This session will begin with pre-recorded remarks from Representative Rashida Tlaib presenting the details of the “End Child Poverty” legislation she and others introduced in Congress earlier this year, including the rationale for targeting children specifically, and the prospects of successfully passing such a child allowance as a more permanent policy than the Child Tax Credit. Next, Holly Fogle of The Monarch Foundation will focus on The Bridge Project - a New York City-based basic income pilot delivering cash grants to mothers with newborns for 3 years, followed by Kyra Grener of the Family Health Project reporting out on a similar project in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Finally, Dr. Elizabeth DeYoung will focus on early research findings from The Bridge Project and other similar studies of guaranteed income pilots targeting children, including qualitative findings of families’ experiences and perspectives. The panelists will then discuss the arguments for and against targeting basic income policies on children, some of the unique challenges families with young children face that might warrant special consideration, and social and political processes that may be put into motion resulting from these local efforts.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, U.S. Congress, House of Representatives

Rashida Tlaib is a well-known progressive warrior and, in her own words, “a mother working for justice for all.” Her two young sons are at the root of her unwavering passion to help change lives for the better. She is the oldest of 14 children, born and raised in Detroit, the proud daughter of Palestinian immigrant parents. Rashida made history in 2008 by becoming the first Muslim woman to ever serve in the Michigan Legislature. Rashida knows that effective advocacy requires an all-out approach, fighting in the community, in the legislature, and in the courts every day against injustice and inequality, so that every single person in this country has a chance to thrive. Representative Tlaib is currently the Congresswoman for Michigan’s 13th Congressional District, which includes the city of Detroit and many surrounding communities. And earlier this year, she introduced the END CHILD POVERTY ACT to create a universal child benefit that would be more generous than the child provisions in the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the now expired child tax credit (CTC).

Holly Fogle, The Bridge Project/Monarch Foundation/Nido de Esperanza

Holly Fogle grew up on a farm in the Appalachian foothills where she witnessed the power of a community of women. Currently, Holly is the co-Founder and co-Executive Director of Nido de Esperanza (Nest of Hope) in New York City where she spends her time working with immigrant families and their young children living in poverty. She is the founder of The Monarch Foundation which she runs with her husband. They have launched NYC's first guaranteed income program, The Bridge Project, focusing on the earliest days of life.  Holly serves on the Executive Committee of Christ Church, is the Board Chair at St. Luke’s School, and is the Treasurer of Women Moving Millions. She graduated from The Wharton School and was a partner at McKinsey & Company, where she worked for 13 years serving healthcare clients. She ran McKinsey’s New Jersey Office and served on their global partner selection committee. Holly is the founder of The Bridge Project, New York City's first guaranteed income pilot giving monthly payments of $500-$1,000 to 600 mothers and their babies for three years. The Bridge Project has been featured in The New York Times, PBS and CBS Evening News.

Elizabeth Deyoung, University of Pennsylvania’s Center for
Guaranteed Income Research

Dr. Elizabeth DeYoung is a Research Scientist at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Guaranteed Income Research, where she uses mixed methods to evaluate the effects of guaranteed income (GI) pilots in cities across the US. Prior to her appointment at the Center, Dr. DeYoung was awarded a Mellon/ACLS Public Fellowship, a national postdoctoral program, and led research initiatives at Reinvestment Fund in Philadelphia. Dr. DeYoung earned a PhD at the Institute of Irish Studies, University of Liverpool, where her doctoral work focused on post-conflict Northern Ireland. She also received an MA in Irish Studies from Queen University Belfast and a BA in International Affairs and Modern Languages from Northeastern University. Dr. DeYoung has authored several peer-reviewed publications, and her first monograph is forthcoming in 2023 from Liverpool University Press.

Kyra Grenier witnessed health equity firsthand growing up in rural Vermont where her father, a small town pediatrician, saw patients after hours at the family’s dining room table. After graduating from college Kyra moved to DC ready to change the world, she spent several years working for Senator Patrick Leahy. Kyra has spent over a decade growing a Boston based non-profit public health and human rights organization serving in roles which were critical to organization building and sustainability, focusing on internal communications and management, development, governance and relationship building. She is the director of the James Pace Clayton Fund, a philanthropic trust that makes life-changing gifts to individuals who have not had access to economic prosperity. As a long-time Bostonian, Kyra has developed deep connections within the Boston community. She and her husband and two young sons live in Jamaica Plain.

Monika Viktorova is a digital ethicist, tech strategist and UBI advocate. She passionately believes we need Basic Income to ensure the benefits of technology are realized for all and no one is left behind by automation. She has previously served as a Board Member at Basic Income Canada Network (BICN) and helped organize and deliver the 2021 NABIG conference and the 2021 UBI Works March for Basic Income. You can find her on Twitter @mviktoro

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Supporting Babies, Ending Child Poverty