Myra Jones-Taylor

Chief Policy Impact Officer, Urban Institute
Washington, District of Columbia

Dr. Myra Jones-Taylor, a 2022 New America National Fellow, is the Chief Policy Officer at ZERO TO THREE, the national leader on infant-toddler policy and program development. There, she leads the development and implementation of the organization’s policy agenda, priorities and strategies; oversees the policy center, which includes federal and state policy and advocacy; and serves as the principal spokesperson for the organization on public policy matters with policymakers, the media, funders and partner organizations. She oversaw the creation of the first of its kind State of Babies Yearbook and the Think Babies campaign. Named a Care 100 Warrior and one of the most influential people in care, Jones-Taylor is a national leader in the movement to redefine care and the role of the care economy in everyday life. In the spring of 2022, Jones-Taylor will join the Urban Institute as their first chief policy impact officer, where she will work with experts and analysts across the organization to help maximize the impact of their research, while also helping tell the story of how their work changes lives and strengthens communities. Prior to her role at ZERO TO THREE Jones-Taylor served as Connecticut’s founding Commissioner of Early Childhood, leading the cabinet-level state agency responsible for early care and education, home visiting, early intervention, and child care licensing in the state, serving all children from birth through age five. During her time as Commissioner, the state agency was awarded $50 million in new, competitive federal grants and expanded access to high-quality preschool to 25 percent more three and four-year-olds.

Stories featuring Myra Jones-Taylor

We are pleased to share Ascend at the Aspen Institute’s newest report – Reimagining Child Welfare and Realizing a Networked Approach to F...
PublicationApril 10, 2023
The COVID-19 pandemic has made more evident than ever the need to transform policies, practice, and systems to build upon the inherent resilience of f...
BlogDecember 9, 2020
Ascend is honored that our Executive Director Anne Mosle has been named to the Holding Co.’s CARE 100 List, a first-of-its-kind list of the people d...
BlogOctober 23, 2020
As state and federal lawmakers prepare for the year ahead, more than 350 practice and community leaders, policymakers, researchers, and philanthropist...
BlogMarch 13, 2019
We are so grateful to all of the people who offered so much wisdom over the course of our two days together for the Aspen Forum on Children and Famili...
BlogFebruary 28, 2019
The opinions expressed in this piece are those of the undersigned members of the 2015 class of Ascend Fellows and don’t necessarily represent the vi...
BlogFebruary 8, 2017