Leadership Initiative Events

The Leadership Initiative welcomes Susan MacDonald as our speaker.

A culture of appreciation happens when everyone feels valued, respected, and seen for their unique strengths. This presentation will inspire you to incorporate easy-to-implement strategies for building positive relationships and bringing a renewed sense of joy to your school community!

This engaging session will explore positive communication techniques, the Appreciative Inquiry model, impactful frameworks, reflective exercises, and a team assessment form.

You will leave with a clear path to creating resilient relationships and a positive, supportive, respectful environment for children and adults. Participants will also receive a reflection guide with actionable tips, strategies, and resources to help you create a culture of appreciation!

This is a virtual event, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Join the Leadership Initiative and the Advocacy Institute for a special virtual conversation about advocacy. If you ever wondered about the policies that impact you, your team, and children and families in New York State, this is a great chance to learn more.

This event is for all those in Early Childhood Education who are interested in learning more about Early Head Start, and how to potentially start their own program/relationship. Prepare to hear from experienced individuals who are advocating and supporting children and families across New York State.

Building strong, inclusive, and reflective programs leaders in early childhood starts with being supportive of children. Each child is different, and many require different methods of communication and prepared loving adults. Join us as we explore different strategies, experiences, reflection, and words from a panel of learned leaders of early childhood education.

Members of the Mid-Hudson Leadership Initiative are invited to join us for monthly networking meetings on Zoom.

The Leadership Initiative is pleased to bring you a valuable opportunity to develop your core business practices. Join Erica Chase-Gregory​, Regional Director of the Small Business Development Center at Farmingdale, as she leads a 3-part professional learning community where you will:  

• Build a strong business foundation
• Evaluate how legal structures and tax rules impact your business
• Calculate the true cost of care for each child in your program 
• Analyze market rate and what it means for your business
• Create a record keeping and budgeting system
• Identify community resources to support next steps in making informed business decisions 

Please note this event has a limited number of seats and is exclusive for family child care and group family child care Leadership Initiative members. 

Please join our inaugural 2024 Mid-Hudson Networking Event. Break virtual bread with other Early Childhood Educators and discuss new plans and pathways towards supporting staff, children, and families. 

Join the Council for Professional Recognition for a virtual information session to learn more about becoming a Child Development Associate (CDA) Professional Development Specialist. 

If you enjoy mentoring, meeting new people, and observing educational environments, becoming a PD Specialist may be for you! PD Specialists use their expertise in early childhood education to assess CDA candidates' competencies and facilitate reflective conversations with candidates. PD Specialists receive an honorarium from the Council for each Verification Visit they conduct.

Join us to learn more! 

We are proud to welcome you to a follow up event with Imani Missouri on biases in early childhood. This event is intended as an opportunity to continue our conversation from our October event and deepen connections with others in the community.

At our October event, Imani led us in deepening our understanding of what unconscious bias is (and isn’t!) with an interactive session. We spoke in breakout rooms and as a large group about our experiences and ways to both identify and interrupt biases when we notice them happening. This space may have also included moments of discomfort and stretching ourselves with new ideas.

Our follow up event is by invitation only to members who attended our October Speaker Series event. We welcome you to join us to continue our conversations from October and reflect on what has come up since then. This time together will include experiences in small groups with participants from across NYS. Since we’ll have interactions in break out rooms, we encourage you to register if you are interested and able to attend the full event with your camera/microphone. We hope to see you there!

The Early Childhood Leadership Initiative is proud to present the Playmaker Project, facilitated by Ant Toombs Sr. The Playmaker Project provides “play-based, trauma-informed training and support for early childhood professionals.” Playmakers offer a framework that enhances existing priorities and increases social and emotional wellness among kids and staff.

The Leadership Initiative encourages leaders to join with an open heart and mind, learning techniques to bring optimism, joy, and healing to themselves, to staff, and to children.

Optimism matters. An optimistic disposition enables us through everyday and extraordinary struggles  to look for the goodness in ourselves, in others, and in the world around us. For professionals working with young survivors of trauma, optimism isn’t just a critical tool; it’s the pathway to healing for kids in need. This inspiring, interactive presentation helps individuals discover the power of optimism to create safe, joyful, engaging environments where kids can grow, heal, and learn. Using research, humor, and personal stories from 30+ years in the field, Playmaker Project Guides share how optimistic individuals can bring out the best in their students, colleagues, and leaders.

