Joan Lombardi

Dr. Joan Lombardi is the Director of Early Opportunities, LLC and currently serves as Senior Advisor to the Buffett Early Childhood Fund and the Bernard van Leer Foundation.

Over the past 40 years, Dr. Lombardi has made significant contributions in the areas of child and family policy as an innovative leader and policy advisor to national and international organizations and foundations. She served in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Early Childhood Development in the Obama Administration. She served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and External Affairs in Administration for Children and Families and Commissioner of the Child Care Bureau during the Clinton Administration.

She was also the founding chair of the Birth to Five Policy Alliance (now the Alliance for Early Success) and the founder of Global Leaders for Young Children. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Save the Children and the Board of Directors for the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning.