Joan Lombardi
The Thrive Center for Child, Families and Communities
Collaborative on Global Children's Issues
Joan Lombardi is a senior scholar and Adjunct Professor at the Thrive Center for Child, Families and Communities and a co-founder and senior fellow with the Collaborative on Global Children's Issues at Georgetown University. Over the past 50 years, Joan has made significant contributions in the areas of child and family policy as an innovative leader and policy advisor to national and international organizations and foundations and as a public servant.
- Advises philanthropy, public agencies, and others on domestic and global issues facing young children, families, and communities.
- Senior Advisor and Adjunct Professor, Stanford Center on Early Childhood.
- Co-chairs the Research Forum on Young Children in Emergencies sponsored by the Moving Minds Alliance.
- Serves on the Executive Leadership Council of the global Early Childhood Development Action Network (ECDAN) and Chairs the Policy and Advocacy Group, and co-chairs the working group on climate change.
- Served as the first deputy assistant secretary for early childhood during the Obama administration and the first director of the Child Care Bureau during the Clinton administration.
- Coauthored Towards a Greener and Cleaner Future: Adopting A Two Generation Approach to Early Childhood and the Environment.
- Co-authored A Global Call for 2 Generation Approaches to Child Development and Caregiver Livelihoods.
- Authored the commentary From Program to Place: A Community Systems Approach to Supporting Young Children and Families.
Participating in:
November 19, 2024
News: The Cost of Not Investing in the Next 1000 Days: Implications for Policy and Practice
Joan Lombardi, a senior fellow at the Georgetown University Collaborative on Global Children's Issues, co-wrote this paper evaluating the costs and benefits of key strategies to support children's development between the ages of 2 and 5.
This paper…
November 8, 2024
News: The Power of Community Connection for Climate Action
Joan Lombardi, senior fellow at the Collaborative on Global Children's Issues, co-wrote this blog post highlighting the importance of creating spaces for intergenerational conversations to inspire climate action and create collaborative solutions.
October 10, 2024
News: Toward a Greener and Cleaner Future: Adopting a Two-Generation Strategy for Early Childhood Development and the Environment
Joan Lombardi, senior fellow at the Collaborative for Global Children's Issues, co-authored a blog article on two-generation approaches to early childhood development and the environment.
October 10, 2024
News: More Attention and Actions Are Needed to Protect Young Children During Periods of Extreme Heat
Senior fellow Joan Lombardi co-authored a blog article on the importance of addressing the heightened risks of extreme heat for young children and families.
September 4, 2024
News: Advancing Community Solutions: Introducing ECX
June 3, 2024
News: A Global Call for Two-Generation Approaches to Child Development and Caregivers' Livelihoods
Joan Lombardi, senior fellow at the Collaborative for Global Children's Issues, co-authored a Child Development Perspectives article on Two-Generation approaches to Child Development and Caregivers' Livelihoods.
February 8, 2024
News: An Interview with Joan Lombardi, Senior Fellow with the Collaborative on Global Children’s Issues
In this interview, Joan Lombardi, senior fellow at the Collaborative on Global Children’s Issues, discusses her more than 50 years of experience working in the areas of child and family policy and what drives her dedication to improving the lives of…
May 1, 2023
News: Unfolding Opportunity: Advancing Childcare to Support Children, Families, and Societies
Joan Lombardi, senior fellow at the Collaborative for Global Children's Issues, co-authored a supplement article for Pediatrics that provides recommendations for expanding access to childcare services and improving quality.
July 28, 2022
News: Statelessness and Young Children
Joan Lombardi, senior fellow at the Collaborative on Global Children's Issues, co-wrote a new publication for Statelessness and Citizenship Review on unrecorded births and the issue of statelessness.
June 3, 2022
News: Safeguarding the Future Generation
Emily Prest (G’23) and Joan Lombardi, student fellow and senior fellow at the Collaborative on Global Children’s Issues, write about the unique effect that climate change has on children around the world.