Come join us! In this virtual discussion hosted by the Long Island, Mid-Hudson, and New York City Leadership Initiatives, hear from our expert panelists about promising practices and strength-based perspectives on staff retention in early childhood. Audience members will have the opportunity to: 

• Gain a deeper understanding of what keeps professionals in the field of early childhood. 
• Consider staff retention strategies outside of salary and bonuses. 
• Explore the value in fostering shared ownership around staff retention. 
• Redefine measures of success with staff retention.

We are proud to welcome you to our next Speaker Series event featuring Imani Missouri. She brings to us an opportunity to deepen our understanding of what unconscious bias is (and isn’t!) in an interactive session. Unconscious Bias is used often in our field, and together with Imani, we’ll talk about the differences between biases and racism. We’ll pause to reflect on our experience with the content and consider ways to attend to ourselves in these moments. This space may have moments where we sit bravely with productive, but transformative, discomfort.

All are welcome in this space. This time together will include experiences in small groups to learn with participants from across NYS. We aim for each participant to leave with the framework for a personal goal to increase their awareness of biases in their life and leadership role. Since this event includes interactions in small group break out rooms, we encourage you to register if you are interested and able to attend the full event. We hope to see you there!

You are invited to join our network of skilled and knowledgeable early childhood leaders as we discuss issues and resources relevant to the Mid-Hudson provider community. Our monthly meetings offer a space for information sharing, creative problem solving, and compassionate reflection. Register now for advanced notice of featured topics and guest speakers. 

The Southern Tier and the WNY Leadership Initiative have collaborated to present the upcoming Leadership Panel Discussion “Trauma Informed Supervision”.  Our expert panelist will share information to empower early childhood leaders in creating environments that support their staff and their needs. Our panelists will share their career pathway to their current work, along with understanding the effects of trauma and strategies for leaders to build resilience practices within.

As early childhood leaders and educators, you’ve probably noticed the “generation gap,” or how people born in different generations may think and behave differently — and you may have even experienced generational differences among your colleagues or early childhood educators at work. We invite you to join the Early Childhood Leadership Initiative for an illuminating conversation with Dr. Megan Gerhardt, an expert in intergenerational workplaces and the author of “Gentelligence: The Revolutionary Approach to Leading an Intergenerational Workforce.” Dr. Gerhardt will discuss how to reflect on your own age-based biases, look beyond stereotypes associated with different generations and develop an understanding of why people who grew up in different times may behave in unique — and valuable! — ways. 

We are pleased to welcome our colleagues from NY Works for Children for another informative event to support leaders with the Aspire Registry workforce registry system. This event is a follow up to our July meeting. Several participants from our July meeting shared their interest in a second event with a focus on the professional development section of the Aspire Registry. Our August meeting will focus on this including information on how to create professional developments on the Aspire Registry, how to document professional development, and how to feature trainings on the Aspire Registry website. This is meeting is a statewide opportunity through the Leadership Initiative.

We offer special thanks to members who were able to participate in our July event and surveys. If you were not able to join the July meeting, you are still welcome to join our August session. Please email us if you'd like to see a copy of the recording. We hope to see you there! 

In Latina Empowerment Through Leadership, 8 women of color come together to share stories, untold secrets and life lessons about what it truly means to be a mindful leader. You'll see leadership isn't about a job title. Leadership is about perseverance and knowing that you can empower yourself to come through ANY struggle. 

Join us for a lunchtime discussion of this collection of inspiring stories!

Session #1: Tuesday, August 22nd from 1:00-2:00

Session #2: Tuesday, August 29th from 1:00-2:00 

Each of our roles play a meaningful support in the field of Early Childhood. Join us for an upcoming Leadership Panel to hear leaders of different careers describe their journey and their passion for this work. We’ll explore the types of roles needed in our field and reflect on how these different roles weave together to impact the lives of young children. This conversation is ideal for someone who is considering ways to enhance their career path and is interested in learning about all the roles that support early childhood.

How can we dismantle inequities and provide nurturing, responsive care and education to all children?

Don’t Look Away: Embracing Anti-Bias Classrooms leads early childhood professionals to explore and address issues of bias, equity, low expectations, and family engagement to ensure culturally responsive experiences. Importantly, this book will challenge you to consider your perceptions and thought processes.

