ABC's and 123's:

It’s Been a Year. It’s Been a YEAR.

Tasha Booker, CEO, Action for Children 

It’s been a year.
And if I’m being honest—it’s been a YEAR. 

My first year as CEO of Action for Children has unfolded during a time when the ground beneath families, child care professionals, and nonprofits has felt unstable. Funding cliffs. Workforce shortages. Rising costs. Policy uncertainty. Parents trying to do everything right and still feel like the math never adds up. Providers holding classrooms together with equal parts dedication and duct tape. Nonprofits being asked to help and serve more of our community with significantly less resources. 

So, yes. It’s been a year. 

What a privilege it has been to step into this role during such a defining moment. 

Listening First 

When I joined Action for Children, I made a commitment to listen before I led. To understand the lived realities behind the data. To hear directly from parents navigating impossible choices, from child care professionals showing up every day despite burnout and under-compensation, and from staff who have been carrying this mission forward through years of change and challenge. 

What I heard was both sobering and clarifying. 

Families aren’t asking for miracles. They’re asking for systems that work.
Providers aren’t asking for praise alone. They’re asking for sustainability.
And our community isn’t short on care or commitment…it’s short on alignment, investment, and urgency. 

The Weight and the Hope of This Moment 

This year has reminded me that child care is not a side issue. It is economic infrastructure. It is workforce foundation.  It is family stability. It is children’s development and future opportunity wrapped into one essential system. 

And yet, it is too often treated as optional. 

At Action for Children, we have felt the weight of that contradiction every day. We’ve navigated uncertainty alongside our partners. We’ve advocated for and supported families and providers, not because it was simple, but because it was necessary. 

And through it all, I’ve seen something else just as clearly: resilience. 

Resilience in parents who keep pushing forward.
Resilience in providers who continue to innovate and lead.
Resilience in a team that shows up with integrity, creativity, and heart—no matter how hard the moment. 

What This Year Has Taught Me 

This first year has reinforced a few truths I now carry with me into every decision: 

Progress is rarely linear, but it is possible. 

Data matters, but people matter more. 

Real change requires partnership, not perfection. 

And leadership, at its core, is about holding space for both honesty and hope. 

We don’t serve families best by pretending things are fine. We serve them by naming what’s broken and committing, together, to fix it. 

Looking Ahead 

As we move into the next year, I am more certain than ever about where Action for Children must focus: 

We will continue to center families.
We will continue to elevate the voices of child care professionals.
We will continue to push for systems that are sustainable and responsive to real-world needs.
And we will continue to show up as a convener, an advocate, a data-driven partner, and a trusted voice for central Ohio. 

The challenges ahead are real. But so is the momentum we are building. 

So yes—it’s been a year.
A hard one. A humbling one. A clarifying one. 

And it’s also been the beginning of something powerful. 

Thank you to our staff, our partners, our funders, our providers, and the families who trust us with their stories and their hopes. The work continues and I am honored to be in it with you. 

Here’s to the next year.