Welcome Carol Emig, New Board Chair!
Welcoming a new board chair!
We are so proud to welcome Carol Emig as Raising A Reader’s incoming board chair.
Carol began her service on RAR’s board in 2017 and we are thrilled for begin her service as RAR’s board chair as the first female leading RAR’s board! Carol’s focus on impact and ensuring that research and evidence are central to programmatic decisions is critical as we continue to grow and build RAR, our programs and our evidence.
Carol has served as Child Trends’ president since 2006 and has spent her career at the intersection of public policy, programs, and research related to children and youth. Carol’s work at the national and state levels over four decades has strengthened policies related to child poverty, early childhood development, child welfare, and education.
Learn more about Carol!
What inspires you most about Raising a Reader’s work? Several things about RAR inspire me. First, it’s a simple, elegant strategy to help children love reading by empowering their parents. Second, I’m inspired by the passion and commitment of RAR staff, nationally and in our affiliates. Third, I’m inspired by the innovative way RAR pivoted at the start of the pandemic to ensure that families continued to get books and other support when schools and childcare centers were closed. That kind of social entrepreneurship is part of RAR’s DNA – it’s thrilling to see and a privilege to support.
In 5 years, you read a headline about Raising a Reader…what is this headline? “Raising A Reader communities show steep increases in early literacy.”
You are the first female Board Chair for Raising a Reader, what does this mean to you? The children’s field has been female dominated forever, but not as much at the leadership level. I’ve been in C-suite roles in my own career, and I’ve served on nonprofit boards, but I’ve never chaired one. So, this is a milestone for me. I’m proud of the amazing women leaders at RAR and proud to have a chance to work with them.
What is one thing most people don’t know about you? I was a first-generation college student.
What is your favorite children’s book? That’s an unfair question – there isn’t just one! My daughters and I used to love Miss Rumphius. When they were babies and toddlers, I liked reading Sandra Boynton’s rhyming books to them. When they were in elementary school, the whole family got hooked on Harry Potter. They’re young adults now, and we still recommend books to each other.