Bailey K. Childers is the Director of Government Relations for the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF). Childers arrives at GMF after serving as the Director of Federal Government Affairs for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). In her previous time at AFSCME, Childers managed national and state electoral and legislative campaigns.
Childers was also a Director of Government Relations at H&R Block where she was responsible for building and maintaining Democratic relationships on Capitol Hill. Prior to her move to federal lobbying and government relations, Childers served as Executive Director of the National Public Pension Coalition (NPPC), where she led efforts to advance retirement security for working Americans and managed state legislative efforts to support progressive tax and budget policies at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP).
A seasoned political operative, Childers spent much of her career running high-capacity field and GOTV efforts for Hillary Clinton in 2008 and 2016, the DNC in 2006, and John Kerry in 2004. Through her roles at AFSCME and on various Democratic political campaigns, Childers has hired and mentored dozens of new leaders, elevating the voices and work of women and people of color in the progressive movement. She has been published regularly in The Hill, Huffington Post, Medium, and outlets like CNBC and CNN Money.
Childers, who is a native of Longview, Texas, graduated magna cum laude from Wellesley College and received her Masters in Public Management from Johns Hopkins University.