees by three different Colorado Governors. Some of these committees include Child Welfare and Welfare Reform to the Judicial Commission for Families in the Courts to a Child and Youth leadership Commission. She is currently the Human Trafficking Subcommittee Co-Chair and a governor's appointee to Colorado's Human Trafficking Council. Prior to this position, Johnson ran her own firm consulting on issues pertaining to mental health, high risk youth, developmental disabilities, child welfare, and early childhood education. She has been instrumental in identifying, developing, and implementing programs related to juvenile justice to strengthen families and ensure optimal development of children.


Myra Jones-Taylor, PhD, 2015 Ascend Fellow Commissioner, Connecticut Office of Early Childhood Myra Jones-Taylor, PhD, is the commissioner of the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood. The Connecticut Office of Early Childhood was established in 2013 to coordinate and improve the various early childhood programs and components in the state to create a cohesive high-quality early childhood system. In this role, Jones-Taylor oversees an annual budget of approximately $275 million and 150 staff responsible for all early care and

education programs, most home visiting services, and early intervention in the state. Jones-Taylor previously served as an assistant professor-faculty fellow at the McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research at the Silver School of Social Work at New York University. She is a cultural anthropologist with expertise in early care and education policy. She received her doctorate in American studies and anthropology from Yale University, where she also received two master's degrees: one in African American studies and the other in American studies. She is an Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy Fellow, a recipient of the Ford Foundation Pre-doctoral Fellowship, a Fellow of the 11th class of the Pahara-Aspen Education Fellowship, and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Celinda Lake President, Lake Research Partners Washington, DC Celinda Lake is one of the Democratic Party’s leading political strategists, serving as tactician and senior advisor to the national party committees, dozens of Democratic incumbents, and challengers at all levels of the electoral process. Since its formation, Lake Research Partners has become one of the most respected Democratic polling firms in the country. The firm's work has moved the progressive agenda forward on a variety of

issues. Celinda is one of the nation’s foremost experts on electing women candidates and on framing issues to women voters. Prior to forming Lake Research Partners, Celinda was partner and vice president at Greenberg-Lake. Her earlier experience includes serving as political director of the Women’s Campaign Fund, as the research director at the Institute for Social Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and as a policy analyst for the Subcommittee on Select Education.

Kirsten Lodal, 2015 Ascend Fellow CEO and Co-Founder, LIFT Kirsten Lodal is the CEO and co-founder of LIFT, which began as an idea during her sophomore year of college in 1998 and has become one of the foremost anti-poverty organizations in the country. Under Kirsten’s leadership, LIFT has created positive outcomes for more than 100,000 families and established itself as a national model for more effective and human-centered social services. Along the way, Kirsten has become a leading


advocate for re-thinking and modernizing the design of America’s anti-poverty programs, spreading LIFT’s message from the White House and the Aspen Institute to the NBC Nightly News, the PBS Newshour, and The New York Times. Kirsten has received numerous honors for her work, chief among them the National Jefferson Award for Public Service, established in 1972 by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis as our nation’s “Nobel Prize for community and public service.” Most recently, she was named a 2015 Aspen Institute Ascend Fellow. Kirsten graduated from Yale University in 2001 and completed the Executive Management Program at the Columbia Business School’s Institute for Not-for-Profit Management in 2005.

Joan Lombardi, PhD Director, Early Opportunities, LLC Joan Lombardi, PhD, is an international expert on child development and social policy. She currently serves as senior advisor to the Bernard van Leer Foundation on global child development strategies and to the Buffett Early Childhood Fund on national initiatives. She also directs Early Opportunities, LLC, focusing on innovation, policy, and philanthropy. Over the past 40 years, Lombardi has made significant contributions in the areas of child and

family policy as an innovative leader and policy advisor to national and international organizations and foundations and as a public servant. She served in the US Department of Health and Human Services as the first deputy assistant secretary for early childhood development (2009-2011) in the Obama Administration, and as the deputy assistant secretary for policy and external affairs in the Administration for Children and Families and the first commissioner of the Child Care Bureau among other positions (1993-1998) during the Clinton Administration. Outside of public service, she served as the founding chair of the Birth to Five Policy Alliance (now the Alliance for Early Success) and as the founder of Global Leaders for Young Children.

