CPH 29 - Persistence, Peace, and Purpose: A Conversation with Eboni Washington, MPA

Eboni Washington has spent two decades serving children, youth, and families—first in public service and now as Director of Government and Community Relations for Action for Child Protection. In this episode, she shares what it meant to leave a secure 19-year career in county government to take a leap of faith into a new chapter—and how trusting herself, even when others doubted her decision, became an act of courage. We talk about claiming space in rooms where you might be the only one like you, seeing public health through the lens of child welfare and juvenile justice, and finding peace and purpose in the work of helping communities thrive.

Meet Eboni Washington, MPA

Eboni Washington, MPA is the Director of Government and Community Relations for Action for Child Protection, a non-profit organization that provides technical assistance to child welfare agencies around the country. In this role, she is responsible for overseeing legislative and regulatory changes, empowering leaders, managing government contracts, and partnering to shape Action’s public policy strategies.

Eboni is an experienced Human Services leader with over two decades of non-profit and local government experience. During her 18+ year career at Clark County, she worked at the Departments of Juvenile Justice Services and Family Services in Las Vegas, Nevada; most recently as Deputy Director. During her time at Clark County, she served in various roles centered on community-based justice and child welfare programs. Most notably, Eboni oversaw expansion of Clark County’s juvenile assessment center, implementation of an analytics solution and development of an agency-wide performance measurement initiative designed to improve the quality of child welfare services provided to children and families in Southern Nevada.

Eboni is a passionate collaborator, advocate, and strategist driven to create and implement solutions designed to build thriving communities and advance outcomes for underserved populations. In doing so, she is committed to fostering collaboration and accessibility when engaging those responsible for serving children, youth and families.

Eboni Washington earned a bachelor’s degree in health Ecology from the University of Nevada,
Reno and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
She is also a member of the American Public Human Services Association Governing Board of Directors.

Listen To This Episode of The Courageous Public Health Podcast

Conversation Highlights

• Leaping Toward Change: Leaving a 19-year public-sector career in Las Vegas to “bet on herself” and pursue new purpose in nonprofit leadership.
• Trusting Intuition Over Fear: Making a bold career move despite loved ones saying she was “crazy” to leave a secure, well-paid job.
• Claiming a Seat Without a Badge: How working in juvenile justice—without the authority or title others had—taught her to show up confident in her expertise and mission.
• Courage in Community: The power of mentorship, especially from women like Dannette Smith, in fueling courage and confidence.
• Redefining Public Health: Eboni reminds us that supporting children, youth, and families through systems like child welfare is public health.
• Vision for the Future: Thriving communities where children are healthy, supported, and free to be themselves—and where leaders sustain their own peace while doing the work.

“I made that decision, and it was courageous, I think, just to take the step in deciding to bet on myself.” — Eboni Washington, MPA

Stay In Touch:

Eboni Washington on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/eboni-j-washington/

Dr. Kristi McClamroch on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristi-mcclamroch/

www.CourageousPublicHealth.com

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