Business Champions

Business leaders are among the strongest advocates for early childhood investments, and their voice is unparalleled when speaking with policy makers. On this page you'll find several business leaders who have worked hard to ensure that our children are provided the opportunities to be healthy, educated and job ready from the start.

J.B. Priztker

Managing Partner
The Pritzker Group
National

It was blindingly obvious that the most efficient, fiscally responsible way to spend money is on young children. It's also the most rewarding.

View J.B. Pritzker's full profile here.

Katherine Busser

Executive Vice President
Capital One Bank
Virginia

[Early childhood education is] ...an issue focused on a greater good, one that is about changing the trajectory of a generation of children. It’s why so many of us who become involved find it a calling

View Katherine Busser's complete profile.

James Rohr, Eva Blum, Connie Bond Stuart, Peter Danchak and Mike Harreld
PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.
National

The children of today are the workforce of tomorrow, and unless we support them with early childhood education, the future workforce will not be of the size and ability to meet the needs of a global economy.

-James Rohr, Chairman and CEO, PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.

View the full PNC profile here.

Richard C. Alexander

Former CEO
Viking Industries
Oregon

I’ve grown to believe strongly in early childhood education. It’s essential that we do something for these children. It’s also an economic necessity. It’s about the type of adults these children will become. It’s about improving the lives of children so they become productive adults. That’s the bottom line.

View Richard Alexander's full profile here.

Paul O'Brien

President
The O'Brien Group
Massachusetts

If quality early education is available, it can be a salvation to children and is increasingly important in an economy that is becoming less physical and more brain-oriented.

View Paul O'Brien's full profile here.

Mara Aspinall

President and CEO
On-Q-Ity
Massachusetts

Business leaders need to be the unlikely allies for children and be willing to proactively help find sustainable revenue for early education.

View Mara Aspinall's full profile here.

Barry Downing

President
Northrock, Inc.
Kansas

Early childhood education is a smart financial investment and a moral responsibility. We owe it to these children to have a chance to arrive at school prepared to succeed. It’s both a head and a heart issue.

View Barry Downing's full profile here.

Lisa Ventriss

President
Vermont Business Roundtable
Vermont

Achieving universal pre-k for three- and four-year-olds is an issue that moves forward incrementally. Collaborate with the business community and place them in a lead role. The pre-k community can’t do this alone – and they will not be able to achieve success if they aren’t united in their effort.

View Lisa Ventriss' full profile here.

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As a business leader, your voice is key to protecting early childhood investments in this time of difficult state budget decisions.

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