Governor Stein Announces Members of Task Force for Child Care and Early Education

NORTH CAROLINA, March 14 - On Monday, Governor Josh Stein announced the new North Carolina Task Force on Child Care and Early Education. The task force seeks to identify solutions to expand access to affordable, high-quality child care and early education across North Carolina and to support and grow the child care workforce.  

“Access to high-quality child care ensures that North Carolina’s children can learn and thrive during their formative years, which shapes their educational trajectory,” said Governor Josh Stein. “Child care should be affordable and accessible. I am proud to bring together providers, legislators, business leaders, parents, community partners, and industry experts to figure out how we can best support North Carolina’s parents, early childhood educators, and the economy.”

Click here for a fact sheet on Governor Stein’s task force.

This week, Governor Stein highlighted gaps in North Carolina’s child care system during his first State of the State address. In North Carolina, there is only 1 child care spot for every 5 families who want one. Child care is also difficult to afford for many families in the state, with four in five families paying more than the recommended 7% of their income for infant care. Furthermore, the poverty rate for early childhood educators is 17.6% higher than the average of all NC workers, contributing to a shortage in the child care workforce.

Governor Stein remains committed to ensuring that North Carolina’s children are able to learn and thrive in safe, nurturing, and supportive child care and early education settings. These investments will also support parents and employers by reducing the number of people who are pushed out of the workforce due to lack of child care.

The members of the task force are as follows:

• Lieutenant Governor Rachel Hunt (co-chair)
• Senator Jim Burgin (co-chair)
• Senator Jay Chaudhuri
• Senator Ralph Hise 
• Representative Sarah Crawford
• Representative David Willis, Owner & Operator of Kiddie Academy
• Mary Elizabeth Wilson, Chief of Staff and General Counsel, North Carolina Department of Commerce 
• Candace Witherspoon, Division Director, Division of Child Development and Early Education, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services 
• Noelle Talley, Deputy Secretary for Advocacy, North Carolina Department of Administration 
• Amar Majmundar, Policy Director, North Carolina Office of State Human Resources 
• Amy Rhyne, Senior Director, Office of Early Learning, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction 
• Dr. Mary Olvera, State Director of Teacher Education, Public Services, and Perkin Special Populations, North Carolina Community College System Offices
• Rhonda Rivers, North Carolina Child Care Commission Chair; President of the Executive Board, North Carolina Early Education Coalition; Managing Partner/Co-owner of LeafSpring Schools of North Carolina
• Gary Salamido, President and Chief Executive Officer, NC Chamber 
• Amy Cubbage, President, North Carolina Partnership for Children
• Lori Jones-Ruff, Interim Executive Director, Southwestern Child Development Commission, Inc.
• Dan Rockaway, President, NC Licensed Child Care Association; Co-Founder and Owner of Sounds and Colors Child Care Centers
• Ellen Pancoast, Vice President People Operations, Cone Health 
• Michelle Logan, Vice President General Manager, Drug Product North America, Thermo Fisher
• Ashton Clemmons, Associate Vice President, P12 Strategy and Policy, University of North Carolina System
• Beth Messersmith, NC Senior Director, MomsRising; North Carolina Child Care Commission member; parent who has navigated the child care system
• Erica Palmer Smith, Executive Director, NC Child
• Theresa Roedershimer, Executive Director, North Carolina Early Childhood Foundation 
• Meka Sales, Director, Special Initiatives, The Duke Endowment; Co-Chair, Invest Early, NC
• Susan Gale Perry, Chief Executive Officer, Child Care Aware of America

Read below for coverage of the announcement: