The Children’s Alliance of New Hampshire is pleased to welcome Erika Argersinger as its new full-time Public Policy Director.  Erika has worked for more than 15 years to advance the interests of children at the local, state, and federal levels. Erika moved to Plainfield, New Hampshire with her husband a year ago and will join the Alliance on
June 7.

Most recently, Erika was the Policy Director for the Washington, DC based Afterschool Alliance. Before championing afterschool programming, Erika worked to advance early education as the Associate Director of Government Affairs for the National Head Start Association in DC and as the Research and Policy Associate for Associated Early Care and Education, Inc. in Boston, among other programs.  Erika noted, “I believe education, including early education and afterschool programs, is critical to breaking the cycle of poverty and this belief has guided all of my policy work.”  Erika received her undergraduate degree in political science from American University and her master’s degree in Applied Child Development and Public Policy from Tufts University.

Erika’s public policy work will focus primarily on the Children’s Alliance’s poverty reduction initiative.  In January, the Alliance joined the New England Consortium, a six-state collaborative of child research and policy organizations that strives to create and implement a common set of priorities to reduce poverty in our individual states as well as the New England region. The New England Consortium members chose to concentrate on poverty reduction because research shows that poverty is the most determining life circumstance for children and affects every other indicator of child well being.

Erika will also team with the soon-to-be-hired Outreach and Advocacy Consultant for the NH Child Advocacy Network (NH CAN) on policy issues as well as other Children’s Alliance initiatives.