Nation’s leading early childhood advocacy organization hires early childhood education policy expert with in-depth experience
WASHINGTON – This week Amanda Guarino begins as Policy Director for the First Five Years Fund (FFYF), the nation’s leading early childhood education advocacy organization. Guarino comes to FFYF after nearly twelve years with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), where she has played a crucial role in the Administration for Children & Families’ management of programs that support early childhood education and development.
Guarino brings tremendous experience and extensive policy expertise to FFYF at a time when momentum for early learning continues to grow in Washington and across the country. There is bipartisan support for new investments in high-quality early childhood programs at every level of government and from broad coalitions of experts and advocates nationwide.
“Amanda Guarino’s direct experience overseeing many of the early childhood programs we advocate for will be invaluable as we continue to push for a greater federal investment in our nation’s youngest learners,” said FFYF Executive Director Kris Perry. “On Inauguration Day next year, a true champion for early childhood education will leave the White House. Amanda’s in-depth knowledge and understanding of early childhood policy and legislation will allow us to ensure we can lay the groundwork for the next president to build on the progress that has been made and go even further.”
Since 2010, Guarino has served as Management and Program Analyst within the Office of Child Care at the Administration for Children & Families. In this role she has provided strategic direction, leadership, and consultation regarding the coordination and delivery of Technical Assistance (TA) activities. This coordination included implementation of process quality improvement, budget monitoring considerations, Child Care/Head Start collaboration activities, and effective communication across federal programs and TA projects. Guarino has also been managing several ongoing TA projects including the State Capacity Building Center, the next iteration of the State Systems Specialist Network. In this role she worked tirelessly to ensure the delivery of TA is systematic, of high quality, responsive to grantee needs, and outcome driven.
About the First Five Year Fund: The First Five Years Fund helps America achieve better results in education, health, and economic productivity through investments in quality early childhood education programs for disadvantaged children. FFYF provides knowledge, data, and advocacy – persuading federal policymakers to make investments in the first five years of a child’s life that create greater returns for all. http://www.ffyf.org
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