Small Businesses and the Arizona Childcare Crisis: What’s at Stake E41
In this episode, host Thomas Barr discusses Arizona’s childcare crisis, exploring its impact on small businesses and the local economy through an interview with Patrick Contrades and Ofelia Gonzalez from First Things First.
Established in 2006 through a tobacco tax initiative, First Things First is Arizona’s main grant provider, allocating $100 million annually to enhance child care quality, accessibility, and affordability. The episode underscores the ongoing challenges faced by childcare providers and parents, accentuated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and emphasizes the need for sustained advocacy and community collaboration.
Listen to this episode for a comprehensive overview of the childcare crisis in Arizona, its economic implications, and insights from experts on strategies to address these challenges.
As Arizona’s early childhood agency, First Things First is committed to the healthy development and learning of young children from birth to age 5. It funds services to help kids be successful once they enter kindergarten. Decisions about how to invest early childhood funds are informed by local councils staffed by community volunteers.
Ofelia Gonzalez is the Public Information Officer for First Things First. Ofelia helps create and implement the organization’s communication efforts across Arizona. She oversees the development of FTF print communications and writes and edits editorial content for a variety of publications and digital platforms.
Prior to joining FTF, Ofelia handled public relations and publications at Coconino Community College in Flagstaff. She began her career as a reporter with The Arizona Republic, where she spent almost a decade covering education, public safety, police, fire and other municipal issues.
Her work has also appeared in publications including: USA Today, The San Francisco Chronicle and The Oregonian. She grew up in an Arizona mining town called Mammoth and has a bachelor’s degree from ASU and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of California at Berkeley.
Patrick Contrades is the Strategic Partnerships and Development Manager at First Things First. Prior to being hired full-time with First Things First, he was a volunteer representative on the FTF Northwest Maricopa Regional Partnership Council where he served on the council for over 10 years.
Patrick has over 35 years of experience working with public and private education systems – from cradle to career – and is very familiar with the systemic education-related issues affecting communities. He strongly believes that communities must learn to collaborate, educate and advocate together in order to reach a common goal.
Patrick is a current and former member of several advisory and community groups and lives in the West Valley. He is a graduate of Brophy College Preparatory and received his Bachelor of Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing and Management from Loyola Marymount University.
Follow First Things First on LinkedIn, Facebook, X and Instagram.
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About Your Host
Thomas Barr is the Executive Director for Local First Arizona, the largest coalition of local businesses in North America. He advocates for a strong local business community that contributes to building vibrancy, equity, and prosperity across the state. A proud Arizona native and graduate of Arizona State University, Thomas leads the business coalition of Local First Arizona by advocating for the economic and cultural benefits provided by building strong local economies.
Thomas steers the strategic direction of LFA’s major programs and initiatives as well as the engagement of over 3000 businesses across Arizona. As Executive Director, Thomas guides a team of statewide senior directors overseeing the execution of LFA’s communication strategy, major initiatives and key partnerships, as well as the collaboration of over 30 staff implementing work in entrepreneurship programs, small business advocacy, local food initiatives, sustainability, urban development and community building. He frequently speaks to groups locally and nationally, presenting the impact of Local First Arizona and the importance of local economy work in building prosperity.
Outside of Local First Arizona, Thomas has participated in volunteering his time to many causes and organizations throughout the Valley including Young Nonprofit Professionals – Phoenix, Equality Arizona, Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits, Arizona Commission on the Arts, Heritage Square Foundation and Phoenix Legal Action Network. Additionally, Thomas is a 2018 Phoenix Magazine 40 Under 40 honoree, alumni of Arizona Leading for Change, and current participant in Valley Leadership Institute’s 40th cohort.
Connect with Thomas on LinkedIn and Twitter.
