Meet Hailey Steele Hailey is a Birth Equity Manager for EverThrive Illinois  “Seeing first-hand the struggles of parents I worked with navigating complex systems just to receive support for their children, not dissimilar to the struggles I witnessed in my own family experience, really was a catalyst for me getting more involved in this work.”…

Meet Jesse Rojo Organizer, Community Organizing and Family Issues (COFI) Jesse Rojo is a contributing member of Raising Illinois, driving its family engagement priorities and supporting the work of its communications committee. It’s Jesse’s childhood experiences and passion for amplifying community voice that have led him to the work of the early learning field last…

Meet Marcy Mendenhall President & CEO, SAL Family and Community Services Having spent the past few decades advocating locally and nationally for high-quality early childhood education as a social worker, and now as part of SAL Family & Community Services (SAL) and Skip-A-Long Child Development Services (SKIP), Marcy knows the profound impact early childhood education…

Meet Marianne Pokorny Director of Civic Engagement, YWCA Metropolitan Chicago Marianne has always been a strong advocate for infants and toddlers. Prior to 1986, when Congress established the early intervention system, Marianne had begun her career advocating for children birth-to-age 3 experiencing developmental delays. She was instrumental in receiving funding for one of the first…

Meet Sean Noble Illinois State Director, Council for a Strong America Sean Noble, an active and pioneer member of Raising Illinois, has long been committed to contributing to collaborative efforts that support our youngest learners, their families and the early education workforce. Currently, Sean coordinates the Illinois efforts of three membership organizations of civic leaders, under the…