Speaking of Kids...

Speaking of Kids...

Who speaks for kids when lawmakers, the government, and elected officials are making decisions about their education, health and safety? You do! Children need our collective attention and voice. You’ve found Speaking of Kids…, a podcast series from First Focus on Children that examines how laws and public systems impact kids — not just in theory, but in real life. We’re here sorting out who’s actually for kids and who’s just kidding. Join our host, Messellech “Selley” Abebe, as she gathers voices from every corner of the kid-policy world: congresspeople, public health leaders, political organizers, parents, and the dogged advocates doing the hard work of imagining something better. Selley explores the ‘kid angle’ in policy and politics. What’s working? What’s not? And how can we take action to create a better future for the next generation? Listen and discover the hidden power that each of us has as an ambassador for children. We believe that kids matter. Their lives are worth protecting, their joy is worth preserving, and their futures are absolutely worth fighting for.

Episodes

Maria Davis-Pierre and Cheryl Poe Empower Black Neurodivergent Kids!

August 6, 2025 • 41 mins
In this episode, Messellech “Selley” Abebe chats with Maria Davis-Pierre and Cheryl Poe to explore what it means to be a culturally responsive advocate for Black neurodivergent children. Both mothers and passionate advocates, Davis-Pierre is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and the President & CEO of Autism in Black INC, and Poe, who holds an M.A. in Urban Education and Counseling, is the Founder and Executive Director of Advocat...
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Kathryn Edwards Imagines a Better Economy for Kids!

July 23, 2025 • 38 mins
In this episode, Messellech “Selley” Abebe sits down with economist Kathryn Edwards to unpack the economic challenges facing children and families, particularly in child care and education. Edwards is a labor economist and independent policy consultant whose research focuses on the intersection of labor markets and public policy. She joins us to break down complex economic ideas, connecting the dots between big-picture policy and e...
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Jered Bruzas believes fatherhood is advocacy!

July 9, 2025 • 31 mins
In this episode, Messellech “Selley” Abebe speaks with Jered Bruzas about the importance of engaging fathers as advocates and how their involvement can help build stronger systems for children and families. Bruzas is a father of four, a passionate community advocate, and the Chief Impact Officer at United Way of Greater Waterbury. He brings firsthand insight into the societal and systemic barriers families face, particularly in edu...
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Messellech Abebe believes YOU are an ambassador for kids!

July 9, 2025 • 11 mins
Speaking of Kids is back for Season 2! Join host Messellech “Selley” Abebe as she explores what it means to be an ambassador for children — and why children’s voices, needs, and futures must be at the center of our policies and budgets. This season, you’ll hear from an inspiring lineup of guests: an economist, a librarian, a labor journalist, parents, teachers, and organizers. Together, Selley and her guests will explore their uniq...
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#24 - Kids on The Ballot

October 16, 2024 • 43 mins
In this episode, hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech Looby chat about the the importance of children’s issues in the upcoming election. Despite children making up over 20% of the population, children’s issues are often overlooked and ignored in policymaking. Lesley and Looby outline some of the major disparities in policies between the candidates, particularly focusing on the child tax credit, children’s health, and funding for publi...
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#23 - The Importance of the First 1000 Days, with Miriam Calderón

October 2, 2024 • 47 mins
In this episode, hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech Looby chat with Miriam Calderón, Chief Policy Officer of Zero to Three. Miriam has dedicated her life to ensuring that all children have access to essential resources such as child care, nutrition programs, and maternal health services. In today’s episode, Miriam addresses the importance of the first 1000 days of a child’s life and highlights the need for holistic approaches to ear...
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SECOND LOOK: Who’s for Kids, and Who’s Just Kidding? with Celinda Lake

September 18, 2024 • 59 mins
In this episode, our hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech “Selley” Looby chat with pollster and political strategist Celinda Lake. Lake is President and Founder of Lake Research Partners, a national public opinion and political strategy research firm. Lake walks our hosts through public polling that shows voters strongly favor investing in children and centering them in public policy. The data contradicts lawmakers’ inclination to tre...
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SECOND LOOK: Prioritizing Kids in Politics with Dr. Annie Andrews and Renee Harvey of Their Future. Our Vote PAC.

September 4, 2024 • 50 mins
We are past Labor Day and just 62 days from the 2024 election and children are on the ballot. We wanted to bring back this very relevant podcast for a SECOND LOOK. In this episode, our hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech “Selley” Looby chat with pediatrician and former congressional candidate Dr. Annie Andrews and political strategist Renee Harvey about their new political action committee (PAC) for children, Their Future. Our Vote....
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#22 - Children Are Not Little Adults with Dr. Glenn Flores

August 21, 2024 • 56 mins
In this episode, hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech Looby chat with Dr. Glenn Flores,  Professor and Chair of Pediatrics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Dr. Glenn Flores explains that the most important lesson in child health research and policy is that children are not little adults - they have vastly different anatomy and physiology depending on their age, which requires taking a developmental perspective. Dr...
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#21 - The Importance in Investing in Our Youngest with Cynthia Osborne

