Nina is an Early Childhood National Campaign Director and Florida Director at MomsRising/MamásConPoder where she has been organizing moms and families across the nation for over a decade on family economic security issues. Nina has been interviewed in numerous local and national news outlets, including PBS NewsHour, the New York Times, and The Guardian. On child care policy, Nina has testified in front of Congress for the Ways and Means Committee as an expert in her field. Nina's career has focused on ending the oppression and exploitation of women and girls. She was previously a Program Manager at Community Family Life Services supporting direct services and leadership with low-income communities in Washington, DC. Nina was also a founding member and Program Coordinator for the Young Women Leaders Program at the University of Central Florida. and lives in Jax, FL with her loving partner, inquisitive child, spunky cats, and books.
Blog Post List
Sign on!

June 15, 2023
So the new numbers are in and it’s not looking great. According to the annual Kids Count data released yesterday , Florida ranks 31st in child well-being and lack of high-quality, affordable child care is playing into that. I don’t know about you, but I’m not surprised. I am FEELING the child care struggle this summer. Just yesterday I had to pick my kiddo up during a work call because her summer care only goes until 1pm. I had to then drive her (while also trying to participate in a work call as my kid tried to excitedly tell me about water day at school) to other family care in the...
MomsRising
Education Fund

March 1, 2023
Children’s books and young adult books are being banned across Florida and together we can put a stop to it. New to the issue? Read the description below. If you are already looped in and ready to stop book bans, TAKE ACTION by clicking this link and skip to the links at the end for more actions . The “what in the what” on banned books in Florida: A series of censorship laws were passed in Florida in 2022 which has led to public school leaders pulling thousands of books from library shelves in schools and classrooms. In many places, books are being pulled and are awaiting ‘review’ as media...
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Take Action

January 30, 2023
Our Florida public schools really need your help because right now state legislators in Tallahassee are trying to defund our schools! They’re so eager to defund the schools they’ve even made it their top legislative priority - and we have to act now to put a stop to it. → Click here to send a letter to your Florida State Representative urging them to STOP HB1 from stealing money from our public schools to fund private education. What’s happening? Republican leaders in the Florida State House have introduced HB1: An Act Relating to School Choice that will do anything but create more choices. [...
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Together

October 25, 2022
It’s the spooky season – and the scariest thing I’ve seen this year isn’t ghouls, zombies, or vampires. The bone chilling fright this year is that Congress keeps ghosting us on child care solutions . After exploring solutions the last few years to fix our fragile child care system, our elected leaders are now “new phone, who dis”-ing us and families aren’t feeling it as the child care crisis gets scarier everyday. *Tell Congress: Enough with the tricks. We’ve got their number and we’re here to tell them their work is not done and they need to take action now to fix our nation’s child care...
MomsRising
Education Fund

June 16, 2022
I’m so freaking mad today. Our family and families across the state with kids under the age of 5 are so close - SO CLOSE - to having vaccines for our kids. But thanks to Governor DeSantis, Florida families are going to have to wait even longer. Florida is the only state that did not meet the deadline to order the new, COVID-19 vaccines for children under the age of 5 to be shipped when approved, which is expected in days. You read that right. The ONLY state.
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Together

January 27, 2022
Do you occasionally fantasize about RAGE YELLING at the top of your lungs every new day that you need to parent in this pandemic amid child care closures, no paid family and medical leave, and stacking bills? Same friend. SAME.
MomsRising
Together

January 18, 2022
On Jan. 6, 2022, Ms. Magazine published an opinion piece that I co-wrote with MomsRising partner, Women’s Economic Justice Director and The Century Foundation Senior Fellow Julie Kashen: The U.S. Is in Urgent Need of Childcare Solutions. Build Back Better Would Be a Game-Changer In the opinion, we had the honor of sharing child care stories from MomsRising, Family Forward Oregon , and Community Change families: Julie, a teacher scrambling for care for her toddler Arielle, a veterinarian straining by the financial burden of unpaid parental leave Jessica, a childcare worker who cannot afford...
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Together

January 12, 2022
Las supermamás, como tú, han sido una fuerza que ha impulsado cambios políticos positivos que tienen un gran impacto para nuestras familias. Queremos decirte un “¡gracias!” inmenso por romper barreras y hacerte presente para ayudar a cambiar el mundo. En pocas palabras, ¡eres lo MÁXIMO! Participar en activismo con los niños puede ser atemorizante, ¡pero no tiene que serlo! Estos son algunos consejos útiles para prepararte y sentirte cómoda al abogar por los asuntos que son importantes para ti. A: Snacks, snacks y snacks. Planifica con anticipación y empaca bien. ¡Prepárate! Lo que debes...
MomsRising
Education Fund

December 10, 2021
Si no hubiera sido por el ex presidente republicano Richard Nixon, las familias como la nuestra probablemente no tendrían dificultades para pagar y encontrar cuidado infantil. Punto final. El 10 de diciembre es el 50 aniversario del veto de Nixon al Cuidado Infantil Universal, también conocido como la Ley de Desarrollo Infantil Integral de 1971, que habría implementado un sistema nacional de cuidado infantil multimillonario que fue aprobado por ambas cámaras del Congreso con mayorías bipartidistas. Entonces, si era bipartidista, ¿por qué diablos lo vetó el presidente Nixon? El racismo y su...
MomsRising
Education Fund

