“I want to help people. I deeply care about people, and their success, and I really think that came, in large part, from my mom. I had the support from my mom to finish school. And I want to help the next little Julie.”
Michaela Martin is a single mother living with her son Ezra (11) in Irvine, California. Michaela is dedicated to public service. Her passion for advocacy blossomed in community college after she discovered that her institution had a two-year waitlist for childcare.
Upon doing her own research, Michaela learned that approximately 40% of African American women pursuing a college degree have dependent children. The lack of resources and support from her institution mystified her, and motivated her to fight for childcare resources at the local and state levels for six years until Senate Bill 564 was passed. Michaela played an integral role. She created the bill concept, got the bill sponsored, led the advocacy to pass the bill – coordinating various stakeholders – and garnered supporters along the way. This bill aimed to support student parents by collecting data on college students who are parents in the state. However, she didn’t fight alone. Although Michaela led the effort to get Senate Bill 564 passed, there were many people that contributed to its passage. Michaela found community along the way amongst people who supported the bill.
Additionally, Michaela’s mother and son supported her every step of the way. Michaela attributes all of her accomplishments to her mom – whose intergenerational impact inspired her to help ensure that other parents have access to the childcare support they need. Michaela currently works as a Policy and Government Affairs Manager at First Five Orange County, an early childhood care network.
Read the blog post from program associate Mike White on rwjf.org to learn more about how RWJF is prioritizing and responding to parent and caregiver voices.