Session #1: Thursday, July 13th from 3:30-5:00

Session #2: Thursday, July 27th from 3:30-5:00

*Register by June 1st

To receive a copy of the book, include your preferred mailing address with registration.

We are pleased to welcome our colleagues from NY Works for Children this July for an informational event to support leaders with the Aspire workforce registration system. This will be an opportunity to learn more about why this system is a valuable tool for our field and how you can use it to support your work. We've designed the content for this session after hearing from Leadership Initiative members about their needs and curiosities. We hope you can join us! 

“Leadership is hard. Convincing others––and yourself––that you are capable of taking charge and achieving more requires insight and courage. Lead from the Outside is the handbook for outsiders, written with an eye toward the challenges that hinder women, people of color, the working class, members of the LQBTQ community, and millennials ready to make change at work, in politics, and in their own lives.”

Join us for a book group discussion and explore the impactful story of Stacy Abrams, author, entreprenuer, non-profit CEO, and political leader.

Session #1: Wednesday, June 21st from 4:30-6:00

Session #2: Wednesday, June 29th from 4:30-6:00

*Register by May 12th

To receive a copy of the book, include your preferred mailing address with registration.

Here's what people are saying about Graceful Leadership in Early Childhood Education, by Ann McClain Terrell:

"A stunningly brilliant book. Ann weaves a personal, poignant, and beautiful story that exudes the authentic grace that is her approach to leadership. Whether you are a practitioner, an administrator, or an advocate starting your career or retirement, read this book so that don't miss the opportunity to be moved and motivated by Ann's work." ~ Rhian Evans Allvin

"How I love this book! Ann's words soothe my heart, restore my faith, and remind me of what matters." ~ Holly Elissa Bruno

Join us for a book group discussion:

Session #1: Monday, May 22nd, 6:30-8:00 PM

Session #2: Monday, June 5th, 6:30-8:00 PM

*Register by April 28th

To receive a copy of the book, include your preferred mailing address with registration.

The Leadership Initiative is pleased to bring you this opportunity to develop your core business practices. Join Erica Chase-Gregory, Regional Director of the Small Business Development Center at Farmingdale, as she leads a 3-part professional learning community for family and group family providers.

Internships, field experiences, and student teaching connect future early childhood educators to the profession and cultivate growth in our workforce. As early childhood leaders, you play a critical role in fostering this ‘pipeline to the profession’. Join us for a dynamic panel event and hear from program directors, higher education faculty, and leaders in early career development about how you can create meaningful and sustainable partnerships with preservice teacher programs and support the early childhood community!  

Leading an early childhood program is challenging. Stresses and frustrations sometimes take center-stage and weaken our resolve. Leaders who can shift into a stance of appreciation are able to reframe challenges as opportunities and cultivate resilience in themselves and their employees. 

Hear from our panel of early childhood leaders on how they practice acknowledgment, harness the positives, prepare for challenges, and strategically plan through a lens of gratitude.

Join the Mid-Hudson Leadership Initiative and a team of specialists from QUALITYstarsNY in a three-part professional learning community on how to foster employee retention through onboarding and ongoing leadership action. We will explore the art and science of hiring and onboarding; identify practical strategies for preventing ‘quick-quits’ and getting employees through the critical first months on the job; and cultivate tools for long-term retention such as stay interviews, engagement conversations, and supported goal-setting.

Tuesday, November 15th, 3:30-4:30: Part 1 - The Art and Science of Hiring and Onboarding

Tuesday, November 29th, 3:30-4:30: Part 2 - The First 90-Days: A Critical Retention Window

Tuesday, December 13th, 3:30-4:30: Part 3 - Sustaining Quality Engagement

An important role of any leader is growing and nurturing the development of up-and-coming leaders within the field. Leaders with innovative succession planning practices cultivate a new generation of leaders by strategically creating opportunities for employees to explore leadership responsibilities. Hear from a panel of experienced early childhood leaders on how to:

· Plan leadership development for the next generation

· Establish a strategic process for succession planning

· Leverage succession planning as a staff retention tool

· Explore the technical and adaptive challenges of succession planning

Featured Topic: Employee Retention in Your Early Childhood Program: The Staying Power of Engagement Conversations

Join the Mid-Hudson Leadership Initiative as we meet over coffee and hear Mary Ann Masarech speak on Engagement Conversations. Engagement Conversations are a powerful tool for cultivating relationships and enhancing employee retention. Employees find reasons to stay with their organization when they feel respected, valued, and heard by their leader.

