Mattilyn Karst Batson is the Policy and Research Director. She has a longstanding passion for helping vulnerable children, youth and families flourish. She has pursued this passion as a student of public policy and teaching, an active volunteer in community service, a federal child welfare policy advocate, a classroom educator, and most recently as the Director of Early Childhood Systems in the Office of Governor John Bel Edwards.
Having transitioned out of the classroom for her role with the Governor’s office, Mattilyn utilized her education and experience to focus on a very specific challenge: improving the social, health and education systems in Louisiana that shape the critical first five years of a child’s life. While serving under the Governor, Mattilyn helped oversee the creation, passage and implementation of historic investments in early childhood programs.
Prior to her work in Louisiana, she obtained bachelor’s degrees in sociology and public policy and a minor in philosophy, politics and economics (PPE) from the University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill. Upon graduation, she was selected for Teach for America (TFA) and fulfilled her two year service commitment in New Orleans. While in TFA, she secured her master’s in teaching, and after, spent an additional two and a half years as an educator in Jefferson Parish.