ANNOUNCING OUR NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

By Stephanie Thorpe, Board Chair

It gives me tremendous pleasure to announce the incoming Executive Director of Children's Alliance: Dr. Soleil Boyd!

Soleil brings demonstrated alignment with Children's Alliance's values, deep knowledge of Washington state policymaking, and a strong commitment to racial equity, community-centered advocacy, and collective action. She has extensive experience in the early learning field, beginning her career as a preschool teacher, maintaining that passion for early education as the Director of Professional Learning at the University of Washington, and advancing policy change in her most recent role as Senior Program Officer for Early Learning at Washington STEM. We are incredibly excited to welcome Soleil to Children’s Alliance, and to begin working alongside her to move our mission forward.

Selecting the next Executive Director is an extremely important decision, especially for an organization like Children’s Alliance which values and maintains relationships with so many stakeholders. Our Search Committee was very intentional in gathering input from Children’s Alliance Board, Staff, volunteers, partners, and community members throughout the search process. I want to thank everyone who shared their thoughtful feedback on the vision for Children's Alliance and its future leadership.

Soleil will begin the transition to Children's Alliance in August 2025 and will assume the position full time in September. Until then, Dr. Stephan Blanford will serve as Interim Executive Director. We are so grateful to Stephan for shepherding the organization through the summer and ensuring a smooth handover to Soleil.

This process has been another reminder to me of just how many amazing people care about this organization and its future. We are living in turbulent times, but the future is bright for Children's Alliance and we are poised to meet the challenges ahead.