KANDACE THOMAS is a dedicated and experienced advocate for low-income children and their families. Currently, she is a program officer at the Irving Harris Foundation working to build systems for young children on the local, regional and national level. She is also a founder and the co-director of Camp Sojourner, an overnight, sleep-away camp for Philadelphia girls. She has a deep commitment to ensuring that children growing up in cities have access to the outdoors and enriching summer camp experiences. Kandace received her Masters of Public Policy from the Harris School at the University of Chicago in 2004, and her B.A. in Sociology and African-American Studies from Wesleyan University. She grew up in the Bronx, and currently lives on the South Side of Chicago. Kandace spends her free time as a Big Sister with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago and also enjoys running, doing yoga, and traveling.