Olivia Gomez Assistant Director, Health Policy and Research
Olivia Gomez serves as the Assistant Director of Health Policy and Research. Her work focuses on enhancing health outcomes for children by advocating for policies that improve access to health coverage and nutritional foods, reduce child poverty, and keep our environment free from toxins and pollutants.
Prior to joining First Focus, Olivia was an intern in Senator Robert P. Casey’s office, where she provided research and legislative support for the Senator on a number of different policy issues. Olivia also was a public health policy intern at the Office of National Drug Control Policy within the Executive Office of the President, where she worked to improve access to evidence-based treatments for those with substance use disorder. While completing her degree, she served as a tutor to student-athletes and was a public health science ambassador to prospective students for the University of Maryland School of Public Health.
Olivia is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Public Health.
This Earth Day, Let’s Remember to Prioritize Kids in Climate Change Policy
Olivia Gomez | April 21, 2021 |
Since President Biden has taken office, it seems America is finally taking the threat of climate change and the implications it has seriously. Just …
Congress is Taking Action to Ensure We Cut Child Poverty in Half
Olivia Gomez, First Focus Campaign for Children | March 3, 2021 |
House and Senate Democrats are poised to re-introduce the Child Poverty Reduction Act tomorrow. Led by Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL) and Sen. Bob Casey …
European Court of Human Rights embraces case charging that climate change violates children’s human rights
Olivia Gomez | December 7, 2020 |
The European Court of Human Rights has accepted — and fast-tracked — a case asserting that climate change violates children’s human rights. The lawsuit, …
Key Stats on the Effect of COVID-19 on Kids
Aubrey Edwards-Luce, Averi Pakulis, Cara Baldari, Carrie Fitzgerald, Christopher Towner (Former Staff), Conor Sasner, Kathy Sacco, Michelle Dallafior, Miriam Abaya, Olivia Gomez | November 19, 2020 |
The COVID-19 pandemic is doing more than exposing the racial, ethnic, and economic disparities existing in our society; it is compounding them, and so …
Nearly 1 Million Children Infected with COVID-19 Since Pandemic Began
Olivia Gomez | November 12, 2020 |
Nearly 1 million children across the United States have been infected with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, according to a new report by The …
Georgia waiver ending federal marketplace could push rate of uninsured children even higher
Olivia Gomez | November 4, 2020 |
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid have approved Georgia’s 1332 State Relief and Empowerment waiver, allowing the state to exit the federal insurance marketplace. …
Polluted air kills a half-million babies around the globe, research finds
Olivia Gomez | October 29, 2020 |
Stunning figures from the State of Global Air 2020 report blame air pollution for 20% of newborn deaths worldwide, with nearly 476,000 infants dying …
EPA rejects its own science to declare banned pesticide not a threat to children
Olivia Gomez | October 15, 2020 |
The Trump Administration has yet again rejected science in a new and harmful Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) risk assessment that proclaims the pesticide chlorpyrifos …
New data shows a surge in pandemic-induced hunger among children
Olivia Gomez | September 17, 2020 |
New federal data show that child hunger — already high in 2019 — has soared as families struggle to put food on the table during …
USDA Extends School Nutrition Waivers, Easing Child Hunger
Olivia Gomez, First Focus Campaign for Children | September 3, 2020 |
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March, nearly 14 million children have been living in food-insecure households. School closures have exacerbated the …