About Us

Centering and Elevating Parent Voice in National Child Care Policy

The CLASP Child Care and Early Education Policy Fellowship for Parents program is designed to center and elevate the lived experiences of parents in the national child care policy space and integrate this expertise with the work of CLASP’s Child Care and Early Education team. This fellowship brings together parent advocates to inform, shape, and advance more equitable child care and early education policies by training fellows across CLASP’s issue areas and supporting their engagement with policymaking and advocacy at the state and federal level.

What the Fellowship Does

Through this fellowship, CLASP aims to:

• Build fellows’ knowledge of federal and state-level CCEE policy.
• Recognize and elevate parents’ lived expertise through active participation in advocacy and policy work.
• Provide professional development in lobbying, public speaking, writing, data analysis, and other areas.
• Foster deeper relationships between CLASP staff and parent leaders to strengthen future policy work.

And fellows will engage in:

• Networking opportunities with CLASP staff, mentors, and national policymakers.
• Contributing directly to federal and state advocacy efforts.
• Creating a personalized work portfolio and capstone project published by CLASP.

2026-2027 Fellowship Cohort

We are excited to share that the 2026-2027 cohort will start this fall. Stay tuned for future updates here!

2025-2026 Fellowship Cohort

In September 2025, we welcomed our first cohort of parent fellows.

Systemic Parent Engagement: From Listening to Leadership By Alecia Murray This brief explores why systemic parent engagement is essential, how gaps at the federal level impact families locally, and why solutions like a state-level Parent Cabinet could transform how policy is shaped. This transformation is needed, because when parents move from being heard to having influence, systems do not just improve—they become more equitable, responsive, and effective. Read the full brief

The Individualized Education Program Journey: For the Love of a Child: Parental Advocacy in an Underfunded System By Lily Ana Marquez This brief discusses how underinvestment in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act undermines the implementation of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and requires parents to be the primary advocates for their children. Her report offers an IEP roadmap example for parents starting the process and highlights why stronger investment and meaningful parent-school partnerships are essential to improving outcomes for children with disabilities. Read the full brief

Alecia Murray

Alecia is a parent advocate, wife, and proud mother of four — including her talented daughter, 30, and three energetic sons, ages 13, 11, and 9. Alecia’s advocacy journey began through her own experiences as a parent, which inspired her to speak up and ensure that families are truly seen, heard, and valued in the decisions that shape their lives. Based in Lima, Ohio, Alecia has spent nearly a decade championing early childhood education, health equity, and parent leadership at both the state and national levels. She has served as president of her local Head Start Policy Council, board member of the Ohio Head Start Association Inc., and a fellow with Groundwork Ohio.

Alecia is also a co-founder of the Ohio Parent Advocacy Network Alumni Group, an initiative she helped launch alongside a group of parent leaders and her mentor to elevate parent voices and strengthen family leadership across the state. In addition, she serves as a committee co-chair with the United Parent Leaders Action Network, leading parents nationally in advocacy and systems change. Nationally, Alecia contributes to the Family Math Parent Advisory Council with the National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement. Through this work, she helps create innovative strategies and resources that empower parents, teachers, and administrators to support children’s learning through everyday math experiences, connecting learning, play, and daily life while bridging families, schools, and communities.

Learn more about Alecia here.

Lily Ana Marquez

Lily Ana Marquez is an advocate for equity in education, child care, and economic justice. She was born and raised in Oakland, California. Lily has been a steadfast champion for affordable, accessible child care and early education. Her advocacy journey began after she left the workforce due to the lack of child care for her two children, Mia (8) and Jeremiah (10). Her oldest child’s special needs and Individualized Education Program deepened her commitment to ensuring that all children, especially those with unique needs, receive equitable support and opportunities to thrive. Guided by the values of humanity, equity, justice, and compassion, Lily believes policies should truly reflect the people they serve and emphasizes the importance of including those with lived experience in shaping solutions to the challenges that affect them. By centering the voices of impacted communities and key stakeholders, she strives to ensure that everyone has the resources, support, and opportunities they need to thrive.

Lily has been a parent leader with Parent Voices of California since 2018, and is also a parent leader with United Parent Leaders in Action Network at the federal level, representing parents and bringing her perspective as a parent and child care advocate in the early care and education space. She hopes to work with others across different states to make sure all families have equal access and that systems change to reflect the needs of the communities and are just, fair, diverse, and inclusive. Lily currently serves as a program manager at a Bay Area nonprofit that works to dismantle poverty, where she uplifts community voices to shape programs, funding, and solutions grounded in lived experience.

Learn more about Lily here.

2026-2027 Parent Advisory Committee Members

The Parent Advisory Committee provides mentorship to the fellows and collaborates on program improvement and evaluation for future cohorts. For the 2026-2027 cohort, previous fellows, Alecia Murray and Lily Marquez, will serve as the Parent Advisory Committee.

2025-2026 Parent Advisory Committee Members

The inaugural Parent Advisory Committee was made up of five experienced parent leaders from across the country. Members were:

• Based in New York, Toyin Anderson is a parent leader who is currently on the Parent Engagement Collaborative Action Network team. She is also a board member of both Prevent Child Abuse New York (PCANY) and The Children’s Agenda; a Governing Council member for the United Parent Leaders Action Network (UPLAN); and a Parent Advisory Council member for National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement (NAFSCE)’s Family Math.
• Based in Michigan, Fredericka Brown serves as a parent leader with UPLAN and the Director of Early Childhood Education for Parents for Healthy Homes in Kent County, Michigan.
• Based in Washington, Sonja Lennox is the Program Director for the Washington State Parent Ambassadors program and has been advocating for Early Learning issues for over 15 years. She is also a parent leader with UPLAN.
• Based in California, Julia Sosa is a passionate advocate for educational and racial equity through her work with the Parent Institute for Quality Education and a founding parent leader of UPLAN, where she serves on its Governing Council and policy committee. Julia also participates in the Parent and Family Leaders Council of NAFSCE and collaborates with Parent Engagement Advisory for Public Schools Los Angeles and Great Public Schools Now.
• Based in New York, Sara Morrison serves as Senior Parent Leader for Choice for All and is also a co-chair of the Parent Action Council of Choice for All and a member of the Board of the Child Care Council of Nassau County. She also sits on the Board of PCANY and is involved with UPLAN.