August 7, 2024 • 48 mins
In this episode, hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech Looby chat with Dr. Cynthia Osborne, founder and executive director of the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center, about the importance in investing in our youngest: infants and toddlers. Bruce and Selley also highlight the recent vote on the child tax credit and their disappointment with the bill failing, despite the credit previously cutting child poverty in half.  Cynthia shares tha...
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#20 - Advocating for Kids in Kentucky and Across America with Dr. Terry Brooks

July 24, 2024 • 54 mins
 In this episode, hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech Looby chat with Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, a nonprofit watchdog for Kentucky's kids. Dr. Brooks has successfully worked with Democrats, Republicans, and Independents to make necessary improvements for the lives of children across the state, such as supporting kinship caregivers and kids in foster care. Dr. Brooks tells our hosts that Kentucky...
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SECOND LOOK: Money Matters with Dr. Kirabo Jackson

July 10, 2024 • 39 mins
Check out one of our favorite episodes! Our hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech “Selley” Looby welcome Dr. C. Kirabo Jackson, a researcher, professor, journal editor, and member of President Biden’s Council of Economic Advisors. Dr. Jackson discusses his findings that research with respect to investing in both early childhood and K-12 education consistently demonstrates a high return on investment, particularly for low-income childre...
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#19 - Pediatric Emergency Care Systems Are Failing Our Kids & It’s Costing Their Lives with Phyllis Rabinowitz

June 26, 2024 • 38 mins
In this episode, hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech Looby chat with Phyllis Rabinowitz, Co-Founder and Co-President of the R Baby Foundation. Phyllis co-founded the R Baby Foundation with her husband, Andrew, after the loss of their nine-day-old daughter, Rebecca Ava, due to a misdiagnosis in the emergency room. The R Baby Foundation is the first and only foundation dedicated to making sure every emergency room is prepared to give b...
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#18 - Raising the Voice of Dads in Child Policy with Rep. Jimmy Gomez

June 12, 2024 • 35 mins
In this episode, co-host Bruce Lesley chats with Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), chair of the Dads Caucus. Rep. Gomez launched the Dads Caucus after a photo of him holding and caring for his son Hodge on the House floor went viral. Rep. Gomez talks about moms have been the “default parent” and the importance of fathers stepping up for kids both at home and in Congress.  Learn more about the Dads Caucus: https://gomez.house.gov/dadscaucus/...
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#17 - “They Came for Our Schools” with Mike Hixenbaugh

May 29, 2024 • 53 mins
In this episode, co-host Bruce Lesley chats with Mike Hixenbaugh, a senior investigative reporter for NBC News about the ongoing attacks on public schools across the country. They discuss Hixenbaugh’s new book, “They Came for the Schools: One Town's Fight Over Race and Identity, and the New War for America's Classrooms,” which documents the culture wars in Southlake and Grapevine, Texas. Hixenbaugh argues that challenges to diversi...
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#16 - Centering Cultural Competence within Black Child Mental Health with Taraji P. Henson and Tracie Jade

May 22, 2024 • 37 mins
In this episode, co-host Messellech Looby chats with Academy Award-nominated actor Taraji P. Henson about the complexities and opportunities around supporting Black youth in the midst of the country’s current mental health crisis. Henson created The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation in memory of her late father, who struggled with mental health challenges after returning from the Vietnam War. The foundation promotes mental health aw...
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#15 - Every Day is Mother’s Day, with the Moms of First Focus on Children

May 8, 2024 • 43 mins
To celebrate Mother’s Day, we’re showcasing the voices and stories of some of our moms at First Focus on Children. Host Messellech Looby shares the mic with First Focus on Children’s Vice President for Early Childhood and Public Health Policy Averi Pakulis, Vice President of Operations Trenessa Freeman, and Vice President of Advocacy and Mobilization Leila Nimatallah to chat about their experiences as moms and the policy challenges...
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#14 - Supporting Children and Families is a Bipartisan Effort, with Abby McCloskey

April 24, 2024 • 47 mins
In this episode, our hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech “Selley” Looby chat with Abby McCloskey, who directed the Convergence Collaborative on Supports for Working Families, a project bringing together 31 family policy leaders of diverse ideologies and included our co-host Bruce Lesley. The Convergence process issued a final report entitled In This Together: A Cross-Partisan Action Plan to Support Families with Young Children in Ame...
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#13 - A Conversation with a Top Champion for Children, Representative Rosa DeLauro

April 10, 2024 • 42 mins
In this episode, our hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech “Selley” Looby chat with Representative Rosa DeLauro, a top champion for children in Congress and the chair of the babies caucus. Rep. DeLauro, who is the ranking member on the House Appropriations Committee, has spent decades in Congress and consistently advocated for kids to be a priority in the federal budget. She has been a Champion for Children every year since we began pu...
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#12 - A Conversation with the Co-Founder and Executive Director of MomsRising, Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner

March 27, 2024 • 39 mins
In this episode, our hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech “Selley” Looby chat with Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, co-founder and executive director of MomsRising, an organization that champions workforce issues facing women, mothers and families. Rowe-Finkbeiner co-founded MomsRising in 2006 after a family health crisis pushed her out of the labor force and helped her realize the challenges that American women and families face. In this epi...
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