In this dynamic Mid-Hudson Leadership Initiative Speaker Series Event, author, speaker, and seasoned human resource consultant, Mary Ann Masarech shares her expertise and leads a reflective discussion about the role of engagement conversations in employee satisfaction and retention. 

 In this session you will:

Join us! We are honored to host Rhian Evans Allvin for this special state-wide edition of the Leadership Initiative Speaker Series. Come to learn about Rhian's exciting journey as the Chief Executive Officer of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). She served the NAEYC community for over a decade, supporting an increase in membership and bringing strong leadership to the policy advocacy arm of NAEYC's work. During Rhian's tenure, NAEYC released three position statements on equity in early childhood education and convened the Power to the Profession initiative. We'll have the opportunity to learn more about Rhian's leadership philosophy, lessons learned, and her insight on our field at this event. We hope to see you there!  

As a member of the Mid-Hudson Leadership Initiative, you are invited to join our monthly networking meetings. Our meetings create a space for you to connect with leaders throughout the region, learn from one another, share stories, strategies, feelings, and resources. Meeting topics are driven by your questions and needs. This is a time for you to engage with your peers, build relationships, and find inspiration and encouragement as early childhood leaders. 

Leadership is not about a job title. Leadership is about perseverance and knowing that you can empower yourself and come through any struggle. It’s about knowing that “your place” is wherever you want it to be, as long as you’re willing to put in the work to get there. Leadership is a journey and choice.

Join us this summer for an inspirational discussion of the book: Latina Empowerment Through Leadership: Mindful Stories from Inspiring Women. This collection of stories showcases the struggles, insecurities, and triumphs of 8 incredible women who challenge our thinking, take us out of our comfort zones, and teach us about rising above adversity to make a positive impact through leadership. 

Register by July 22nd to receive a complementary copy of the book.

1st session, Wednesday, August 24th from 7:00-8:00 PM

2nd session, TBD

Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators, by Elena Aguilar, is a practical resource for cultivating resilience in educators. The book is based on the author's research in emotional resilience, psychology, systems thinking, and change management and on her decade of testing in schools and offices.

In our professional learning community, you will come together with other leaders in discussion of the habits and dispositions of resilient educators outlined in the book. Habits such as knowing yourself, telling empowering stories, being a learner, and riding the waves of change; dispositions including humor, empowerment, courage, and perseverance; all build resilience in ourselves and in our school communities!

The Mid-Hudson Leadership Initiative is pleased to bring you a valuable opportunity to develop your core business practices. Join Erica Chase-Gregory​, Regional Director of the Small Business Development Center at Farmingdale, as she leads a 3-part professional learning community where you will:  

• Build a strong business foundation
• Evaluate how legal structures and tax rules impact your business
• Calculate the true cost of care for each child in your program 
• Analyze market rate and what it means for your business
• Create a record keeping and budgeting system
• Identify community resources to support next steps in making informed business decisions 

Please note this event has a limited number of seats and is exclusive for family child care and group family child care Leadership Initiative members. 

 The Mid-Hudson NY Early Childhood Leadership Initiative is proud to present an exciting Speaker Series Event featuring executive leadership coach and business performance consultant, Kathy Meany. This event will engage women entrepreneurs and leaders in amplifying their success!

Please join us for a dynamic conversation with Kathy as she shares her depth of expertise in coaching leaders to reach new heights. Participants will reflect on their leadership challenges, consider strategies to bolster confidence and composure in interactions with board members and senior executives, and examine and embrace the role of risk-taking as visionary leaners and entrepreneurs.  

Our March Book Group features Brené Brown's Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. As a member of the Mid-Hudson Leadership Initiative, you are invited to come together with other leaders and future leaders in our region to explore the power of empathy, connection, and courage in  leadership. 

"When we dare to lead, we don’t pretend to have the right answers; we stay curious and ask the right questions. We don’t see power as finite and hoard it; we know that power becomes infinite when we share it with others. We don’t avoid difficult conversations and situations; we lean into vulnerability when it’s necessary to do good work." ~ Brené Brown

Register by January 31st to secure your space and a complementary copy of the book.

As copies of the book are limited, participants are asked to commit to attending both sessions.

