Joan Lombardi, Ph.D.  is the Deputy Assistant Secretary and Inter-Departmental Liaison for Early Childhood Development, Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In this role she provides overall policy coordination for the  Head Start and Early Head Start Program and the Child Care and Development Fund, as well as serving as the liaison with the U.S. Department of Education and other federal agencies.

Dr. Lombardi has spent almost four decades dedicated to the needs of young children and their families. She has served as an advisor to a number of foundations, national and international organizations,  helping to create innovative policies to improve the conditions for children and families.  She served as the founding chair of the Birth to Five Policy, a group of national organizations dedicated to shifting the odds for at risk children ages 0-5. Joan served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and External Affairs in the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services during the Clinton Administration and as the first Director of the Child Care Bureau.  

She is the author of  numerous publications including : Time to Care: Redesigning Child Care to Promote Education, Support Families and Build Communities  (Temple University Press,  2003)  and co-editor of  A Beacon of Hope: The Promise of Early Head Start for America’s Youngest Children (Zero To Three Press,  2004). In 2004, Joan launched the Global Leaders for Young Children program in partnership with The World Forum Foundation which has provided leadership support to early education leaders around the world.