Reach Out and Read National Center

September 14, 2009

(BOSTON, MA) September 14, 2009 – Reach Out and Read, the evidence-based national nonprofit that works with doctors and nurses to promote early literacy, today named Earl Martin Phalen its new Chief Executive Officer.  Phalen, who has more than 16 years of experience in nonprofit leadership, will lead Reach Out and Read from the organization’s national headquarters in Boston.

 

Founded in 1989, Reach Out and Read (ROR) is one of the most successful early childhood interventions ever developed and currently serves 25 percent of the nation’s at-risk infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.  Reach Out and Read trains medical providers at hospitals, health centers, and clinics in the ROR model which includes talking with parents about reading aloud at every checkup from 6 months to 5 years.  The tips for parents are accompanied by a new, age-appropriate book for every child at every checkup, starting with board books for babies, and moving on to more complex picture books for preschoolers. Each child who participates in Reach Out and Read will start kindergarten with a home library of up to 10 books, and with parents who understand the importance of reading.

 

Phalen, a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School, has dedicated his career to strengthening low-income families and communities. As a student at Harvard Law in 1992, Earl founded Building Educated Leaders for Life (BELL), a nonprofit organization that tutors and mentors schoolchildren who have fallen behind their peers and keeps them focused on the goal of attending and graduating from college.  As CEO for 15 years, Earl increased annual revenues from $12,000 to $25.5 million and grew BELL from a local community service project serving 20 students to a national nonprofit that educates more than 12,000 scholars annually.

 

Phalen served on the education policy group for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign and as co-chair of Massachusetts Governor Deval Partrick’s education task force.  President Bill Clinton named him as a recipient of the President’s Service Award in 1997.  Phalen is also the Founder and Chair of Summer Advantage USA, a nonprofit that provides scientifically-proven learning opportunities for students during summer months to combat summer learning loss. 

 

Judy Newman, Chair of Reach Out and Read’s National Board of Directors, said “Earl Martin Phalen is a proven leader with a lifelong passion for social change and promoting school readiness for all children.  Earl’s vision, energy, and commitment to early childhood education will be a dynamic match for the Reach Out and Read organization, and I know that his leadership will take ROR to new heights in the years ahead.”

 

“I am honored by the opportunity to become the CEO of Reach Out and Read,” said Phalen. “I have learned a great deal about ROR, and I can say without reservation that this is one of the best nonprofit organizations in America. Few nonprofits have the same evidence base (11 research studies), scale (3.8 million children served at 4,535 locations), and impact (significant developmental gains and higher test scores). Because of ROR’s extraordinary team of 19,000 volunteer doctors, nurses, and caring adults, all of this is achieved at an extremely low cost. Today, 35% of American children show up to kindergarten unprepared to learn. We will work tirelessly in the years ahead to ensure that all children enter school prepared for success.”

 

Research shows that Reach Out and Read parents read more to their young children. Children who participate in Reach Out and Read show improved language development -- the single strongest predictor of school success.  Because Reach Out and Read’s doctors and nurses volunteer the time they spend on early literacy, the total cost of the full, five-year ROR program is only $40.00 per child.

 

Since the first Reach Out and Read book was handed out in 1989, more than 52,000 pediatricians, family practitioners, and pediatric nurse practitioners have been trained in the ROR model. Today, Reach Out and Read partners with 4,535 hospitals, clinics, health centers, and practices in all 50 states to serve more than 3.8 million children ages 6 months to 5 years old, including more than a quarter of America’s most impoverished children.  For further information, visit ROR’s website at www.reachoutandread.org.