CICC Knowledge Exchange on Child Care: Pathways to Economic Mobility for Families Experiencing Poverty

She leads a team of highly skilled and committed analysts who apply research evidence, policy analysis, and critical thinking to increase the effectiveness of human services policies and programs and improve the wellbeing of the most vulnerable Americans. She provides executive leadership and coordination of HHS’s human services policy development, analysis, research, and evaluation on issues including poverty, equity, economic support, human services program integration, early childhood education, child welfare, family strengthening, and youth development. Her office coordinates the Children’s Interagency Coordinating Council and the Interagency Council on Economic Mobility where she serves at the HHS Executive Lead. Previously, she was the first Director of Program Innovation in the HHS Office of Child Support Services (OCSS), where she managed program development, including competitive grants, national evaluations, cross-program collaboration, and strategic planning. She also served as the Senior Advisor to the OCSS Commissioner, helping to lead execution of a new family-centered, evidence-based approach to child support enforcement nationwide. In her more than 25 years at HHS, she has developed national child support legislation and managed influential research on child support and family policy, as well as national evaluations of fatherhood and family strengthening initiatives. She guided the establishment of the National Center for Marriage Research and served as its first Program Officer. She began her federal service as a Presidential Management Intern in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. Her prior experience includes working for the Minnesota Commission on the Economic Status of Women and the Minnesota House of Representatives Research Department. She holds a B.A. from Gettysburg College in Women’s Studies and Political Science and a M.A. from the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, with concentrations in Policy Analysis and Gender and Public Policy.

Colleen previously served as the Director of Policy, Oversight, and Planning at the Office of Head Start, earning the Secretary’s Award for Distinguished Service in 2016 in recognition of exceptional leadership that advances the mission and goals of HHS. She also previously served in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation in the Office of the Secretary at HHS, and she started her career with partnership efforts in Head Start and child care centers in Brooklyn and Queens, New York. She earned a Master's in Public Policy with a concentration in child and family policy from the Harris School of Public Policy Studies at the University of Chicago and her Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern University.

As director, she is responsible for programs and policies that promote military families’ well-being, readiness, and quality of life. She has oversight for Defense Department programs and policies that support the availability of quality child care for military families worldwide in addition to youth development and school liaison programs. This portfolio serves 700,000 children annually at more than 300 locations worldwide. Ms. Young previously served as the director of the Office of Military Family Readiness Policy where she had purview over military family readiness programs, including military family life cycle and transition support and community capacity building to support geographically dispersed military members and their families, and the Exceptional Family Member Program. Ms. Young has more than 35 years of experience working with children, youth, and families in nonprofit and federal child care systems. Her work within the federal system includes direct care and management experience in home-based and center-based child development and youth programs at the installation level. She also served at both the Air Force Major Command and Headquarters level. Ms. Young graduated from Penn State University with a Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Studies. She completed the dual Air Command and Staff College and Master of Military Art and Operational Science program from Air University in December 2011.

She is also the Director of Family Voices of Tennessee (FVTN) at the Tennessee Disability Coalition (TDC). Ashley leads a team of fellow Lived Experts who work to improve public policy, long-term services and supports, and health equity for children and youth with special healthcare needs (CYSHN). Ashley also serves as a co-lead for the Family First Prevention Plan Leaders (FPPL) peer group through the Capacity Building Center for States. She is a first-generation college student and grew up in informal kinship care. Ashley is the proud chosen parent of a son with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) who grew up in the foster care system. She also identifies as a person with multiple disabilities, including being a cancer survivor. Before joining TDC, she served as an Associate Policy Analyst with Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago. In that role, she worked jointly with state and local child welfare jurisdictions to build their capacity and successfully implement evidence-based strategies to improve family outcomes in safety, permanency, and well-being. Prior to this, she attained considerable knowledge serving as a Developmental Program Coordinator with the Tennessee Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and in various positions for the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services. Ashley holds a Master of Social Work in Organizational Leadership and a graduate certificate in Trauma Treatment from the University of Tennessee. Ashley also holds a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Tennessee and an Associate of Science in Sociology from Roane State Community College.

Dr. Harris-Madden has spent 20 years working at the intersections of government, education, business and the non-profit sectors. Dr. Harris-Madden is an experienced nonprofit and community leader who previously served as Executive Director of the Westchester County Youth Bureau. Dr. Harris-Madden served in four mayoral cabinets in the City of Mount Vernon where she expanded the city’s services significantly. She has served as a federal and local grant reviewer and a New York State 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program evaluator. Dr. Harris-Madden has earned numerous degrees, including a B.A. in English and African American studies, a Masters of Business Administration (M.B.A.), a Master of Science in Human Resource Management (M.S. H.R.M.) and a Doctorate in Education and Executive Leadership (Ed. D.). She is a longtime community leader who has served on a number of professional boards.

