Press Releases

Washington , D.C. - The Children's Defense Fund is pleased to announce the acceptance of thirty-eight new fellows to its Emerging Leaders SM Project. A program of the Children Defense Fund's (CDF) Early Childhood Development Division, t he Emerging Leaders Project provides advocates for child care, early education and school-age care with the information, support and resources they need to be successful agents of change.

"The Emerging Leaders Fellowship Project is a critical part of the Leave No Child Behind ® Movement" said Marian Wright Edelman, president and founder of CDF. "Those entrusted with caring, teaching, and advocating for young children hold great responsibility for shaping the lives of the next generation. We need to do more to support early childhood advocates so they can serve our children well."

The thirty-eight fellows in the 2005 class represent twenty-one states and join an active, network of more than 200 fellows. The fellows come from diverse racial, ethnic, and community backgrounds. They work with children's advocacy and research organizations, Head Start programs, child care resource and referral networks, child care centers, family child care providers, school-age programs, community-based organizations, child care assistance and licensing programs and state legislatures.

Each year new fellows are selected through a rigorous and competitive process based on their ability to demonstrate the commitment, energy, determination and creativity necessary to serve as part of the growing ranks of new leaders in child care, early education and school-age care advocacy. Recognizing that learning and change are long-term commitments, the Emerging Leaders Project is intended to be an open-ended experience for the fellows. Once accepted, fellows join the extended network of Emerging Leaders to continually promote policies that truly leave no child behind.

These fellows represent some of the brightest and most progressive thinking among child care, early education and school-age care professionals. The CDF Emerging Leaders Project signifies an unparallel opportunity for leaders to build on their existing expertise, enabling them to become more effective advocates for children at the national, state and local level.

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For additional information about the Emerging Leaders Project, please contact Della Hoffman at (202) 662-3509 or mailto:dhoffman@childrensdefense.org. A list of the 2005 class of Emerging Leaders can be viewed at the following link:

• Children's Defense Fund's 2005 Emerging Leaders^SM Fellowship Class
  (Adobe PDF : 3 pages : 40 KB)

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The mission of the Children's Defense Fund is to Leave No Child Behind and to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start, and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities. CDF provides a strong, effective voice for all the children of America who cannot vote, lobby, or speak for themselves. We pay particular attention to the needs of poor and minority children and those with disabilities. CDF educates the nation about the needs of children and encourages preventive investment before they get sick, into trouble, drop out of school, or suffer family breakdown. CDF began in 1973 and is a private, nonprofit organization supported by foundation and corporate grants and individual donations. We have never taken government funds.