D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has announced the appointment of Faith Gibson Hubbard as the first executive director of her Thrive by Five initiative. As the new executive director of the coordinating council, Hubbard will be taking forward Bowser’s commitment to early childhood health and education.
Hubbard, a Ward 5 resident, has a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Journalism from Georgia State University and a Master of Public Administration from Old Dominion University. She is also pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy in Public Administration and Policy at Virginia Tech.
A former public school teacher, Hubbard is presently serving as the chief student advocate for the D.C. Board of Education. She is also a member on the D.C. Public Library Board of Library Trustees and is included in the regional board of directors for Reading Partners D.C. and Mayor Bowser’s Cross-Sector Collaboration and Every Day Counts task forces.
Congratulations to our board member Faith Gibson Hubbard on being appointed the first director of #ThriveByFiveDC, an initiative coordinating resources and services for families of young children DC! https://t.co/sd54Nr0cx9 #earlyliteracy #earlyed pic.twitter.com/F7P3bqTMKg
— Reading Partners DC (@RPwashingtondc) April 18, 2019
The mayor created the Thrive by Five Coordinating Council within the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services in February. According to the official website, its role is to “drive progress on initiatives that improve outcomes for mothers and infants and children from birth to age five.”
Last fall, the District hosted its first-ever Maternal and Infant Health Summit. Elected officials, health experts, and residents were brought together in the summit to deliberate on best infant and maternal health practices, racial disparities in health care and birth outcomes. D.C.’s second summit will be convened by the mayor in September.