Adele Robinson has been named to head the new Pizzigati Institute on Advocacy for Children, Youth and Families, at the University of Maryland.
Until recently Ms. Robinson was best known for her leadership as the Associate Executive Director Policy and Public Affairs at the National Association for Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and before that worked for the National Education Association, the National Association for the State Boards of Education and the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources.
The Institute is named for Karabelle Pizzigati, who was Director of Public Policy at CWLA from 1993 to 2000. Karabelle was a veteran national expert, advocate and mentor on public policies that impact child welfare and development. The Institute honors her lifelong commitment to the well-being of America’s kids and families. The Institute launches on February 6th and it will establish and direct an initiative to help men and women working in human services more effectively shape public policy. It is a joint project of the Schools of Public Policy and Public Health at the University.
Karabelle, the CWLA public policy director from 1993 to 2000, passed away in 2014. After leaving CWLA she served on the Maryland State Board of Education from 2001-2009 and was elected the President of the National Association of State Boards of Education for 2008. Prior to coming to CWLA, from 1983 to 1993, she worked with the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families, serving as staff director for the last three years.
