Drayton Jackson is an elected official of the Central Kitsap School District Board of Directors in Kitsap County. He is an advocate for systems and structures that help people living in poverty and those surviving homelessness.

Drayton was selected to sit as co-chair for Governor Jay Inslee’s Poverty Reduction Work Group (PRWG) and its Steering Committee in Washington state where he assisted in the development of strategies and recommendations of the 10-year plan to dismantle poverty in Washington. He has worked with Ascend at the Aspen Institute as a Parent Advisor, helping to design the Postsecondary Success for Parents (PSP) Initiative and the Parent Powered Solutions Fund grants which help student parents navigate their postsecondary journey with their children. Prior to this, Drayton served as vice-chair of the Head Start Association’s parent-run Policy Council, a Parent Ambassador with the Washington State Association of Head Start and Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP), on the editorial board for local newspaper, the Kitsap Sun, and he was voted Student Body President of Olympic College.

Drayton is the executive director of the Foundation of Homeless and Poverty Management that emphasizes a two-generational approach to helping families to get from homelessness to housing. He is the father of six daughters and two sons and currently resides with his wife in Bremerton.

Stories featuring Drayton Jackson

Drayton Jackson experienced homelessness for almost 20 years. Today, Drayton utilizes his lived experience to advocate for others in a similar position—but it wasn’t always easy adjusting to having a seat at the table. Drayton, now the father of eight, is setting boundaries and goals for himself to achieve a healthy work-life balance. Along with …

‘1 in 5’ Season 2 Episode 4: Catching up with Drayton Jackson Read More »

Aspen Postsecondary Success for ParentsDecember 1, 2022
Today, Ascend at the Aspen Institute (Ascend) released the second season of “1 in 5,” its highly rated podcast that explores the multifaceted lives of the one in five college students raising children.
Press ReleasesDecember 1, 2022
I started off the 2022 Aspen Ideas Festival at Aspen Words Book Ball, a passion project of Isa Catto and Daniel Shaw.
Ascend FellowshipJune 25, 2022
This year, the Aspen Idea Festival returns to in-person programming at our campus in the Rocky Mountains June 25 - July 1, 2022.
Ascend FellowshipJune 15, 2022
Drayton Jackson is the father of six daughters and two sons and currently resides with his wife in Kitsap County, Washington. He’s the founder of the Family Day Foundation, which takes a two-generation approach to provide families with low incomes or that are experiencing homelessness an opportunity to attend family-oriented events that they otherwise could not afford.
Aspen Postsecondary Success for ParentsMarch 15, 2021
What a week it has been! From live parent conversations, to story slams, to Twitter chats, we have learned so much from the Ascend Network on how you’re all navigating these times – and more importantly, leveling up your work in such amazing ways. We’ve also been thrilled to release our new resources for the …

2Gen Level Up Week: Recap and highlights Read More »

BlogOctober 30, 2020
The Aspen Postsecondary Success for Parents (PSP) Initiative is a partnership with Imaginable Futures and the ECMC Foundation to raise awareness about and share recommendations to better support students who are parents. The PSP Initiative is informed by three groups of experts from across the United States: Parent Advisors, National Advisors, and the Postsecondary Leadership …

Introducing the 2020-2021 Ascend PSP Parent Advisors Read More »

Aspen Postsecondary Success for ParentsJuly 13, 2020
I have found that what many people are calling the new “normal” (e.g. sheltered in place, job, and food insecurities) are what my family and I struggle with daily. Trying to be a student, a parent, and an everyday good human being, is sometimes tested with the pressures of work life, family issues, and trying …

What New Normal? This Is My Life Read More »

BlogApril 21, 2020
The Aspen Postsecondary Success for Parents (PSP) Initiative at Ascend at the Aspen Institute hosted a two-day convening to mark entering its second phase. More than 50 researchers, philanthropists, higher education administrators, policymakers, and student parents gathered at the Aspen Institute office in Washington, D.C. for a strategy session titled, “Postsecondary Completion: What Works for …

Postsecondary Completion: What Works for Parents Read More »

BlogFebruary 12, 2020

Convenings Featuring Drayton Jackson

Date: April 11, 2023
– April 12, 2023
Location: Virtual & In-Person in Washington, DC
Join us for our fourth Aspen Forum on Children and Families on Tuesday, April 11th and Wednesday, April 12th, 2023. Our 2023 theme is Taking Action for Family Prosperity. We will focus on solutions for policymakers, philanthropists, practitioners,...
ConveningApril 11, 2023
– April 12, 2023
Date: June 27, 2022
Location: Aspen, CO
For over a decade, Ascend at the Aspen Institute has lifted up parents’ voices and experiences to inform bold solutions for economic mobility in the United States. How does lived expertise influence the way programs and policies are created? What...
ConveningJune 27, 2022
Date: June 7, 2021
Location: Virtual (Zoom)
Learn how Ascend Network Partners are using the two-generation (2Gen) approach across the country....
ConveningJune 7, 2021