February 06, 2023

Senator Warren Announces State of the Union Guest: Eugénie Ouedraogo

A Child Care Leader and Nursing Student, Eugénie and Her Family Live in Taunton, MA (Meet Eugénie)

Boston, MA — United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) today announced that Eugénie Ouedraogo, a parent and member of the Policy Council at Triumph, Inc. Head Start in Taunton, will accompany her to the President’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, February 7, 2023, at the Capitol.

“I'm grateful to have Eugénie join me at the State of the Union this year,” said Senator Elizabeth Warren. “Eugénie and I both know firsthand what it’s like to struggle with finding child care while pursuing an education, which is exactly why I’ve been fighting for years to ensure child care is more affordable and accessible for all.”

“I am honored to be chosen as Senator Warren’s State of the Union guest. When my family and I relocated to Massachusetts five years ago from Africa, I knew we were going to face challenges. Thankfully, Triumph was there to help care for my children when I was struggling as a nursing student. Since the pandemic began, costs have risen for families and child care centers across the country have faced many challenges, including a shortage of child care workers and lack of federal funding. If we want our America to become stronger, we need to invest in our little ones right now,” said Eugénie Ouedraogo.

Eugénie is a nursing student at UMass Dartmouth and lives in Taunton, Massachusetts with her husband, Alain, and three children – Chris, Audrey, and Kimberly. Senator Warren met Eugénie in 2021 at a roundtable discussion during her visit to Triumph, Inc. Head Start, a child care center focused on providing comprehensive early childhood education and services to families and children having complex needs.Chris and Audrey are graduates of Triumph, Inc.’s Head Start program, and Kimberly currently is enrolled in the Home Based Early Head Start home visiting program. Originally from Burkina Faso, Eugénie immigrated to the United States in June 2017 and settled in Taunton, Massachusetts. She and Alain became American citizens last year.

Senator Warren has been a leading voice in the fight for comprehensive, long-term investments in affordable, accessible, and high-quality child care.

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