Jumpstart for Young Children Welcomes Kate Warren Barnes as
New Vice President of Policy and Government Relations
Warren Barnes will lead the early childhood education organization’s policy advocacy initiatives.
BOSTON – Jumpstart for Young Children (Jumpstart) announced today that Kate Warren Barnes will join the organization’s leadership team as the new Vice President of Policy and Government Relations. Beginning on July 6, Warren Barnes will lead the team’s policy and advocacy initiatives which are laser-focused on ensuring that high-quality early education, taught by effective and well-compensated educators, is available to all.
The people who power Jumpstart have an unwavering commitment to advancing equity through a multipronged, research-based approach that provides individualized support to children and helps college students and aspiring educators build professional skills and qualifications. Jumpstart seeks to transform early care and education (ECE) by advocating for significant, measurable changes in the ECE sector, higher education, and national service. Jumpstart’s alumni base and national network of leaders and champions has the potential to inspire public support and investment in high-quality ECE through their voices, stories, and experiences.
“I’m proud to join Jumpstart and work toward their mission to disrupt structural injustice and create a future that allows children and families to reach their full potential,” said Kate Warren Barnes. “Now that the pandemic federal public health emergency has come to an end, it’s more important than ever to assess opportunities for progress to strengthen and even reimagine the policies, and funding we need to best support young children, families, and early educators.”
As the Vice President of Policy and Government Relations, Warren Barnes will spearhead Jumpstart’s policy advocacy activities at the federal, state, and local levels through direct lobbying of elected officials and executive branch agencies. She will work to advance Jumpstart’s advocacy agenda in early education, higher education, and national service through strategic relationship building with key policymakers and partner organizations in an effort to address the challenges we are facing in the early care and education sector and workforce.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Kate and her indisputable passion for the wellbeing of families and children to the Jumpstart team,” Naila Bolus, Chief Executive Officer of Jumpstart, said. “Her lived experience and professional expertise will be immeasurable assets as we work together to ensure that all children, especially those in historically marginalized and underserved communities, have access to high-quality education delivered by well-trained and well-compensated professionals.”
Through her extensive expertise as a results-driven social worker and government affairs professional focused on health and wellbeing, Warren Barnes’ career in advocating for children and families has spanned well over a decade. Most recently, Warren Barnes served as the Director of Government Affairs at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where she led equity-driven and patient and family-centered federal, state, and city legislative, budgetary, and regulatory advocacy efforts, as well as developed, drove, and implemented an evidence-based, civic health intervention as a means of addressing systemic social determinants of health and improving population health in Boston communities. Prior to that, Warren Barnes served in policy and government affairs roles at Boston Children’s Hospital, the National Association of Social Workers, Massachusetts Chapter, and Harbor Health which operates a network of community health centers and a robust woman infant and children (WIC) nutrition program. Warren Barnes also serves as an adjunct professor at Boston University’s Graduate School of Social Work and is a doctoral student at the Sacred Heart University School of Social Work.
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ABOUT JUMPSTART FOR YOUNG CHILDREN
For 30 years, Jumpstart has been fueled by the belief that providing high-quality educational opportunities to all young children prepares them for academic and economic success later in life. Jumpstart advances equitable learning outcomes for young children by recruiting and supporting caring adults to deliver high-quality programming and drive systems change through teaching, advocacy, and leadership. Jumpstart has trained more than 62,500 college students and community volunteers, preparing close to 158,000 children for kindergarten success. Jumpstart’s program is replicated across the country in 14 states and the District of Columbia. Learn more at jstart.org.
