Jeffrey Capizzano is the founder and president of The Policy Equity Group, a consultancy focused on building the capacity of socially conscious organizations that are dedicated to improving the lives of young children and their families. Mr. Capizzano is a nationally known advocate and researcher with both private and public sector experience. Prior to founding his consultancy, he was a Senior Policy Advisor at the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). While there, he helped administer over $16 billion in early childhood programs by providing substantive policy guidance to the Office of Head Start and the Office of Child Care. He also acted as an inter-departmental liaison to the U.S. Department of Education (ED), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the White House Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative.
Mr. Capizzano led a number of Obama Administration early childhood initiatives, co-facilitated the HHS/ED Early Learning Interagency Policy Board, and managed ACF’s Early Learning Communities initiative. Prior to working at HHS, Mr. Capizzano was Vice President of Research and Public Policy at Teaching Strategies, the developer of the country’s most widely used early childhood curriculum and assessment. He also worked for seven years at the Urban Institute, a prominent Washington, D.C.-based think tank, where he conducted policy-related research in the areas of early childhood and K–12 education, as well as youth policy. He holds an M.A. in American government from The University of Virginia, and has a B.A. in political science from Villanova University.