December 8, 2021
If it hadn’t been for former Republican President Richard Nixon, families like ours likely wouldn’t be struggling to afford and find child care. Full stop. December 10th is the 50th anniversary of Nixon's veto on Universal Child Care, also known as the Comprehensive Child Development Act of 1971, that would have implemented a multibillion-dollar national child care system that passed both houses of Congress with bipartisan majorities.
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Together

September 23, 2021
MomsRising super dad Nicholas Knight shared his family's child care story at the U.S. Treasury - giving voice to what so many families across our nation have experienced. Read his remarks and tell us your experiences with child care as we fight to ensure child care and pre-k for all becomes a reality.
MomsRising
Together
Take Action

August 2, 2021
Let’s make something clear here. Families are trying their best to weather this storm and shouldn’t have to pay the price of delayed relief funding and a pandemic that continues to impact our communities. Tell Congress and the White House to take immediate action to extend the federal eviction moratorium!
MomsRising
Together

July 6, 2021
The House and Senate must provide real child care solutions - parents, families, providers and our broader economy can’t wait any longer. Want to know what you can do? Check out this webinar happening tomorrow, Wednesday, July 7 from 2-3:30 ET.
MomsRising
Education Fund

May 27, 2021
I had the honor of speaking in front of the Ways and Means Worker and Family Support Ways and Means Subcommittee on behalf of MomsRising families to talk about why child care is so important to our communities. Below, you'll find my statement.
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Together

September 1, 2020
“Tratar de encontrar cuidado infantil durante la pandemia es casi imposible. Soy responsable de un bebé de 20 meses y en estos momentos tengo que llevarlo de una casa a otra para para que lo cuiden. Esto no es seguro para él o para mí. Soy una de esas personas de alto riesgo, pero tengo que hacerlo porque mi guardería regular está cerrada y me temo que no abrirá en un futuro cercano.” En todo el país, mamás como Yvonne están compartiendo lo difícil que es encontrar cuidado infantil mientras tratan de sobrellevar el profundo impacto que está teniendo el COVID-19. En momentos de crisis debemos...
MomsRising
Together

August 11, 2020
Kansas mom, Kaylee, just about summed up the crisis families are facing with child care with MomsRising: “It sucks. I'm afraid to send them to a grandparent, but also afraid to send them to a [formal child care] situation where we don't know the risks of them bringing home COVID to those same grandparents.” This is the reality for so many of us with infants and toddlers right now, including myself. My one and a half year old is this amazing, cheerful ball of energy that, quite frankly, is impossible to multitask with (even on calls) without my feeling like I’m putting her in danger with my...
MomsRising
Education Fund

August 6, 2020
First, the good news: Thanks to YOU and thousands of moms, dads, grandparents, caregivers, and people who support child care, the U.S. House of Representatives just passed ( in a historic vote! ) the Child Care Is Essential Act and the Child Care for Economic Recovery Act! These would ensure a $50 billion stabilization fund for the child care sector at a time when programs around the country are closing and the inability to access child care has become a national emergency. (Back in March, the crisis with child care was barely being discussed, but thanks to people like you speaking out, the...
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Together

June 23, 2020
“My childcare center closed its doors and I’m heartbroken. Our childcare provider has been part of our life for 7 years. We don’t know what we are going to do. Finding a new childcare provider is no easy feat. The price has to work, the location, the hours...there are too many unknowns now, and I think, unfortunately, that the best thing to do for our family is to scale work back until we can figure out if it is safe to send our children to childcare during the pandemic.” We are hearing from moms like Diana daily about the struggle with childcare right now. Whether it’s juggling work and...
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Take Action!
May 7, 2020
I’m on day… well who even knows anymore of working from home with my toddler and, like so many of you, my partner and I are wondering when juggling our child care and work will come to an end. But one thing is for sure, we want it to happen safely. We sat watching the news yesterday in horror as states are reopening even as numbers of those infected are rising, and even though there’s insufficient testing in most of our nation to ensure we don’t see further spread. As a mother, daughter, and someone who loves my community, this is SCARY. And there is one piece that really baffles me in these...
MomsRising
Together

May 4, 2020
Cada mañana, durante estas últimas dos semanas, me despierto preguntándome cómo afectará la crisis de COVID-19 la vida de mi pequeña y a todo el país. Mi pareja y yo tratamos de programar nuestro horario de trabajo lo mejor posible (¡como muchos padres y proveedores de cuidados!) para darle una sensación de normalidad. Pero, hoy más que nunca, me siento muy agradecida por el amoroso cuidado que mi hija usualmente recibe mientras estoy en el trabajo. Por eso me duele decirles que, como nación, estamos a punto de perder más de la mitad (sí leyeron bien – MÁS DE LA MITAD) de nuestros programas...
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