We welcome Terrance Lee to join us and speak to his work on core leadership principles that can enhance our stance as leaders. He will share thoughtful insights on being identified as an "introvert" and the misconception that this attribute prevents one from becoming an "ideal" leader. Participants will have an opportunity to reflect on their stance as a leader, hear about principles that can enhance their daily practice in a leadership role, and learn about the inner power introverts bring to every team.

Please join us for a facilitated discussion of the inspirational leadership book, "Graceful Leadership in Early Childhood Education" by Ann McClain Terrell.

NAEYC President Ann Terrell was the distinguished guest at our recent Mid-Hudson Leadership Initiative Speaker Series event. Ann captivated our audience with insightful discussion of the qualities of the contemporary leader in Early Childhood Education and invited reflection on our personal leadership journeys. Inspired by her grace, we offer our Leadership Initiative members the opportunity to re-energize by joining our first Book Group Series of 2022!

Sessions will take place via Zoom on Thursday, February 3rd, 2022 and Thursday, February 17th, 2022 from 6:30-8:00 PM

Those who register will be provided with a FREE copy of the book!

*This event is only for Leadership Initiative members from the Mid-Hudson region and space is limited to 15 participants.
 

As a member of the Mid-Hudson Leadership Initiative you are invited to join our monthly networking meetings. Our meetings create a space for you to connect with leaders throughout the region, learn from one another, share stories, strategies, feelings, and resources. Meeting topics are driven by your questions and needs. This is a time for you to engage with your peers, build relationships, and find inspiration and encouragement as early childhood leaders. 

Meetings are held once per month from 7:00-8:00 PM

The Leadership Initiative recently launched in the Mid-Hudson Region and our membership is growing! We support the professional development and success of current and future early childhood leaders in centers, group family day care, and family day care. Attend one of our informational sessions to hear about how you can participate in our programs and special events. 

FALL 2022 Sessions:

Tuesday, October 18th at 11:30 AM

Wednesday, November 16th at 9:30 AM

Monday, December 5th at 3:30 PM

Join us for our first Leadership Speaker Series event, featuring:

Ann McClain Terrell
Author Graceful Leadership in Early Childhood Education
President, NAEYC Governing Board
and former Executive Director of the Milwaukee Public Schools Foundation Inc.

Admission is free for this virtual event!

Thursday, December 9, 2021 12:30pm-2:00pm
via Zoom

*we will have a capacity of 300 for this event. Waitlist is available. Priority registration given to individuals in the Central NY, Mid-Hudson, and Long Island regions

Join us for an exciting Leadership Speaker Series event featuring:

Ann McClain Terrell

Author of Graceful Leadership in Early Childhood Education

President, NAEYC Governing Board

Former Executive Director of the Milwaukee Public Schools Foundation, Inc. 

Admission is free for this virtual event!

12:30 PM -2:00 PM

As a member of the Mid-Hudson Leadership Initiative you are invited to join our monthly networking meetings. Our meetings create a space for you to connect with leaders throughout the region, learn from one another, share stories, strategies, feelings, and resources. Meeting topics are driven by your questions and needs. This is a time for you to engage with your peers, build relationships, and find inspiration and encouragement as early childhood leaders. 

Meetings are the 2nd Tuesday of every month from 1:00-2:00 PM

The Leadership Initiative is now in the Mid-Hudson Region! Please attend one of our informational sessions to hear about how we support the professional development and success of current and future early childhood leaders!

The Institute is hosting a professional development offering: Introduction to the Revised New York State Early Learning Guidelines: A Child Development Resource for Educators of Children Ages Birth Through Eight. These sessions are designed specifically for Directors and other leaders of early childhood programs. This professional development session will provide an overview of the shifts within this new and improved version of the New York State Early Learning Guidelines. A specific focus will be provided on utilizing this resource as a leader in your program and supporting its use among your staff. 

Choose one of the session dates and times that works for you. 

Join us for this special two-part Leadership Speaker Series event, featuring Abby Thorman.

"Making Impact: Strengthen Your Voice, Your Message, and Your Story-telling"

As professionals and leaders we have responsibility to use our experience and knowledge to inform and influence others about appropriate practices and the needs of the early childhood field (Core Body of Knowledge 6.6).
Abby will explore and help attendees understand the skills and components of effective storytelling for early childhood advocacy. Part 1 on May 26th will cover crafting effective messages, using those messages for advocacy, and strategies to achieve power in numbers. Join us again on June 3rd in an interactive session with Abby to hone those message-making skills with opportunities for feedback and strategizing.