Jumpstart for Young Children Welcomes Sharon Reilly as Chief Development and Marketing Officer

BOSTON, MA (December 10, 2020) –

Seven years after she served as Tri-State Region Executive Director for Jumpstart for Young Children (Jumpstart), Sharon Reilly is returning to the organization as Chief Development and Marketing Officer. In this capacity, Reilly will ensure the people, partnerships, and systems across Jumpstart’s network are aligned to meet the organization’s fundraising goals, advance Jumpstart’s overall brand, and move the mission forward.

“I am so proud to have the opportunity to come back to Jumpstart,” said Reilly. “There is not another organization taking this unique approach to one of America’s most persistent challenges, the education of young children, especially children whose lives are impacted by the crippling effects of poverty. Jumpstart is poised to do its best work and I am honored to join the team, especially at this moment in history which calls upon each of us to reflect and to take action.”

Jumpstart has over 26 years’ experience leveraging the power of caring adults to close the opportunity gap for young children. The organization has engaged 58,000 college students and community volunteers to transform the lives of more than 133,000 preschool children nationwide. In the face of the global coronavirus pandemic, the organization’s efforts are more critical than ever.

“We must redouble our efforts to champion the communities who have been disproportionately impacted by the current pandemic, economic downturn, and racial injustice,” said Jumpstart CEO Naila Bolus. “Sharon Reilly is the right leader at the right time to inspire, educate, and engage a diverse stakeholder community in service of Jumpstart’s mission nationally. We are ecstatic that she will be rejoining us.”

An entrepreneurial and mission-driven leader, Reilly has invested most of her professional career in Boston raising money and elevating the brand of organizations that were at a transformational moment. Most recently she served as Vice President for Development at The Greater Boston Food Bank, and previously she served as Executive Director of Cradles to Crayons Massachusetts and Executive Director of the Women’s Lunch Place.

Bolus added, “Among Sharon’s many skills and competencies is her inclusive leadership – a Jumpstart core value. She leads with gratitude and cultivates a love of individuals and passion for the work to bring her team and donors together around a mission.”

Reilly concluded, “The numbers are clear. There is no better return on investment than that of early education.  We have this rare opportunity to invest in the future of this country, to provide the early education that we know has the best potential to change the trajectory of a young person’s life.”

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ABOUT JUMPSTART FOR YOUNG CHILDREN

Jumpstart is a national early education organization working toward the day every child in America enters kindergarten prepared to succeed. Jumpstart advances equitable learning outcomes for young children in underserved communities by recruiting and supporting caring adults to deliver high-quality programming to children and drive systems change through teaching, advocacy, and leadership. Jumpstart is also a proud member of the AmeriCorps national service network. Learn more at jstart.org and follow us on Twitter at @Jumpstartkids.