Matthew Melmed Executive Director, ZERO TO THREE As executive director of ZERO TO THREE, Matthew Melmed is an internationally recognized leader and tireless advocate devoted to promoting the health and development of infants and toddlers. Bringing together the perspectives of many fields and specialties and cutting-edge research about the importance of early experiences, Melmed is committed to translating what we know into what we do for very young children and

their families. Since 1995 he has guided the growth of the organization’s activities to help enhance early social emotional development through promotion, prevention and treatment strategies in both public and private systems and programs. In addition, Melmed has initiated national parental awareness campaigns and forged strong partnerships with corporate and nonprofit partners. Under his leadership, the organization has flourished and ZERO TO THREE’s budget has grown to more than $25 million. Its many accolades include being selected


in 2001 by Worth Magazine as one of “America’s 100 Best Charities.” Prior, Mr. Melmed served for 13 years as executive director of the Connecticut Association for Human Services.

Eric Motley, PhD Vice President, the Aspen Institute, and Executive Director, National Programs Eric L. Motley, PhD, is vice president of the Aspen Institute and executive director of National Programs. He served as vice president and the managing director of the Henry Crown Fellows Program from January 2007 until April 2014. In addition to managing the Henry Crown Fellowship Program, he served as the executive director of the Aspen-Rockefeller

Foundation’s Commission to Reform the Federal Appointments Process, an independent, nonpartisan effort to evaluate the federal government’s vetting and clearance procedures. Prior to joining the Aspen Institute, Motley served as the director of the US Department of State’s Office of International Visitors within the bureau of Public Diplomacy. As director he oversaw the International Visitor Leadership Program, a program that is designed to build mutual understanding between the US and other countries through carefully designed visits that reflects future foreign leaders’ interests and support US foreign policy goals. In 2003, he became special assistant to President George W. Bush for Presidential Personnel, where he managed the appointment process in the White House for over 1,200 presidentially-appointed advisory board and commission positions. He joined the White House staff as deputy associate director, Office of Presidential Personnel, in 2001 at the age of 27 immediately after receiving his PhD.

Lincoln Nehring President and CEO, Voices for Utah Children Lincoln Nehring joined Voices for Utah Children in 2010 as senior health policy analyst until April 1, 2015, when he was appointed president and CEO. He was previously the Medicaid policy director for the Utah Health Policy Project. Lincoln received his JD from the University of Oregon in 2004 and is a member of the Utah State Bar. He also has a master’s certificate in non-profit management from the University of Oregon. Lincoln was also a law

clerk for the Honorable Langhorne Keith of the Virginia Circuit Court and a law clerk for Senator Orrin Hatch, US Senate Judiciary Committee.


Dipesh Navsaria, MD, 2015 Ascend Fellow Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health Dipesh Navsaria, MD, is an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and practices primary-care pediatrics at a community health center. He is deeply involved in Reach Out and Read, a national initiative that makes literacy promotion a standard part of pediatric primary care, so children grow up with books and a love of

reading. Navsaria is also involved with early brain and child development leadership with the American Academy of Pediatrics and public health education with medical students. Navsaria is a 2015 Aspen Institute Ascend Fellow.

Rick Noriega President and CEO, AVANCE, Inc. Rick Noriega is president and chief executive officer of AVANCE, a national two-generation education nonprofit organization, dedicated to parental involvement and child development. During his tenure, AVANCE has established innovative partnerships and community ventures, including rapid expansion to states across the nation, and for the first time, engaging in cross-cultural partnerships to research the adaptability of the AVANCE

Parent-Child Education Program to different ethnic groups. In 2013, Noriega spoke at the national summit on Hispanic early learning held by the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics and its President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. Before joining AVANCE, Noriega served over five consecutive terms at the Texas House of Representatives. Noriega is a Houston native with a bachelor's degree from the University of Houston and a master's in public administration from Harvard University. He is a graduate of the US Army Command and General Staff College, holds a certificate in Advanced International Affairs from the Bush School of Government at Texas A & M University, and completed the US Army War College Fellowship at the University of Texas.

Andi Phillips Andrea Phillips is a vice president in the Urban Investment Group of Goldman Sachs. She leads the GS Social Impact Fund and deal teams with a focus on social impact bonds and economic development financing. She also developed the Access to Capital program as part of the 10,000 Small Businesses Initiative. Phillips led the investment in the Rikers Island Social Impact Bond, the first such transaction ever executed by a financial institution and in the US market. More recently, she led the application of the approach to financing early childhood education in Utah and Chicago

and recidivism reduction and job creation in Massachusetts. She has over 20 years of experience in developing small business, workforce and community development programs. Prior to joining GS, she was a consultant providing strategic and operational planning services


to a variety of public and private sector clients. Phillips holds a BA from Tufts University and a MA in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Neil Phillips Principal, Visible Men Academy Neil Phillips is the founder of Visible Men. He has over 25 years of experience as an educator, entrepreneur, coach, and youth advocate. Phillips is a regarded as a national thought leader and renowned speaker on black male achievement, minority education, character development, and youth empowerment. He has been an educational administrator for the last eleven years serving as the assistant headmaster at the Landon School for

