ernestine walls benedict

board of directors, founding member

Ernestine comes to the Board of Directors for the National Habeas Institute as the Chief Communications Officer for Zero to Three, a national non-profit that seeks to educate society on the importance of early development and well being during the pre-natal and first three years of life. Ernestine’s mother was a criminal defense attorney, and as a result, Ernestine grew up learning about the devastating long-term effects that poverty and inequality have on an individual and society as a whole.

Ernestine brings more than 20 years of experience in marketing and communications strategy across multiple industries, including nonprofit, government, arts and culture, and technology. Before joining ZERO TO THREE, Ernestine served as the Chief Communications Officer for the Campaign For Grade-Level Reading, a national effort to boost children’s early literacy and early school success. Previously, Ernestine served as Chief of Communications for the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), the fastest improving school district in the United States, and prior to her role at DCPS, Ernestine served as Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Reading Is Fundamental, the nation’s largest children’s literacy organization, where she created and launched Leading to Reading an award-winning, bilingual website supporting early literacy learning for young children.

Ernestine began her career in the Silicon Valley, where she held product management and product marketing positions at AOL, Netscape Communications and Broadband Office. She holds a Bachelor of Business Studies degree in Finance from Temple University.