September 10, 2014
News: Caregiver Behavior Change for Child Survival and Development in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: An Examination of the Evidence
In the Journal of Health Communication, the Collaborative for Global Children's Issues' Gillian Huebner and Joan Lombardi co-wrote this article examining effective behavior change interventions that target caregivers to enhance child survival and…
March 19, 2024
Young Children in Humanitarian and COVID-19 Crises Event
The long-term consequences of COVID-19 have been tough for children around the world, but even more so for young children already in humanitarian crises, whether due to conflict, natural disasters, or economic and political upheaval. Young Children…
January 24, 2023
Education in Emergencies: A Global Call for 222 Million Children Event
Education Cannot Wait, the UN’s Global Fund for Education in Emergencies, will hold its multiyear High-Level Financing Conference February 16 and 17, 2023, in Geneva. This is a crucial opportunity for the United States to commit to financing quality…
November 18, 2021
Family-Friendly Policies for Workers in the Informal Economy Event
Q&A with Joan Lombardi, Senior Fellow at the Collaborative on Global Children’s Issues at Georgetown University Feature
What inspires your work on behalf of children, families, and communities?
Every child born in the world comes with so much potential—it still amazes me. This reality inspires me to make sure that every child, no matter where they are born, has the…
Collaborative Student Fellows Program Inspires Work to Protect Future Generations from Climate Change Feature
Prest arrived at Georgetown as a graduate student in fall 2021 hoping to expand on the environmental justice work she had been involved with as an intern with the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. As part of the…
Georgetown Launches Collaborative on Global Children’s Issues to Advance Research, Solutions Feature
Georgetown University President John J. DeGioia will highlight the creation of the collaborative as part of his opening remarks at a September 21 virtual convening hosted by the Vatican COVID-19 Commission on "Prepare The Future: Converting Covid-19…
September 26, 2024
Securing the Foundation: Ushering in a New Era of Opportunity to Support Young Children, Families, and Communities Publication
Published by Nurture Connection, Collaborative senior fellow Joan Lombardi highlights the urgency with which the United States must build systems of care for young children and their families by investing in health, education, and community and…
June 3, 2024
A Global Call for Two- Generation Approaches to Child Development and Caregivers' Livelihoods Publication
Published by Child Development Perspectives, this article co-authored by Joan Lombardi, senior fellow at the Collaborative for Global Children's Issues, identifies five models in different geographic regions of the world that promote the development…
May 1, 2023
Unfolding Opportunity: Advancing Childcare to Support Children, Families, and Societies Publication
Published by Pediatrics, this supplement article co-authored by Joan Lombardi, senior fellow at the Collaborative for Global Children's Issues, provides recommendations for expanding access to childcare services and improving quality.
November 17, 2022
Action Needed to Protect the Environment for Young Children Now and for the Future Generations Publication
Published by the Africa Early Childhood Network, this brief—written by Dr. Joan Lombardi, senior fellow at the Collaborative for Global Children's Issues, Alicia Lutomia, founder of Graca Mahel Trust, and Emily Prest, spring 2022 student fellow at…
November 17, 2022
Urgency, Hope, and the Intersection of Climate, Environment, and Young Children Publication
Published by the Aspen Institute's This Is Planet ED, this article by Joan Lombardi, senior fellow at the Collaborative for Global Children's Issues, highlights the vulnerabilities as well as the importance of young children, and calls for stepped…
June 16, 2022
Youth Action on Climate and Their Future Publication
This Global Fund for Children blog post—written by Emily Prest, spring 2022 Collaborative on Global Children's Issues student fellow, in collaboration with Dr. Joan Lombardi, senior fellow at the collaborative—highlights global leadership efforts…
June 3, 2022
Safeguarding the Future Generation Publication
This article—written by Emily Prest, spring 2022 Collaborative for Global Children's Issues student fellow, in collaboration with Dr. Joan Lombardi, senior fellow at the collaborative, for the Earth Commons' publication Common Home—emphasizes the…
Center for Child and Human Development Georgetown Unit
The Center for Child and Human Development is a research, training, and community outreach center in the Department of Pediatrics that works to improve the quality of life for children and youth.
Georgetown University Medical Center Georgetown Unit
Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) is an internationally recognized academic medical center focused on research, teaching, and patient care.
Young Children in Humanitarian and COVID-19 Crises Video
The long-term consequences of COVID-19 have been tough for children around the world, but even more so for young children already in humanitarian crises, whether due to conflict, natural disasters, or economic and political upheaval. Young Children…
Introducing the Georgetown University Collaborative on Global Children's Issues Video
Georgetown University launched the Collaborative on Global Children's Issues in 2021 to foster cross-disciplinary research and dialogue on critical and emerging challenges affecting children around the world, with a particular focus on children in…