Adrienne Olejnik’s start in finance didn’t predict her role as an advocate. She joined the board of Kansas Action for Children (KAC), the state’s largest policy advocacy organization, while working at a financial services firm.
“I was a new mom in my mid-20s, and it really opened my eyes to the possibilities of this work on behalf of children and families,” she says. “Serving on the board for six years changed my life.”
Inspired by her experience, Olejnik set out to make a difference. She narrowly lost a race to unseat her state representative, became a library director and served on the city council. When looking for a new way to improve outcomes for families, she returned to KAC, joining the staff in 2018. As vice president, she oversees the policy research, data and legislative teams and serves as a strategic partner to dozens of organizations statewide while keeping children’s well-being at the center of her work.
Olejnik sees the Fellowship as a chance to think strategically about the seismic shifts in childhood brought by technology in the past 15 years. “In Kansas, the context is very divided, but this is a possible area for collaboration,” she explains. “I want to understand how policy change can protect children while recentering our connection to each other.”