PHOTO DIARY

As the director of Children's Institute, a nonprofit organization, I work to make sure all children, birth to age five, receive a high-quality early education so they have the best chance of starting school prepared. The Children's Institute has a seven-person staff and a board of directors that work together to persuade elected officials and other decision-makers to increase funding for high-quality early care and education, particularly for children living in poverty.

I start my day by checking email for important messages from board members, funders and others. Then I walk for an hour by the river near where I live. It gives me time to think in a relaxed environment about my day and what needs to be accomplished. Before leaving for the office, I scan the news to see what, if anything, is happening in Congress or in the Oregon Legislature pertaining to early childhood development and education. My workday officially begins when I arrive at my office in downtown Portland. I spend much of my day in meetings with staff, donors, board members and partners in government, business and other nonprofits. When the Legislature is in session, I often go to the state Capitol in Salem to talk with legislators about why investments in high-quality early education are so critical, and I sometimes testify before legislative committees. On top of that, I spend a lot of time emailing and on the phone. I also spend part of each day reviewing documents, usually grant proposals, policy documents or research publications that my organization produces. I give feedback to staff, sometimes suggesting revisions to their early work. We do a lot of writing and rewriting in our office.

I am a strong believer in the power of education to change lives. It is the one tangible way people can change their life circumstances and have more control over their destiny. Having parents from India and being exposed to extreme poverty as a young kid made me passionate about creating greater equity and opportunity for people across the globe. I earned my undergraduate degree in communications from UCLA, where I had my first opportunity to become involved in policy development by running for student government and serving as the academic affairs commissioner. This work gave me valuable leadership training and work experience early in life. Right after college, I learned how Congress works while serving as an intern on Capitol Hill. Then I went to work at my first real job-a nonprofit advocacy organization focused on hunger issues. While I liked some aspects of the job, I felt that the organization wasn't as well managed and strategic as it could be. So I decided to learn how to run an organization. I applied and was accepted to the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. That's when I met lots of other students who shared my passion for public and community service. After receiving my Master's in Public Administration, I got a job at a children's policy and advocacy organization called Children Now in California. There I discovered my lasting passion. I learned that education alone wasn't enough; kids must also have food, housing and a stable home environment. A few years later my husband and I moved to Portland where I joined the staff of Children First for Oregon, then worked as a consultant for a few years. After a while, I learned that a local businessman and philanthropist who I met when I first came to Oregon was starting a new organization to create systemic change for at-risk children. I was invited to join the team and help build the organization. With only two staff members, we had to cover all tasks big and small. About a year and a half later the head of the organization left, and I applied for the executive director position. Learning to lead an organization was a lot like riding a bike. I had to learn a lot by doing.

The opportunity to make sure more children reap the benefits of a high-quality early education-one of the few strategies proven to change lives and create greater equality and opportunity-and a chance to be a leader on an issue that receives far too little attention. Also, I feel very lucky to work with a great group of people.

I haven't had much time to think about it. It's been a pretty action-packed four years as executive director, but I think I would like to work internationally on children's issues. All my work so far has focused on U.S. children, and the needs of children in developing countries are even greater.