The Alliance for Early Success (the Alliance) announced today Nisha G. Patel has joined the organization’s Board of Directors. Patel is a well-known national voice on social and economic mobility and philanthropy in the United States and will bring her deep expertise in supporting thriving families to the organization’s governance.
Patel’s independent consulting practice, Powered by Shakti, draws on her more than two decades of cross-sector experience leading and implementing initiatives to increase economic opportunities for families with low income. She is a senior fellow at the Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis, and she previously served as executive director of the U.S. Partnership on Mobility from Poverty at the Urban Institute.
Patel also served as the director of the Office of Family Assistance within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, overseeing a $17 billion annual portfolio of federal grants that foster family economic security, including the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Additional past roles include deputy director and part of the founding team of Ascend at the Aspen Institute and program officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where she managed a portfolio focused on community partnerships and policy development.
“With her strong track record of innovation and leadership in philanthropy and policy, Nisha will be a tremendous addition to our board,” said Michael Laracy, chair of the Alliance’s Board of Directors. “She knows what families need to reach their full potential, and—most important for us—she knows how organizations at the highest level can support that.”
The Alliance for Early Success is a 50-state early-childhood advocacy nonprofit that provides connections, expertise, responsive support, and targeted investments to accelerate and amplify advocates’ effectiveness in achieving state actions necessary for each and every young child to thrive. More information about the Alliance can be found at www.earlysuccess.org.
