Contact: Sarah Haight
Program Associate
Ascend
The Aspen Institute
202-736-2928 | sarah.haight@aspeninstitute.org
Original Report and New Fellowship Program Promote “Two-Generation” Strategy
Washington, DC, February 15, 2012 –– Today the Aspen Institute’s Ascend program released a report announcing a two-generation approach that targets education for both children and their parents, to help families achieve economic security.
The new report, “Two Generations, One Future,” makes the case for focusing on simultaneous educational opportunities for parents and their children as a promising way to move families beyond poverty.
“A two-generation approach can be a game-changer for families with low incomes, especially those young families who have been hurt dramatically by the recent recession,” said Anne Mosle, Ascend executive director. “We are seeing promising results from programs and policies around the country that promote education and skills for parents and provide quality early-learning opportunities for their children.”
The Institute also announced that its Ascend Fellowship will go to an inaugural class of 20 leaders from around the country who are pioneering two-generation approaches in government, philanthropy, research, educational institutions, nonprofit work, media and the private sector.
Mosle cited the Jeremiah Program in St. Paul, Minn., and the Community Action Project’s CareerAdvance™ program in Tulsa, Okla., as examples of the two-generation approach. The Ascend Fellows, she said, are “on the cutting edge of this innovative work in their communities, their research, and the policies they have put in place.”
Ascend was launched in 2011 with support from national foundations and women philanthropists. It is a hub for programs, policies, systems, and research using the two-generation approach, and builds partnerships around breakthrough ideas and proven strategies to move parents and children—two generations—beyond poverty together. Educational success is central to its work.
The full list of Ascend Fellows:
Ms. Katie Albright
San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center, Executive Director
Ms. Cara Aley
American MoJo, President and COO
Mr. Reggie Bicha
Colorado Department of Human Services, Executive Director
Ms. Mia Birdsong
Family Independence Initiative, Vice President
Dr. P. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale
Northwestern University, School of Education and Social Policy, Institute for Policy Research, Professor of Human Development & Social Policy and IPR Faculty Fellow
Ms. Karla Davis
Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Commissioner
Mr. Steven Dow
Community Action Project, Executive Director
Dr. Chris King
University of Texas at Austin, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, Ray Marshall Center, Director
Ms. Andrea Levere
CFED, President
Mr. Steve Liss
AmericanPoverty.org, Photographer
Dr. Meera Mani
The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Children, Families and Communities Program, Director
Dr. C. Nicole Mason
NYU Wagner Women of Color Policy Network, Executive Director, Assistant Research Professor
Ms. Margaret McKenna
Lesley University, President Emeritus and Professor of Leadership
Mr. Wes Moore
Author, Host, Youth Advocate
Reverend Vivian Nixon
College & Community Fellowship, Executive Director
Dr. Eduardo Padrón
Miami Dade College, President
Ms. Gloria Perez
Jeremiah Program, President and CEO
Dr. Mario Small
University of Chicago, Chair and Professor of Sociology
Mr. Henry Wilde
Acelero Learning, Senior Vice President of Operations
Dr. Richard Wylie
Endicott College, President
NOTE: You can keep up with Ascend on Twitter through the @AspenInstitute account and the two-generation hash tag #2gen.
The Aspen Institute Ascend program is a hub for breakthrough ideas and proven strategies that more parents, especially women, and their children beyond poverty towards educational success and economic security. For more information, please visit www.aspeninstitute.org/policy-work/ascend.
###