Boys in Bethesda, Maryland and as interim head of upper school at the Out-of-Door Academy in Sarasota, Florida. He is now serving as the VMA principal. Phillips is an Aspen Institute Educational Entrepreneurship Fellow. He is a member of the inaugural Echoing Green/Open Society Foundation’s Black Male Achievement Fellowship. Phillips is also a Nantucket Project senior fellow and was recently awarded the Nantucket Project Audience Award for his talk, “Race to Truth.”

Sarah Rittling National Director, First Five Years Fund Sarah Rittling is the national director of the First Five Years Fund (FFYF) where she oversees all policy operations of FFYF and leads advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill and among national early childhood coalitions. Rittling comes to FFYF after four years as senior policy advisor at EducationCounsel, an education consulting firm, where she was part of a bipartisan education-focused team led by former US Secretary of

Education Dick Riley. Rittling has dedicated her career to creating policy change on education issues, with a particular emphasis on early childhood education. She served as counsel to Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., on education policy before the Senate Health, Education Labor and Pensions Committee and counsel to Rep. Michael N. Castle, R-Del., on education and labor matters before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. Under Sen. Alexander, Rittling was responsible for advancing the Senator’s priorities during the reauthorization of the Higher Education, Head Start, and Child Abuse Prevention Treatment Acts. While serving Rep. Castle, Rittling assisted with matters before the Subcommittee on Education Reform, including reauthorization of the National School Lunch and Child Nutrition Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Rittling also served as a legislative assistant and deputy press secretary to Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn.


Monique Rizer Chief of Staff, Be The Change, Inc. Monique Rizer is chief of staff for Be The Change, Inc., a nonprofit organization that creates national issue-based campaigns that work to solve society’s greatest problems. As chief of staff, Rizer reports to the president and CEO to help fundraise, manage the board, lead strategic planning, and communicate with staff and volunteers while overseeing the office operations. Rizer grew up in the Northwest and holds a 2001 BA (With

Distinction) from Gonzaga University and a 2003 MS from Syracuse University. Rizer is among the first class of Gates Millennium Scholars, a full ride academic scholarship program of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She also serves as an Aspen Institute Ascend Ambassador. Rizer began her career as a marketer for a Top 100 accounting and consulting firm. She later ran a freelance writing business where she served as a contributing editor to multiple magazines and guides focused on careers. Following her freelance business, she served as the deputy director of marketing for the Military Officers Association of America, which supports service members and military families. Rizer is also the recipient of the Commander’s Award for Public Service, a top civilian award given by the US Army for service supporting the military community.

Roberto Rodríguez Deputy Assistant to the President for Education, White House Domestic Policy Council Roberto J. Rodríguez serves as deputy assistant to the President for education at the White House. In this capacity, Rodríguez serves on President Obama’s domestic policy team, managing the President’s education agenda and leading program and policy development and strategy for early learning and early childhood education, K-12 education, and

postsecondary education. Prior to his time in the White House, Rodríguez worked in the United States Senate as chief education counsel to the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy, chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Rodríguez is a native of Grand Rapids, Michigan and a graduate of the University of Michigan and the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Shannon Rudisill

Associate Deputy Associate Secretary for Early Childhood Development, Administration for Children and Families Shannon Rudisill is the associate deputy assistant secretary for early childhood development. Rudisill was previously director of the Office of Child Care (OCC, formerly the Child Care Bureau [CCB]), where she focused on raising the bar on quality in child care across the country, particularly for low-income children. From 2000 to 2007, Rudisill served as director of the Division of Technical Assistance at the CCB. As TA Director, she initiated new


projects in the areas of infant and toddler care, the social and emotional development of young children, and school readiness. In addition, she built bridges between these early childhood programs and programs at the US Department of Education. Prior to that, she was special assistant to Administration for Children and Families Assistant Secretary Olivia Golden and worked extensively on the Clinton Administration’s child care initiative. During her tenure as OCC director, Rudisill promoted child care policies and practices that are child-focused, family-friendly and fair to providers. She is a graduate of Duke University and has a Master of social work degree from the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis.

Jessica Sager Co-Founder and Executive Director, All Our Kin Jessica Sager is the co-founder and executive director of All Our Kin. Through All Our Kin’s programs, child care professionals succeed as business owners; working parents find stable, high-quality care for their children; and children get an educational foundation that lays the groundwork for achievement in school and beyond. Sager co-teaches a college seminar on “Child Care, Society, and Public Policy” at Yale. She is a

trustee of the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund, and is active in local, state, and national initiatives to improve the quality and sustainability of child care in low-income communities. Jessica received a BA from Barnard College and worked as an artist-in-the-schools in New York City before attending Yale Law School, where she was a Coker Teaching Fellow. In 1999, she received a JD from Yale and was awarded the Mary McCarthy and Liman Public Interest Fellowships. Most recently, she was honored by the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame, and New Profit, Inc., selected her as an "Extraordinary Female Social Entrepreneur."

Rory Sipp, PhD Executive Director of Clark County, Acelero Learning, Inc. Rory Sipp, PhD, is the executive director for Acelero Learning, one of the largest providers of Head Start services in the state of Nevada and a visiting professor in the Department of Educational and Clinical Studies at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. After completing a portion of his undergraduate studies at Faulkner University in Birmingham, Alabama, Sipp relocated to Las Vegas in 1998, where he completed his bachelor’s in early

childhood education and earned his master’s in educational leadership, followed by his doctorate in special education, all at UNLV. Sipp has been in the fields of early childhood education and special education for over 20 years, during which time he served as an educator, an administrator, and a lifetime child and family advocate. In July 2012, Sipp was honored at the White House by President Barack Obama’s administration as a White House Champion of Change for his outstanding dedication and devotion to his work in a social service program providing support to our nation’s most vulnerable citizens. In addition to his work with both Head Start and UNLV, Sipp is a local author and currently serves as a member of several state,


regional, and national boards, working with groups advocating for young children and families who live in poverty. He is an active member of his church and enjoys spending time with his friends and his family who include his one son, Reshaude and his grandson, Aiyden.

Vicki Turetsky Commissioner, Office of Child Support Enforcement, Administration for Children & Families Vicki Turetsky is the commissioner for the Office of Child Support Enforcement. As commissioner, her priorities include implementing family-centered strategies to support parental employment and involvement, modernizing federal and state technology to increase program efficiency, expanding the tribal child support program, and preparing for generational

change. Turetsky brings more than 30 years of experience as a public administrator and advocate for low-income families. She is a nationally recognized expert in family policy, and is instrumental in efforts to boost child support payments to families and establish realistic child support policies that encourage fathers to work and play an active parenting role. Prior to her appointment, she served as the director of family policy at the Center for Law and Social Policy and was a visiting lecturer at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.

Yasmina Vinci Executive Director, National Head Start Association Alexandria, VA A seasoned leader in both executive and policy roles, Yasmina Vinci's professional experience and capabilities have delivered improvements in the lives of children at the national, state, and local levels. Vinci comes to the National Head Start Association after several years as principal and founder of EDGE Consulting Partners. At EDGE, Vinci pursued local, national, and global projects that utilized the knowledge, experience, and connections of

her years in human services and early education to enhance the capacity of organizations to thrive as competent, strategic entities capable of influencing policy. Vinci founded EDGE after receiving her Master in Public Administration degree from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

Sarah Enos Watamura, PhD, 2015 Ascend Fellow Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Denver Sarah Enos Watamura, PhD, is an associate professor of psychology at the University of Denver where she directs the Child Health & Development Lab and co-directs the Stress, Early Experience and Development Research Center. She has longstanding interests in children’s physiologic regulation, their development within caregiving contexts, and in understanding mechanisms and trajectories from early life stress to later physical, mental


health, cognitive/educational, and socio-emotional outcomes. Her work examines the unique stressors and buffers in families experiencing poverty and among newly immigrated families, and includes testing promising intervention approaches. Watamura is a 2015 Aspen Institute Ascend Fellow.

Henry Wilde, 2012 Ascend Fellow Chief Operating Officer, Acelero Learning, Inc. Henry Wilde is the Co-Founder of Acelero Learning, a company explicitly dedicated to closing the achievement gap for young children served in the Head Start program. Founded in 2001, Acelero provides high quality early childhood education to 4,000 low-income children and families and offers training and technical assistance to Head Start programs around the country. In the past three years, Acelero Learning has trained over 300 Head

Start leaders, and its tools are utilized by 65 Head Start programs all over the country, reaching more than 20,000 children. In 2012, Wilde was selected to be a part of the inaugural class of Ascend Fellows. Wilde previously served as the Deputy Secretary for the Department of Children and Families for the State of Wisconsin. He began his career working as a Special Assistant to Marian Wright Edelman at the Children's Defense Fund, after graduating from Harvard University, magna cum laude. Wilde earned his MBA from the Harvard Business School, where he focused on social entrepreneurship.

