Emily Laidlaw
Emily Laidlaw, PPA’s Chief Strategy Officer, brings to PPA extensive experience around working in complex situations that fundamentally result in positive strategy, policy and implementation. This can be seen throughout her years working in state government and around early child care. She has worked for nearly 20 years in education policy, advocacy, and government affairs, and she previously served as Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s Director of Policy and Education Advisor. She has also held roles in the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators and the Michigan House of Representatives.
Before PPA, Ms. Laidlaw served as the Deputy Director for Early Education at the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP) where she oversees the department’s efforts to expand access to affordable, high-quality child care and early education. While there she oversaw 240 employees (73% of MiLEAP’s total workforce) and $1.2b in early learning systems focused on expanding access to affordable, quality early care through programs like the Tri-Share cost-sharing model, child care scholarship, and Early On. She guided a high-performing team focused on program design, implementation, and continuous improvement, with an emphasis on equity, access, and community voice.
In that role, she built MiLEAP and the Office of Early Education from the ground up while simultaneously delivering major early education initiatives focused on expanding access and support for families across the state. She also lead statewide early childhood education strategy, policy, and program implementation, including Michigan’s PreK for All initiative, Caring for MI Future, and efforts to strengthen the early education workforce and community-based care solutions.
She also represented MiLEAP in national forums and partnerships to share Michigan’s innovations and learn from other states’ early education strategies.
Education
Ms. Laidlaw received her BA in Sociology and Public Policy and Administration from Michigan State University. She is currently working towards her master’s degree in Public Administration from Pennsylvania State University.
Also Notable
Ms. Laidlaw completed the Education Policy Fellowship Program at Michigan State University. It is a “year’s long leadership development program…. Through program activities, Fellows learn about education policy design and implementation at the local, state and national levels, grow as effective leaders, and strengthen their professional networks.”
