Advocacy Day 2026

Joel is the Executive Director of the Washington State Association of Head Start and ECEAP (WSA).  Joel’s is committed to making sure all children live up to their fullest potential. He is also passionate about ensuring that parents have a voice in policy making and key tables. He’s most proud of his work advocating for Head Start and ECEAP funding and improving the child care subsidy system so that it’s easier to access and more affordable for parents. Previously, Joel was the government affairs director at the National Head Start Association and spent a year teaching in a Head Start classroom as an AmeriCorps member. His reading of Cat in the Hat is still famous and he received loud cheers from 3 and 4 year olds in attendance. Joel is married and has a 13 year old that is a lot of fun and energetic. Because his daughter is doing school at home Joel is serving as a school custodian, librarian, and cafeteria worker. His daughter would also like to remind everyone that he cannot make raviolis correctly as he overcooks them and they fall apart. When he’s not working he’s typically outside running, playing basketball, coaching, or watching his beloved Boston sports teams (yes you can boo!). He’s also proud to serve on his daughter’s middle school PTSA, the Family Treatment Court of King County, and the Governor’s Serve Washington Commission. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Brandeis University and a law degree from American University.

I grew up in Wenatchee (with lots of summer time in Chelan) and upon graduation, chose the college that accepted me that was geographically farthest from Central WA, even though my family is awesome. Needed a little breather. Imagine growing up where your father is the local judge and your family has lived there since 1910. Yeah, not a lot of privacy.

After college I worked in DC for 4 years as legislative assistant and Press Secretary for Rep. Sid Morrison, (R, Zillah) and then went travelling off to central and South America for a while. I have worked as a cafeteria dishwasher, a public engagement consultant, an insurance adjuster assistant, a database developer for a weatherization program, a part-time interpreter, a waitress in a pancake house, a census taker, a focus group facilitator, an English as a Second Language teacher in Vietnam, a bookkeeper back when we wrote things on ledgers, a title company clerk, and a Spanish drill instructor. I love to travel and have been to 34 countries and have lived in Mexico, Spain and Vietnam. Now I try to make the world a better place for children and families by hassling elected officials and bureaucrats. I write children’s books for my niece Eliza, who is also the person upon whom I experiment with all the CLASS instructional support strategies I learn while walking through trainings.

I grew up in California and completed my undergraduate studies at California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, where I earned my Bachelor of Science in Child Development and minors in psychology and oddly enough, religious studies! During my time in college I worked as a Preschool Teacher and as an Bilingual Adminstrative Specialist at a nonprofit community counseling center. 

Soon after I graduated I moved to Seattle to complete my Master’s in Education Policy. I always knew I wanted to be involved in early learning spaces, but still felt a little lost so I participated in the Pathwaves WA Fellowship program for leaders of color entering the early learning field in WA. 

Through my fellowship I got matched with WSA and got hired on after my fellowship.

I am a strong believer in the power of parents and teachers and my passion comes directly from the communities I get the privledge to share space with.

During my free time I like to watch Love is Blind and Vanderpump Rules #TeamAriana