The Alliance for Early Success announced today that it has named team members Albert Wat and Stinson Liles to newly created Deputy Director roles. The new roles are part of the Alliance‘s implementation of a new distributed leadership structure that will allow it to meet the growing and changing demand for the support it provides to state early childhood policy advocates.
As Deputy Director of Advocacy and Impact, Wat will lead the development and implementation of the Alliance’s grantmaking strategy, policies, and practices. The Alliance invests in state policy advocacy organizations in all 50 states, funds a network of policy experts who provide states with responsive support, and connects state early childhood policy advocates across the country with each other in ways that accelerate their advocacy. Reporting to the Executive Director, Wat will lead the execution and evolution of these workstreams at the Alliance. He formerly held the role of Senior Policy Director, and he has been at the Alliance since 2015.
Liles, formerly the Alliance’s Director of Communications, now serves as Deputy Director of Communications and Strategy. Reporting to the Executive Director, Liles will continue to lead the organization’s communications and brand development, and he will advance new strategic initiatives that help the Alliance grow and evolve. He joined the Alliance in 2019.
Wat and Liles join the Alliance’s Courtney Lee at the Deputy Director level of leadership. Lee joined the organization in 2024 as Deputy Director of Staff, Equity, and Culture.
“As the Alliance celebrates 20 years of growth and impact at the state policy level, we are making changes to sustain our work for the next 20 years,” says Helene Stebbins, the Alliance’s Executive Director. “These new roles are important milestones in how we grow and strengthen our leadership for the work ahead.”
