Advancing Child Well-Being: Introducing Jordan Posamentier, Senior Manager of Policy & Advocacy | By: Kelly Doscher UPDATE November 7, 2018: We’re pleased to share that Jordan has accepted the role of Director of Policy and Advocacy here at Committee for Children. Check out all of the work he and his team are doing on our Policy & Advocacy pages, including our email alert system designed to inform people about issues we’re supporting in their state. Our commitment to foster the well-being of children began nearly forty years ago in a grassroots effort to help kids in need. Now, fueled by our mission and our priorities, we work with lawmakers around the country to improve state and federal laws and support improvements that will advance positive change for children. As we head into 2018, we’re pleased to introduce you to the newest addition to our Policy & Advocacy team and share our plans for growing our reach and making a difference in children’s lives. Our Newest Champion Jordan Posamentier recently joined Committee for Children as our Senior Manager of Policy & Advocacy. Prior to that, Jordan was a policy director, a director of legislative analysis, legislative counsel, and a public school teacher in New York City. Needless to say, we’re pleased to have him on our team and spearheading our policy endeavors. (Read Jordan’s full bio.) Looking Forward: Now’s the Time to Design Good Policy With the support of our leadership team, Jordan is developing policies that support the whole child—from social-emotional learning (SEL) to child protection and bullying prevention. Through his efforts, we’ll be able to extend our reach and begin to work with even more lawmakers to improve state and federal laws. As an organization, we’ll be looking into how state and federal policy can better prepare teachers to address SEL in the classroom, include SEL in successful turnaround intervention strategies under ESSA, and how we can influence education policymakers to leverage industry standards into useful legislation. Unless supported by meaningful legislation, education standards are at risk of sitting in a drawer, which is something we’re dedicated not to let happen. We’ll also take steps to bridge the gap between the practitioners who are familiar with and teach our Second Step Program in schools and those who are unfamiliar with our programs and decades-long involvement in policymaking and advocacy for children. With our SEL program being taught in over 20 percent of US elementary and middle schools, we’re proud to be at the table leading the discussion and taking action. 2018 and Beyond It takes a village to create change in our governmental systems, particularly when it comes to policy, advocacy, and funding for school initiatives. Whether you’re an educator, parent or guardian, or policymaker, we welcome your feedback, suggestions, insights, and feet on the ground. Policy is one of several areas we need to address to achieve our vision of safe children thriving in a peaceful world. Thank you for your dedication and support in helping us make this vision a reality. How You Can Help Help us hone our focus in 2018 by responding to the following questions. Q: What issues about social-emotional learning, child protection, or bullying prevention are at the top of your mind? Q: Are you currently working with an organization that supports, uses, or advocates for SEL? If yes, tell us about it! Your Organization's Name Your Role/Title Your Name * Your Email * City * State * [select* list-of-states include_blank "N/A" "Alabama" "Alaska" "Arizona" "Arkansas" "California" "Colorado" "Connecticut" "Delaware" "Florida" "Georgia" "Hawaii" "Idaho" "Illinois" "Indiana" "Iowa" "Kansas" "Kentucky" "Louisiana" "Maine" "Maryland" "Massachusetts" "Michigan" "Minnesota" "Mississippi" "Missouri" "Montana" "Nebraska" "Nevada" "New Hampshire" "New Jersey" "New Mexico" "New York" "North Carolina" "North Dakota" "Ohio" "Oklahoma" "Oregon" "Pennsylvania" "Rhode Island" "South Carolina" "South Dakota" "Tennessee" "Texas" "Utah" "Vermont" "Virginia" "Washington" "West Virginia" "Wisconsin" "Wyoming" id:ac-state] Your Place of Employment Stay Informed!Follow us on Twitter and join the conversation with the hashtag: #SELAdvocacy Jordan’s Bio Jordan Posamentier is the Director of Policy & Advocacy at Committee for Children, the world’s largest provider of research-based educational programs designed to advance social-emotional skills and prevent bullying and sexual abuse. Prior to joining Committee for Children, Jordan was Deputy Policy Director at the University of Washington’s Center on Reinventing Public Education, Director of Legislative Analysis at StudentsFirst, Legislative Counsel to the California Judges Association, and a New York City public school teacher. He is currently licensed to practice law in California and still lectures on education policy at the UW College of Education. Jordan earned his JD from the University of Houston, his MS in education from Queens College (CCNY), and his BA in human ecology from College of the Atlantic. He lives in Shoreline, WA, with his wife and daughter.