Kati Haycock is one of the nation's leading child advocates in education. She previously served as executive vice president of the Children's Defense Fund, the nation's largest child-advocacy organization. A native Californian, Haycock founded and served as president of the Achievement Council, a statewide organization that helps teachers and principals in predominantly minority schools improve student achievement. Before that, she served as director of the outreach and student affirmative-action programs for the nine-campus University of California System.