Marcella Wilson, PhD President and CEO, Matrix Human Services Marcella Wilson, PhD, is president & CEO of Matrix Human Services. She has more 30 years of experience in healthcare and social work services, including nonprofit management, managed care systems, behavioral health, criminal justice, and public sector programming. As president & CEO of Matrix Human Services, Wilson is focused on expanding current programming and new program development specific to the needs of the

residents of Detroit. With the theme of “Transition To Success,” the organization demonstrates effectiveness through comprehensive structured programs, collaborations, meaningful outcome measures, and real client success stories. Wilson holds degrees in psychology, sociology, a master's degree in social work, and a doctorate in health and higher education from the University of Michigan.


Julian Zelizer, PhD Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, Class of 1941, Professor of History and Public Affairs, Princeton University Julian E. Zelizer, PhD, has been one of the pioneers in the revival of American political history. He is the author of Taxing America: Wilbur D. Mills, Congress, and the State, 1945-1975 (1998), On Capitol Hill: The Struggle to Reform Congress and its Consequences, 1948-2000 (2004), Arsenal of Democracy: The Politics of National Security—From

World War II to the War on Terrorism (2010), Jimmy Carter (2010), Conservatives in Power: The Reagan Years, 1981-1989 (2010), Governing America: The Revival of Political History, and The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress, and the Battle for the Great Society (2015). In addition to his scholarly articles and book chapters, Zelizer is a frequent commentator in the international and national media on political history and contemporary politics. He has published over five hundred op-eds, including his weekly column on CNN.Com. The History News Network named Zelizer as one of the top young historians in the country. He has received fellowships from the Brookings Institution, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the Russell Sage Foundation. Ascend at the Aspen Institute Staff:

Anne Mosle Vice President, the Aspen Institute Executive Director, Ascend at the Aspen Institute Anne Mosle is a vice president at The Aspen Institute and founder and executive director of Ascend at the Aspen Institute. She is a leading thinker, advocate, and voice in building pathways to opportunity for low-income families and women. In her current role at The Aspen Institute, she directs Ascend, the national hub for breakthrough ideas and collaborations that

move children and their parents toward educational success and economic security. Prior to The Aspen Institute, Mosle served as a vice president and officer of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, where she was on the executive team and oversaw $140 million in investments. She was previously president of the Washington Area Women’s Foundation, where she was the lead architect of their nationally recognized Stepping Stones initiative to build the financial independence of women and families. She lives with her family in Washington, DC.


Marjorie Sims Managing Director Marjorie Sims has more than 20 years of experience in advancing the status of women and families at local, state, national, and international levels. She formerly served as program officer at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation with a specific focus on family economic security programs and managed a $65M grant portfolio. Prior to joining the Kellogg Foundation, Sims held the positions of chief operating officer, interim president, and vice president of

programs and operations at the Washington Area Women’s Foundation. During her tenure in Washington, Sims helped launch Stepping Stones, a $5 million, multi-year, regional initiative to increase the income and assets of women-headed families. Stepping Stones received national recognition as a model public-private partnership. In addition, Sims served as the executive director of the California Women’s Law Center and as a policy analyst with the International Center for Research on Women. She is a co-founder of Women’s Policy, Inc., an organization that emerged from the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues to provide unbiased analyses and educational briefings about federal legislation affecting women and families. Sims has additional expertise in expanding women’s philanthropy and managing leadership transitions.

Rachel Pollock Policy Analyst Prior to joining the Aspen Institute, Rachel Pollock spent eight years at the Office of Management and Budget, where she coordinated the President’s legislative agenda on a range of domestic policy issues relating to early childhood education, housing, employment pathways, and economic security. In 2013, she was selected to participate in the President’s Management Council program, during which time she worked closely with

the White House, the Department of Labor, and the Center for American Progress to develop the Obama Administration’s policy strategy for the White House Summit on Working Families. Pollock previously held positions with Senator Kerry, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary Committee, and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. She holds a law degree from American University and an undergraduate degree in United States History from the University of California at Berkeley.

smart starts for children and families: building upon early … · 2015. 5. 12. · smart starts...

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