Blog
Announcing: Ascend Welcomes Inaugural Morgridge Communicator in Residence
Contact: Lindsay Broyhill Ascend at the Aspen Institute lindsay.broyhill@aspeninstitute.org Ascend Welcomes Inaugural Morgridge Communicator in Residence Washington, DC – Ascend at The Aspen Institute is thrilled to welcome the inaugural Morgridge Communicator in Residence, Danielle Kristine Toussaint. This strategic role was created in partnership with Morgridge Family Foundation and will amplify the stories, impact, influence, and…
Child Care is Critical to Getting the Economy Moving Again
This interview is part of the Aspen Institute’s In Focus: Equity in Education multimedia series. Like so many states, the COVID-19 pandemic has delivered a blow to South Carolina’s child care infrastructure. According to the Build It Back Better Survey, 62 percent of the state was considered a child care desert when temporary closures due…
New Research Shows Parenting Brain Changes in All Caregivers
Infant and parent brains and bodies undergo rapid growth and transformation during the transition to parenting, presenting a unique opportunity to positively impact two generations. In the 2015 report Two Open Windows: Infant and Parent Biologic Change, Drs. Pilyoung Kim and Sarah Watamura (also an Ascend Fellow) of the University of Denver highlighted research supporting…
RFP Submission Guidelines for the Aspen Policy Acceleration Partnership Grants
Investing in the postsecondary success of students who are parents is one of the most effective strategies for accelerating their economic and social mobility, addressing longstanding inequalities, and building state and local economies. Public sector agencies and their partners can build supportive pathways for student parents toward meaningful degrees and credentials that lead to careers with better pay and benefits. …
An Evidence-Based Approach to Child Support
Record levels of job loss, economic instability, and family isolation during the pandemic have raised the child support policy stakes for fathers, families, and communities. Through careful and rigorous research, we know that there is a better way to approach child support policy to build strong families and communities. Across the country – states, counties, and tribes…
Ascend National Advisors are Taking Action to Combat COVID-19 and Support Student Parents
Although the COVID-19 pandemic threw off the day-to-day lives of people across the country, that did not stop nonprofits, health and human services, workforce programs, higher education professionals and more from creating rapid response services to support student parents. The Ascend National Advisors, a cohort of 23 leaders providing supports for student parents and inform…