Katie Hamm

Katie Hamm is a nationally recognized expert in early childhood policy with over 20 years of experience in the federal government and national advocacy. Hamm is currently a visiting professor at the Erikson Institute, where her work focuses on the intersection of policy and research and supporting state and local organizations to navigate the current federal landscape. She served as deputy assistant secretary for early childhood development at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services during the Biden Administration, overseeing $25 billion in federal early childhood funds, including Head Start and the Child Care and Development Fund. During her time at the Administration for Children and Families, she played a critical role in developing policies to increase early educator pay and make early care and education programs more accessible and affordable to families. Previously, she was vice president for early childhood policy at the Center for American Progress, where she led groundbreaking research on child care affordability and supply and created the foundational policy for what ultimately became President Biden’s Build Back Better plan.