Cherish Casey’s life has been full of lessons that have led her to become a family engagement social worker at Ellis Early Learning and a member of Strategies for Children’s Advocacy Network. 

“A single mom raised me, but also women who were caretakers,” Casey says, recalling her early role models. “My mom always had someone’s child, and I have vivid memories of one of my great aunts, a foster mom who took care of children in her household.”

These are the seeds of how Casey herself came to care for children. 

“My mom has vivid memories of my love for children and of me as a teen saying, I want to learn about early child care and become a teacher.”

As a vocational student at Weymouth High School, Casey had to list her study preferences. Item number one was child care, followed by cosmetology and nursing. She got her first choice. When Casey switched to Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational High School in Wakefield, she made sure she continued to study early education. 

Outside the classroom, Casey gained hands-on experience working at a local early education center. She loved the work, but it was the beginning of a grittier education. She began to see that not all early childhood settings are the same. Some had access to resources, and others didn’t. 

Casey kept studying and working, enrolling in North Shore Community College and working as an early childhood teacher in Lynn. 

Working with children led to learning about the impacts of poverty on families.

“I saw the need for family support,” Casey says, “because I had a lot of children in my classroom who were living on the brink of poverty, who came from marginalized communities, and who were facing issues related to mass incarceration and access to mental health services along with being involved with the Department of Children and Families.”

Another part of her education was learning how to cope with the low salaries and limited benefits that early childhood teachers earn. When Casey became sick with cancer, she left the field, in part because of the lack of benefits. 

“I had seen children struggling to focus in the classroom from early childhood trauma, and I struggled to meet their social-emotional needs. So while I was battling cancer, I started to think about what I wanted to do differently, and I transferred from North Shore Community College to Salem State University and started to study social work. 

“I knew I loved children, and I knew I still wanted to work with children, but I thought that to really meet a family’s needs, I needed to work on more of an individual level. But then I learned about macro social work and fighting for policy change.”

Casey interned with the Essex County Community Organization, a faith-based nonprofit supporting community action on the Northshore. 

“I learned about the power of the people,” Casey says. Having come from being a teacher, I didn’t know that my voice mattered. I didn’t think I had the power to enact change. But during that internship, I was fired up. I learned that you can petition for policy change, speak to your legislator, go to the State House, and organize a rally to highlight the need for policy change and to shift public opinion.”

Casey worked as a community organizer. But in her heart, she still loved children, and eventually, she returned to her work as an early childhood educator, working with infants — which meant earning only $14.25 an hour. She changed jobs, eventually becoming a family navigator at Ellis Early Learning as well as a devoted advocate for her profession. 

It’s no surprise that as a lifelong learner, one thing Casey enjoys about being part of Strategies’ Advocacy Network is the Advocacy 101 training, learning about the legislative process and learning more about working as a group.

“You don’t have to have impostor syndrome because you don’t have all the answers. You can call people, ask questions, and there are no dumb questions.”

“It’s the collective group coming together to enact policy change for our most important citizens, our children.”

One of the best parts of the Advocacy Network experience for Casey: 

“The most impactful speaker who literally made me cry was Ayanna Pressley,” Casey says of the Massachusetts Congresswoman. “I really enjoyed being on the call with her and seeing everybody’s reactions. I also appreciated how humble she was when explaining how early experiences led her to who she is today and how she understands the need for early education policy change.”

For her Advocacy Network project, Casey is developing a community of practice that will focus on early childhood mental health (Early Relational Health), building up more capacity across programs within Neighborhood Villages to collectively support children. 

Casey is also earning her master’s degree in social work from Simmons University to learn more about supporting children and families. She has an eye on the future. Better pay and benefits for early educators are part of her vision, but her focus is always centered on impacting the lives of children. 

“A better future would have inclusive early childhood classrooms with educators who are trained in special education, not just five hours a year, but really trained. That way, we can support children who have had traumatic experiences that lead to behavioral issues in the classroom or children who may have mental health diagnoses and need extra support. 

“It would look like early intervention programs extending to age five, because now they only go to age three, and then there’s this gap because we have to depend on the public schools and partnering agencies, and they’re overwhelmed. We would have more support for children so they wouldn’t be on waitlists for six to eight months. Raising the age would bridge the gap for access to early childhood mental health services.” 

Despite the challenges, Casey is optimistic.

“We don’t just have to reach out to policymakers. We have the power to be policymakers and enact change.”