David Kirp is the James D. Marver Professor of Public Policy at the University of California Berkeley and author of Kids First: Five Big Ideas for Transforming Children's Lives. Kids First makes a powerful argument for building systems of support that reach from cradle to college and career. From the beginning of his career, as a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and founding director of the Harvard Center for Law and Education, children’s issues have been David Kirp’s main focus. His work with government agencies and foundations, as well as his teaching and his community activism, address these issues at ground level.