Young children thrive in nurturing families and supportive communities.
Early Opportunities was founded by Joan Lombardi, PhD. in 2011, as an advisory service to philanthropy both internationally and in the United States. Its focus is on young children, families, and the communities that support them. Over the years Joan has provided advisement to a number of foundations and international organizations. Currently she serves as the advisor to the Global Education Fund of the Bainum Family Foundation.
In 2022, Joan launched the Early Opportunities Initiative aimed at raising awareness about the importance of nurturing care and on highlighting the impact of emergencies on young children and families—from conflict to climate change— along with the community solutions to prevent and address them. The Initiative includes blogs, micro grants, and mentoring and support for leaders in the field, along with resource-sharing. It is built on the strong belief that every person can make a difference and that hope springs from action.
In addition, Joan is a Visiting Scholar at the Stanford Center on Early Childhood, Graduate School of Education, Stanford University and a Senior Fellow at the Collaborative on Global Children’s Issues, Georgetown University. She also serves on the governing board of the National Black Child Development Institute, the governing board of the Global Fund for Children, the Executive Leadership Council of the global Early Childhood Development Action Network, and is the Co-Chair of the Research Forum on Early Childhood in Emergencies, in collaboration with the Moving Minds Alliance.
Over the past 50 years Joan has made significant contributions in the areas of child and family policy as an innovative leader. She’s served as a policy advisor to national and international organizations, as well as making contributions as a public servant. She was the founding Chair of the Birth to Five Policy Alliance, now the Alliance for Early Success. In 2004, Joan founded Global Leaders for Young Children with the World Forum Foundation. Since that time the program has supported leadership development and mentoring to hundreds of people around the world dedicated to improving the lives of young children and families. She is the author of Time to Care: Redesigning Child Care to Promote Education, Support Families and Build Communities and co-editor of Beacon of Hope: The Promise of Early Head Start for America’s Youngest Children. Joan served as the first Deputy Assistant Secretary for Early Childhood during the Obama Administration and the first Director of the Child Care Bureau during the Clinton Administration.
Joan Lombardi recently served as the moderator of the event titled The Implications of Climate Change: How we can support young children’s healthy development, sponsored by Too Small to Fail, at the Clinton Global Initiative, on September 20, 2022.
In October 2023, Joan spoke to Early Learning Nation during the National Black Child Development Institute Conference.