Services & Skills

August 2026

Following a morning congressional town hall meeting hosted by the North Carolina Partnership for Children, I facilitated an afternoon policy agenda brainstorming session that convened Smart Start network members, state early childhood leaders, and institutions of higher education with the goal of gathering early input, examining opportunities and risks, and identifying areas of coordination and advocacy to support Smart Start's development of a 2027 legislative agenda. 

April 2024-June 2026

As Director of Early Learning at The Hunt Institute, I led the development of three Early Childhood Policy Academies. These cohort-based convenings reached 44 legislators from 24 states across the three academies and featured resource experts on topics including child development, early relational health, family economic security, school readiness, the early educator workforce, and child care as both a public good and an economic support. The work included guiding a team, recruiting cohort members, coordinating and preparing resource experts, developing content and session guides, facilitating discussion, and working with events and communications teams on logistics. Use these links to explore a sample press release, agenda, and key takeaways for one of these events.

November 2024-March 2025

Co-planned and moderated the one-day Alaska Legislators Retreat on Early Learning with the goal of increasing legislative understanding of current topics in early childhood for the state, including policy and funding recommendations, the importance of early learning in building a strong foundation, and the value of early intervention and early childhood mental health. Held in Juneau in March 2025, the bi-partisan event drew 15 of Alaska's 60 legislators and the Lieutenant Governor and served as a springboard for increasing participation in Alaska’s Children’s Caucus.

April 2024-January 2025

While serving as Director of Early Learning with The Hunt Institute, I facilitated four in-person meetings of the 24-member South Dakota Child Care Task Force. Meeting work included coordinating and preparing speakers, facilitating discussion, guiding group work and brainstorming, and conducting progress checks. The meetings were designed to reach consensus on legislative goals and future direction for the task force. In this webinar, I moderated the public launch of the resulting report, Sustainable Solutions for Transforming Child Care in South Dakota, for more than 180 registrants, including legislators, providers, advocates and press. 

July-September 2026

Contracted with a national child care organization to develop an implementation-ready model for priority access to community-based child care for a defined group of families with unique needs. Drew on research and stakeholder interviews across geographically disparate sites to produce a landscape report with recommendations, process maps, and a phased rollout plan.

Oct 2021-April 2022

Contracted with Early Years & the Durham Pre-K Governance Committee to produce a report identifying key program participation challenges to the Durham Pre-K program tied to wrap-around care access and availability. Compiled comprehensive report, Toward Equity in Durham PreK, offering conclusions and recommendations for addressing these challenges.

Feb 2022-April 2024

Provided ongoing communications planning and supports to Mental Health American of Greenville County for more than two years, which included development of legislative advocacy materials, press releases, interviews, social media content, and monthly blog posts. Managed projects, including restructuring membership tiers, supporting selection of a new donation platform, and identifying and working with a website developer on a new website design and launch.

Nov 2022-Oct 2023

Working with leadership at Early Years, I conducted and published a series of interviews with community leaders involved in Durham County's universal pre-k program and provided stories for the program's Community Connections newsletter. 

February 2023

Contracted with the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation to provide an article for the Foundation's 2022 annual report on the Triangle Capacity Building Network, Ceding Power, Seeding Change, detailing its journey toward trust-based philanthropy and shared power with grantees.