Shaping Child and Family Policy Through Local and State Government

This speaker series is for Duke students who want to learn more about careers in child and family policy. Meetings are designed to help students explore the wide range of job opportunities and careers available in the field of child and family policy while creating a network of students who share their professional interests. Rebecca Feinglos is the author of www.grieveleave.com documenting her experience on a year-long grief sabbatical. As a part of her year, she founded The Mother's Day Project, a nonprofit focused on supporting new mothers with infants in intensive care. Previously, Feinglos served as the chief policy and strategy advisor for the Division of Child Development and Early Education in the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. She served at NCDHHS for nearly four years, where she advised the Secretary's Office on early childhood health, child welfare, and early learning. In 2020, she coordinated the statewide COVID-19 response for pre-K through grade 12 schools, in close partnership with education leaders. In 2021, Feinglos built and led the strategy team at the Division of Child Development and Early Education to utilize $1.2 billion in federal COVID-19 relief funds for early childhood. She also provided support to statewide Hispanic/Latino and higher education policy throughout the COVID-19 response. Prior to joining NCDHHS, Feinglos served as the early childhood policy associate for the Chicago mayor's office, where she coordinated citywide outreach efforts to encourage preschool enrollment, and worked across city agencies to advance the mayor's early education priorities. She also brings experience as an instructional coach for preschool, elementary, and middle school teachers in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. She started her professional career in service as a bilingual kindergarten teacher in Fort Worth, Texas. Feinglos is originally from Durham and is a graduate of Duke University with a BA in Spanish, history, and political science. She graduated from the University of Chicago with a master's degree in public policy and a certificate in municipal finance.