Hello

Debbie Carlsen is the Founder and CEO of Washington Families Thrive, where she unites employers, families, and child-care professionals to strengthen Washington’s early-learning ecosystem. For nearly a decade, she has advanced the field as an advocate, researcher, educator, and coalition builder—championing policies and partnerships that make high-quality care both accessible and sustainable.

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Debbie’s vision is rooted in hands-on experience. She has served as a nanny, early-learning educator, and ESL instructor, roles that sharpened her belief that great child care begins with close collaboration between teachers and families. Her policy résumé is equally deep: founding advisor to King County’s Best Starts for Kids, community-engagement lead at Children’s Alliance, Snohomish County Early Learning Coalition Director, school-board candidate, and founding executive director of a regional economic-development nonprofit. Across each post, she has woven together government, business, and community voices to drive systemic change.

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The mission is personal. As a parent (and former foster parent) who once said, “I can’t find child care,” and as a member of the sandwich generation who briefly left the workforce to care for loved ones, Debbie knows the high stakes facing working families. Through Washington Families Thrive, she now helps employers offer affordable, parent-designed child-care benefits that connect employees to a vetted network of exceptional providers—so children can learn, parents can work, and businesses can prosper.