The following interview is with Samantha Wechsler, Program Officer at The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation and the new Co-chair of the Early Care and Education Funder’s Collaborative (ECEFC).
Since 2008, the ECEFC, housed at The Women’s Foundation, has brought together local funders to drive meaningful change in early childhood education across the D.C. region. In 2025 alone, the Collaborative invested over $300K in advocacy, grassroots organizing, partnerships, and coalitions to ensure early educators receive the respect, resources, and support they deserve.
In this conversation, Samantha shares what inspired her to take on this leadership role and the impact she hopes to make. She reflects on the most rewarding moments of her time with the ECEFC, the power of collective investment, and why early care and education is important.
Click on the video below to view her full interview, and if you’re interested in joining our movement to transform early care and education, we invite you to contact our program officer, Abriana Kimbrough, at akimbrough@wawf.org.
