October 2018 – GRACE (Gather, Respect, Advocate, Change, Engage) CEO Conway Collis announced the appointment of Jackie Thu-Huong Wong as the Vice President of Policy and Advocacy. GRACE is a ministry of the Daughters of Charity and the sponsor of California’s Lifting Children and Families Out of Poverty Act, which was signed into law in October of 2017. The ministry is dedicated to ending child poverty through legislation, research, partnerships, education and advocacy in California, the state with the highest rate of child poverty in the country, equating to 20.6 percent, almost two million children, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Ms. Wong was selected, after an extensive recruitment by The Hawkins Company, from amongst 20 candidates.
In her new appointment, Ms. Wong will be instrumental in the implementation of a comprehensive plan and strategy to reduce overall child poverty in California. Hailing from positions in the California Department of Education, the National Center for Youth Law, and currently the Vice President of the Washington Unified School Board, Ms. Wong brings a vast amount of knowledge to the organization and will certainly apply her expertise to the program.
“Ms. Wong brings the perfect combination of knowledge, experience and commitment to GRACE’s mission to develop and implement solutions to end California’s tragic status as the nation’s leader in child and family poverty. The state’s Lifting Children and Families Out of Poverty Task Force recommendations are being issued on November 1, and Ms. Wong will be the field marshal of our efforts to ensure these recommendations spur powerful legislation in Sacramento,” said Mr. Ellis, who will also serve as the Task Force’s Co-Chair.
Ms. Wong said, “I believe we can end child poverty within our lifetime and am honored to join GRACE in achieving this mission. I look forward to jumping right in to make sure the Task Force’s work continues its forward momentum to create an anti-poverty movement that can drive change in Sacramento.”
The Hawkins Company wishes to congratulate Ms. Wong on her new appointment.