Kim Davenport is CEO of Edward Street, an early education advocacy, policy and resource development organization. Edward Street collaborates to improve the quality and impact of early education and care, enhancing the development of young children and strengthening families in Central MA. Prior to her role as CEO, Kim served as Vice President of Initiatives & Aligned Programs at Edward Street leading city-wide birth to 3rd grade alignment efforts for educators, community organizations and leaders to connect and strengthen the continuum of education for young children and families. She architected the first strategic plan for early childhood – Growing the Heart of the Commonwealth: Early Alignment for Children’s Lifelong Success, secured state grant funding for remote learning and out-of-school time Covid recovery funding, collaborated with Worcester Public Schools to bring new funding for preschool planning and Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative funding to support community-based early education programs serving children special needs. Kim is the interim chair of the Together for Kids Coalition, representing the coalition on the Mayor’s Governance Council for Children, Youth and Families. She represents Central MA on several state-level advisories to impact policy solutions and systems change. She has more than 30 years of experience in early education and non-profit management.
Prior to her work in Worcester, she was the Chief Program Officer at Jumpstart for Young Children, a leading national early education non-profit organization, where she led a team to research, create, pilot, and roll out an evidence-based curriculum that increased preschool school readiness skills. She also created the first national early education teaching fellowship program, the Pearson Teacher Fellowship, which launched the careers of nearly 150 early childhood teachers. Her career spans work in non-profit, higher education, and business sectors.
Currently, Kim serves on several ECE Higher Education Advisory Councils, and holds adjunct faculty positions with Fitchburg State University, Worcester State University, and Quinsigamond Community College. Her local board leadership includes Board Chair of the Worcester Education Collaborative, Notre Dame Academy Board of Trustees, Steering Committee for the Worcester Education Equity Roundtable and Worcester Child Development Head Start Policy Council. She served on Parenting Magazine’s Mom Congress Advisory Board and was recognized as a national Emerging Leader by Child Care Exchange in 2016. She is a 2018 Leadership Worcester graduate and lead the Alumni Network. Kim holds an M.A. in Child Development from Tufts University and a B.A. from Villanova University.