Senior Associate, Early Care and Education (ECE) | Chicago, IL

Kristen Garcia is a Senior Associate at Afton Partners, where she leads qualitative data collection, community engagement, and equity-centered policy design for state education and early childhood agencies. Her work focuses on translating large-scale stakeholder input into actionable insights that inform governance, program standards, data systems, and workforce policy during periods of system transformation.

Kristen brings deep experience supporting state agencies at critical inflection points, including early childhood agency transitions, standards alignment, and the development of data and accountability infrastructure. She has led and co-designed research engagements, advisory bodies, and facilitated workgroups that center families, providers, and workforce voices—particularly those historically underserved by public systems. Her approach integrates rigorous qualitative analysis with equity reflection tools to operationalize equity in decision-making.

Kristen’s work has engaged nearly 1,000 early care and education stakeholders across Illinois through virtual and in-person interviews and focus groups. She has managed and synthesized over 10,000 qualitative data points to inform state-level recommendations related to funding allocation, program quality, and system design. Her contributions have strengthened client responsiveness to provider and family priorities and supported the development of inclusive, family-centered early childhood systems.

Before joining Afton, Kristen served as a Project Manager on the Community Systems Statewide Supports (CS3) team within Illinois Action for Children’s Community Impact department, where she supported cross-sector initiatives aimed at strengthening local early childhood systems. She holds a BA with distinction in Psychology and is a 2023 Chicago United for Equity (CUE) Fellowship alumna.