Jumpstart for Young Children, also known as Jumpstart, announced this month that Dorchester’s Kate Warren Barnes has joined the organization’s leadership team as vice president of Policy and Government Relations. On July 6, Warren Barnes started leading the team’s policy and advocacy initiatives, which are focused on ensuring that high-quality early education, taught by effective and well-compensated educators, is available to all.  

“I’m proud to join Jumpstart and work toward its mission to disrupt structural injustice and create a future that allows children and families to reach their full potential,” said Warren Barnes. “Now that the pandemic federal public health emergency has come to an end, it’s more important than ever to assess opportunities for progress to strengthen and even reimagine the policies, and funding we need to best support young children, families, and early educators.” 

In her new position, she will spearhead Jumpstart’s policy advocacy activities at the federal, state, and local levels through direct lobbying of elected officials and executive branch agencies.

Most recently, Warren Barnes served as the director of Government Affairs at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Prior to that, she served in policy and government affairs roles at Boston Children’s Hospital, the National Association of Social Workers, Massachusetts Chapter, and Harbor Health, which operates a network of community health centers and a robust woman infant and children (WIC) nutrition program.

She also serves as an adjunct professor at Boston University’s Graduate School of Social Work and is a doctoral student at the Sacred Heart University School of Social Work.