(Washington, DC) – To mark Black Maternal Health Week, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced the appointment of Faith Gibson Hubbard as the first Executive Director of the Mayor’s Thrive by Five Coordinating Council. As the Executive Director of the Council, Mrs. Gibson Hubbard will be responsible for moving forward Mayor Bowser’s commitment to early childhood health and education.
Mrs. Gibson Hubbard currently serves as the Chief Student Advocate for the DC Board of Education and is a former public school teacher. She also serves as a trustee on the DC Public Library Board of Library Trustees, is a member of the regional board of directors for Reading Partners DC, and is a member of Mayor Bowser’s Cross Sector Collaboration and Everyday Counts! task forces.
Mrs. Gibson Hubbard is a Ward 5 resident and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Journalism from Georgia State University, a Master of Public Administration from Old Dominion University, and is pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy in Public Administration and Policy at Virginia Tech.
In February 2019, the Mayor created the Thrive by Five Coordinating Council, located within the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, to drive progress on initiatives that improve outcomes for mothers and infants and children from birth to age five. Last fall, the Mayor hosted the District’s first-ever Maternal and Infant Health Summit. At the summit, the Mayor brought together elected officials, health experts, and residents to discuss best infant and maternal health practices and racial disparities in health care and birth outcomes. In September 2019, Mayor Bowser will convene the District’s second Maternal and Infant Health Summit.
In her Fiscal Year 2020 budget proposal, the Mayor made child care and early childhood education a top priority. The budget includes $2.5 million to make the Keep Childcare Affordable Tax Credit permanent and $52 million to make child care both more affordable and accessible by creating new seats at the old Thurgood Marshall School in Ward 5, the old Miner School in Ward 6, and the old Randle Highlands School in Ward 7.
Learn more about the Mayor’s Fiscal Year 2020 budget proposal at mayor.dc.gov/2020budget.