Jackie Thu-Huong Wong, a refugee born during the fall of Saigon and the first woman of color is the Executive Director of First 5 California. Ms. Wong brings more than three decades of experience working as an advocate for educational equity, health and education for children, youth and families in the state. Her formal training and background as a social worker has made it possible for Ms. Wong to share her expertise with diverse communities, specifically helping children thrive to achieve their full potential.
Previously, Ms. Wong served as First 5 California’s Chief Deputy Director, helping transform the organization toward its new North Star to create safe, stable, nurturing, relationships and environments for California’s youngest children and their families. She also helped families overcome the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, address adverse childhood experiences, remove barriers to equity, and tackle the systemic issues affecting California’s families.
Prior to joining First 5 California, Ms. Wong, M.S.W served as the Vice President of Policy and Advocacy for GRACE, an anti-poverty organization that manages the End Child Poverty in California Campaign (ECPCA) aimed at ending deep child poverty and reducing child poverty in the state. Under her leadership, in coalition with several anti-poverty advocates, ECPCA was able to secure over $4 billion in new funding to address child poverty, with a significant investment in education programs.
She also currently serves as a Trustee for the Washington Unified School Board in West Sacramento and as a professor for Sacramento State’s School Nursing Credential program. In the past, she served as the Government Relations Director for the National Center for Youth Law, Principal Policy Consultant to the California Senate President Darrell Steinberg, and Statewide Director for the Foster Youth Service at the California Department of Education.
She is a mom to two school-age children and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Welfare and Psychology from University of California, Berkeley, and a Master of Social Work from California State University, Sacramento.