Our Staff Margaret Blood, President mblood@strategiesforchildren.org 617-330-7385 Margaret Blood is the Founder and President of Strategies for Children, Inc., a non-profit public policy and advocacy organization based in Boston. The goal of this statewide Campaign is to make high-quality early childhood education available to all young children in Massachusetts. Margaret previously led the United Way of Massachusetts Bay's award winning Success By 6 initiative. Under her leadership, key business and civic leaders became advocates for children and several public policy initiatives were enacted to improve the well being of young children. These included making health insurance universally available to children and enacting the Invest in Children license plate to fund improvements in early education and care programs. Prior to Success By 6, Margaret served as the Director of Community Programs for the Department of Pediatrics at Boston City Hospital and Boston University School of Medicine. She also directed a groundbreaking national study, State Legislative Leaders: Keys to Effective Legislation for Children and Families, which examined the attitudes and opinions of state legislative leaders regarding children and families. Among the findings of this highly acclaimed study was the need to involve business leaders as legislative advocates for children and families in their states. Fluent in Spanish, Margaret began her career as a community organizer in inner city Boston where she created an after school program and founded the Mission Possible summer program. She went on to work in the Massachusetts legislature for 10 years, first as a legislative aide, and then as founding Executive Director of the Massachusetts Legislative Children's Caucus. Margaret holds a Master in Public Administration degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and has a Bachelor's degree in Spanish and business from Skidmore College. She is particularly passionate about Guatemala where she serves as a volunteer teacher at a school for child workers. return to top of page Chad d'Entremont, Research & Policy Director cdentremont@earlyeducationforall.org 617-330-7383 Chad oversees the research and policy agenda for the EEA campaign and is responsible for ensuring the effective design and implementation of SFC/EEA policy goals. Prior to joining EEA, Chad served as the Assistant Director for the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education, a nationally-recognized non-partisan research center located at Teachers College, Columbia University. Chad specialized in the study of school choice and public-private partnerships with particular attention given to the role political ideologies play in shaping support for educational reforms. He has published multiple articles on the topics of charter schools, educational vouchers, tuition tax credits, and cyber schooling and is a member of the review board for the Education Policy Analysis Archives. Chad began his career in a education as an English and Global Studies teacher at the Cardigan Mountain School in Canaan, NH and as an After School Academy instructor at the Boys’ Club of New York. Chad has a Bachelor’s degree in American studies from Williams College and a Master’s degree in Sociology and Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. He is currently working to complete his doctorate in politics and education at Teachers College, Columbia University. return to top of page Brooke Freeland, Communications Director bfreeland@earlyeducationforall.org 617-330-7386 Brooke is responsible for working closely with the SFC/EEA team to plan, execute and manage all Campaign outreach and communication activities. Previously Brooke worked on Beacon Hill as the Legislative Director for Senator Robert O’Leary (D - Barnstable), where she focused on pre-k-16 education policy. Brooke recently worked in development for the Whitney Museum of America Art in New York City, helping manage the museum’s fundraising activities and authoring grant requests for educational programs. Brooke holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Colgate University and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from New York University. return to top of page   Carolyn Lyons, Chief Operating Officer/Director of Strategic Development clyons@strategiesforchildren.org 617-330-7388 In her dual role, Carolyn is responsible for staff, financial, and infrastructure management as well as for developing a broad-based multi-lingual public awareness campaign highlighting the benefits of publicly-funded high-quality early education and the EEA Campaign and legislation. She is also working to develop additional business opportunities for Strategies for Children, Inc. Carolyn has 10+ years of media management and marketing experience in television and internet, both locally and globally. While working at MediaOne/Continental Cablevision, she created and/or consulted with several television networks in a number of markets worldwide. Immediately prior to joining SFC/EEA, Carolyn was VP European Operations for EF Travel, a global travel and cultural affairs company. Carolyn holds a Bachelor's degree in Managerial Finance from St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Virginia. Carolyn's studies included work at the University of Heidelberg and the Stockholm School of Economics. return to top of page   Diana Meyers, Administrative Director dmeyers@earlyeducationforall.org 617-330-7385 Diana is responsible for managing the administrative functions of the organization. She is committed to education reform and brings this passion to her work. Prior to joining Strategies for Children, Diana was a Director for a Sylvan Learning Center. She also has extensive experience working with adults with a variety of disabilities. Diana holds a Master’s degree in Education from Eastern Nazarene College.   return to top of page Amy O'Leary, EEA Campaign Director aoleary@earlyeducationforall.org 617-330-7384 Amy is spearheading the Early Education for All (EEA) Campaign, an initiative of Strategies for Children, Inc. She is responsible for building, training, and leading an ethnically and racially diverse statewide team of early childhood advocates to support publicly-funded high-quality early education and the implementation of the EEA legislation over the long term. Previously, Amy worked as a preschool teacher and Program Director at Ellis Memorial and Eldredge House, Inc. in Boston, Massachusetts. Through her work at Ellis Memorial, Amy participated in many community organizations including the Innercity Network of Early Education Professionals and Boston Child Care Alliance. Amy is involved with the Leadership Empowerment Action Project (LEAP) and serves on the Board of the Massachusetts Association for the Education of Young Children. Amy is a member of the Children's Defense Fund Emerging Leader Fellowship. Amy holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and Early Education from Skidmore College and a Master in Public Administration degree from Sawyer School of Management at Suffolk University. return to top of page Tom Weber, Legislative Director tweber@earlyeducationforall.org 617-330-7389 Tom is responsible for developing and implementing the campaign’s legislative and public policy strategy in order to advance the strategic goals of the Early Education for All Campaign. Tom has a decade of experience in government and public policy. Prior to joining Strategies for Children, Tom worked in both the Municipal Law Unit and the Executive Bureau of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office. As the Attorney General’s Director of Community Partnerships, Tom served as the Attorney General’s liaison to the state’s mayors, community leaders, and local town officials. Previously, Tom managed a mayoral campaign in his hometown of Somerville. Tom also served as Deputy Research Director at the Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth (MassINC), where he helped produce The Pursuit of Happiness: A Survey on the Quality of Life in Massachusetts (May, 2003). Tom also worked as Assistant Director of Government Affairs at the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce after serving as Senior Issues Manager to United States Senator John F. Kerry. Tom has a B.A. in cursu honoris from the College of the Holy Cross and is currently attending Suffolk University Law School. return to top of page

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