DR. STEPHAN BLANFORD

Executive Director (he/him)

Email address

stephan.blanford@childrensalliance.org

Phone Number

(206) 324-0340

Bio

After watching the first moon landing at his grandfather’s side, Stephan desperately wanted to be an astronaut (until claustrophobia and advanced math redirected his energies). Since 2020, he has led Children’s Alliance as its Executive Director, helping to build an antiracist movement for children and their families. He has led direct service nonprofits, operated his own consulting practice and was even elected to the Seattle School Board in 2013. He relishes the opportunity to be in service to all 1.6 million children in Washington state. If you start a conversation with Stephan about racial and social justice, jazz or travel, you’ll get an earful.

Extended Bio

As the Executive Director of Children’s Alliance, Dr. Stephan Blanford leads a team of committed staff, volunteers and more than 6,000 members, advocating fiercely for the improved outcomes for children in Washington state. As an unapologetic advocate for racial and social justice, Stephan’s work has ranged from early learning to college entrance leading small, direct service youth development agencies to multidisciplinary demonstration projects.

In 2013, he was elected by the voters of Seattle and served a four-year term on the Seattle School Board, where he received the “Leadership for Equity” award at the conclusion of his term. More recently, the Evergreen Chapter of the American Society of Public Administrators awarded him the “Billy J. Frank Race and Social Justice” award for leadership and advocacy. Extending his work at a national level, he is the board chair of Integrated Schools and serves on the board of Partnership for America’s Children, Balance our Tax Code Coalition, and several other progressive organizations.

Dr. Blanford holds a Bachelors’ degree in Social Justice from Antioch University, a Masters in Public Policy from the Evans School of Governance and Public Policy and a Doctorate from the College of Education at the University of Washington.