The Afterschool Alliance is a non-profit organization using research, field building, and advocacy to ensure high quality afterschool and summer programs exist for all youth who want to participate. In her role, she works to increase equitable funding options, support 50 Statewide Afterschool Networks, and educate the field on opportunities to support high quality programs. She also looks across state implementation of federal programs to understand how different states employ the various flexibilities in laws. This includes programs such as the 21stCentury Community Learning Centers, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and Career and Technical Education Plans, among others, with a particular focus on Child Care and Development Funds (CCDF). 44% of children nationwide receiving CCDF funds are between the ages of 5 and 13. Jillian holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy with a specialization in Education Policy from the University of Maryland College Park.

She brings two decades of leadership in the public and nonprofit sectors in both Vermont and Washington, DC to her role. Janet leads the Child Development Division which works with partners to provide Vermonters with affordable access to high-quality child care and child development services. Prior to her appointment, Janet worked to create programs and advance policy that strengthened Vermont’s early childhood education system as the Executive Director of the Vermont Association of Education of Young Children (VTAEYC) and as the Chief Operating Officer of Let’s Grow Kids. Before moving to Vermont, Janet oversaw the nationwide growth of Cooking Matters, a food skills education program for low-income families, while at DC-based nonprofit Share Our Strength. She has a Masters of Public Administration from Syracuse University and her undergraduate degree is from Harvard University. Her volunteer work includes service on the Board of Directors for Spectrum Youth and Family Services and the J. Warren and Lois McClure Foundation.

She is responsible for overseeing all aspects of New York's early care and education system supported by the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF), which currently includes more than $2 billion in federal funding. The division also oversees all federal training requirements for early childhood providers supported by CCDF, provider health and safety and quality compliance, state licensing and regulations and the child care assistance program to support families accessing care. Previously, she’s served as the Director of the Center for Community Health at the New York State Department of Health, and the Executive Director of the Pride Center of the Capital Region. She earned bachelor's and master's of arts degrees at the State University of New York at Albany, a master's in public administration from the Sage Graduate School and a master's in women's studies and public policy from the University at Albany.

He leads the organization’s public policy and economic research initiatives. Charles holds a PhD from Indiana University and has studied at Georgetown University and the Villanova University School of Law. He has published articles, white papers, and reports on economic and public policy issues and has testified before legislative bodies on topics such as tax reform, workforce development, housing, and education.

Amanda is a visionary leader and innovative thinker, celebrated for her unique ability to blend strategic vision with a process-oriented approach. This year marks Amanda’s 30th anniversary at Micron Technology, Inc., where her career has been dedicated to enriching the experiences of the team members she supports. With a passion for enhancing the team member experience, Amanda is committed to creating a workplace where individuals feel valued, respected, and empowered. She strives to cultivate an inclusive environment that not only delights team members but also promotes their wellbeing and fosters meaningful social connections. Amanda’s mission is to connect people and drive engagement, ultimately achieving both organizational and individual success. Her dedication to fostering a positive onsite experience underscores her belief that a supportive and engaging workplace is key to thriving teams and a successful organization.

Previously, she was Vice President of Innovation Industries at the NYC Economic Development Corporation, where she led workforce strategy for emerging tech, green economy, and life science industries. In 2019, she founded the NYCEDC Childcare Innovation Lab, which spearheaded city efforts to research childcare as economic infrastructure and catalyzed public and private sector care economy innovations. Prior, Liat co-managed Cyber NYC, a $100M suite of public-private strategic investments to grow NYC’s cybersecurity ecosystem. Liat has helped build startups and inclusive innovation ecosystems in various sectors including infrastructure tech, cybersecurity, FamTech and PropTech/FinTech data intelligence. She is also co-founder of a nonprofit that runs an excellence high school for girls in Sierra Leone and the director of multiple documentary films.

She is also the National Director of the Home-Based Childcare Model at ParentChild+, an international home visiting program that strengthens the adult capacity to prepare young children for school success and positive life outcomes. Vidya’s professional values center equity, adult learning, and data-driven practices to build a responsive model based on participant voice, practitioner insight, and evidence-based research. Vidya believes that the next generation’s ability to promote collective wellness and national growth is dependent on the policies that affect children and families today. Our nation needs a clear vision for supporting maternal, infant, and early childhood outcomes especially in communities that have been historically and institutionally marginalized. To actualize clear policies, community-based participatory research, systems building and collaboration, as well as the basic principles of listening and funding are required. Vidya benefits from volunteering as Board Chair at Childhood Education International, an international development organization that provides innovative solutions for education in areas experiencing multiple forms of global crisis, such as war, conflict, forced displacement, and famine. At home and abroad, Vidya’s commitment to providing education to young children through supporting their caregivers, local systems, and national policies is a direct result of her lived experiences and formal education at Georgetown University, B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies, majors in Sociology and Women’s Studies, and Lesley University, M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction with a Concentration in Conflict Resolution and Peaceable Schools.