Infant Nation: An Election-Year Learning Series for Philanthropists of All Stripes
Is our democracy in crisis, teetering on the verge of implosion, or is our country still in its infancy, and…
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- Early Opportunities, LLC
For more than 50 years, Joan has dedicated her work to assuring the healthy development of young children and support for their families in the US and around the world. She focuses on the promotion of nurturing care: the intersection of health, nutrition, early learning, safety and security and responsive caregiving; and those community strategies and policies that support child development and family well-being.
Joan has served in several positions in the public sector including 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 Administration for Children and Families, USDHHS, and the first Commissioner of the Child Care Bureau among other positions (l993-1998) during the Clinton Administration.
Outside of public service, since 2012 she has been directing Early Opportunities, serving as an advisor to a range of international organizations including the World Bank, WHO, UNICEF, and to philanthropy including the Buffett Early Childhood Fund and the Bainum Family Foundation, Global Education Fund, among others.
Currently, Joan serves as a Visiting Scholar at the Center for Early Childhood, Graduate School of Education at Stanford University and a Senior Fellow and co-founder of the Georgetown Collaborative on Global Children’s Issues. In addition, she serves on the Executive Leadership Council of the Early Childhood Development Action Network, as Co-Chair of the Research Forum on Young Children in Emergencies for the Moving Minds Alliance and on the governing board of the Global Fund for Children and the National Black Child Development Institute.
