Task Forces: Making The Most Of Childhood

Making the Most of Early Childhood

Task Force Chairs Announced

June 08, 2007

Chair: Jessie Rassmussen

Vice President, Buffett Early Childhood Fund

Jessie’s entire professional career has focused on improving outcomes for children and families. For over 20 years she was an early childhood education teacher and administrator in a variety of environments, including Head Start, the Jewish Community Center, and the Munroe-Meyer Rehabilitation Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

She spent the next 20 years of her profession in state government, first serving as a Nebraska state Senator for four years and then serving as the state human services director in both Nebraska and Iowa. She served as the Early Childhood Policy Director for the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation where she advocated for good public policy for young children and their families. In this position, Jessie played an instrumental role in the development and successful passage of early childhood legislation in 2006 that established a $60M early childhood endowment funded through a public and private partnership. Jessie presently works as vice president of the Buffett Early Childhood Fund.

Jessie has her Master’s degree in Human Development and Family Relations. She is married to Dean Rasmussen, has two grown daughters and is the proud grandmother of Ellie and Mack!

Vice-Chair: Thomas Tonniges, M.D.

Medical Director of Boys Town Pediatrics & Director of Boys Town Institute for Child Health Development

Thomas Tonniges, MD, FAAP, is Medical Director of the Boys Town National Research Hospital Institute for Child Health Improvement in Omaha, Nebraska.

Prior to Boys Town, Dr. Tonniges was the Director of International and Interprofessional Activities at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) where he represented the Academy internationally to promote optimal physical, mental and social health and well-being for all infants, children, adolescents and young adults worldwide.

For ten years Dr. Tonniges was the Director of the Department of Community Pediatrics where he led a variety of private and federal grant programs to improve the health of children nationwide. He also was a member of the AAP Board of Directors. A graduate of the University of Nebraska College of Medicine, Omaha, Nebraska, Dr. Tonniges served in private practice for 18 years in Hastings, Nebraska.