Jessica Kallin has been named to lead Haverhill Promise, the city’s community-wide initiative focused on increasing grade-level reading by the third grade.
Kallin, who becomes director, comes to Haverhill Promise after serving more than four years as family and community engagement specialist for the Utah Board of Education. Haverhill Promise Steering Committee President and Haverhill Public Library Director Sarah Moser welcomed Kallin.
“In our next leader, we were looking for someone with strong leadership and advocacy skills, a solid appreciation for collective impact and the ability to bring diverse constituencies together for a common mission. Not only does Jessica fit this profile, she is also an outstanding communicator who will bring her enthusiasm and passion for early childhood issues to the work ahead,” Moser said.
In a statement, Kallin said she is excited to “continue the momentum of this cross-sector collaboration,” adding “I am passionate about community empowerment and educational equity, and look forward to supporting all of the great work being done in Haverhill to increase opportunities for all students’ reading proficiency.”
She succeeds Jenny Arndt, who left the job at the beginning of this year to become a full-time art instructor for Haverhill Public Schools. Kallin will build on the work started in 2018 when Haverhill Promise was founded and lead its strategy through the next phase of its work.
Kallin has more than 10 years of experience in education, working with diverse communities and partnership development. Her background is in refugee resettlement and migration services as the head of youth and family services in Utah where she advocated for policy change and educational equity. Her most recent role was overseeing family and community engagement at the Utah State Board of Education for all K-12 education. She holds a Master’s degree in Community Leadership and is a doctoral candidate in Organizational Change and Leadership through the University of Southern California.