Rhian Evans Allvin is the Executive Director of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. She has been responsible for guiding NAEYC’s strategic direction as well as overseeing its daily operations since August 2013. Before joining NAEYC, Evans Allvin was a guiding force in Arizona’s early childhood movement. She co-wrote the citizen’s ballot initiative that created First Things First (FTF) which set aside Arizona’s tobacco tax monies for children birth to five and created a state agency whose purpose is to ensure all Arizona children start kindergarten prepared. Evans Allvin served on FTF’s state board and then became the organization’s chief executive officer (CEO). Evans Allvin’s earlier roles also include a founding partner in the Brecon Group, a senior advancement officer at the Arizona Community Foundation, and additional leadership roles with Libraries for the Future, a national nonprofit, and Children’s Action Alliance in Arizona.