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 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 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…