KayeLea Kautz, Drake undergraduate student in the School of Education and a leader in Drake’s Save the Children Action Network student organization on campus, had a chance to travel to our nation’s capital last week as part of the Save the Children and Save the Children Action Network (SCAN) Advocacy Summit.

In celebration of Save the Children’s 100th year of changing children’s lives, the global nonprofit is honoring changemakers for children—individuals who have raised their voices and used their influence to drive change for the world’s most marginalized and deprived children. Changemakers are an array of individuals such as policymakers, teachers, CEOs, philanthropists, advocates, and more. At the Advocacy Summit, attendees heard from a panel of changemakers, one of which was Kautz:

• Pat Daly, a global health worker who has dedicated her career to saving the lives of babies and their mothers worldwide
• Mark Geri, a veteran single father of twins in Washington who is helping ensure more children can access high-quality early childhood education
• Tasneem Ghogawala, a proud Pakistani American who is changing children’s lives through philanthropy
• Ruth Kagi, a retired Washington state lawmaker who advocated for the creation of both Washington’s Department of Early Learning and subsequently Washington’s Department of Children, Youth and Families and changed the lives of thousands of children
• KayeLea Kautz, a Save the Children Action Network Student Ambassador from Iowa who, as a mom, is ensuring children like hers get the early learning opportunities they deserve

The three-day event provided advocates the opportunity to attend in-depth advocacy trainings, hear from leading experts on issues impacting children worldwide, and meet with their legislators to advocate for investments in early childhood education in the U.S. and humanitarian support for the world’s children.

“Kids don’t vote, and they don’t donate to political candidates – that means elected officials aren’t often reaching out to them, listening to their voices about the world they live in,” said Mark Shriver, CEO of SCAN and Senior Vice President of U.S. Programs and Advocacy at Save the Children. “These advocates from across the U.S. – including more than 75 high school and college students – are actively engaged and dedicating their time and efforts to be that voice for kids on Capitol Hill and in their home communities. They took time from school and work to make this world a better and more opportune place for children.”

— Catherine Gillespie, Associate Dean, Professor of Education