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.

Develop your core business practices in this three-part professional learning community for center directors!

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.

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! 

These Long Island Leadership Initiative networking meetings are especially intended for home-based and family providers.

The Leadership Initiative is excited to offer weekly networking meetings on Zoom for our Long Island members of the Leadership Initiative. 

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!

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! 

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.

This summer, members are welcomed to join us to read and discuss the book “Solito” by Javier Zamora. We’ll follow Javier as he recounts his journey as a 9-year-old child migrating from El Salvador to the United States to reunite with his parents. We’ve chosen this book as an opportunity to reflect about the experiences of children migrating from other countries into the US. Many of the communities we support have brave stories of individuals that chose to seek out a new life in the US. We can use the author’s story as a space for processing our learning and reflecting on where else stories like Javier’s are represented in our work.

We are glad to offer this opportunity in English and Spanish. Please register for the language of your choice if you're able to commit to joining us for both online sessions. 

Meeting Dates for cohort reading and meeting in English:

Wednesday, July 12th at 6pm

Wednesday, July 26th at 6pm

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! 

Este verano, los miembros son bienvenidos a unirse a nosotros para leer y discutir el libro “Solito” de Javier Zamora. Seguiremos a Javier mientras relata su viaje como un niño de 9 años que migra de El Salvador a los Estados Unidos para reunirse con sus padres. Hemos elegido este libro como una oportunidad para reflexionar sobre las experiencias de los niños que migran de otros países a los Estados Unidos. Muchas de las comunidades que apoyamos tienen historias valientes de personas que eligieron buscar una nueva vida en los EE. UU. Podemos usar la historia del autor como un espacio para procesar nuestro aprendizaje y reflexionar sobre dónde más historias como la de Javier están representadas en nuestro trabajo.

Nos complace ofrecer esta oportunidad en inglés y español.

En español:

Lunes, Julio 10, 6pm - 7:30pm

Miercoles, Julio 26, 6pm - 7:30pm

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 us to discuss the SCR clearance process. Robin Beller will share suggestions and recommendations to successfully complete your new hire packet to avoid delays in the hiring process. 

Júntese con nosotros para hablar sobre el proceso de autorización en el sistema SCR. Robin Beller estará presente para darles sugerencias y recomendaciones para navegar el proceso de contratación y evitar retrasos en el proceso. 

This is a Long Island event.

Join us to discuss the SCR clearance process. Robin Beller will share suggestions and recommendations to successfully complete your new hire packet to avoid delays in the hiring process. 

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!  

Join the Leadership Initiative & QUALITYstarsNY Long Island Specialists in a three-part series learning community. We will explore how to think about your policies and procedures; the importance of cultivating relationships; and ways to mentor and build a cadre of leaders in your program. 

Handouts and reading material will be emailed to participants once they register for the series.

"The Gifts of Imperfection, Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are"  by Brene Brown.

A motivational and inspiring guide to wholehearted living, rather than just the average self-help book, with this groundbreaking work Brené Brown, Ph.D., bolsters the self-esteem and personal development process through her characteristic heartfelt, honest storytelling. With original research and plenty of encouragement, she explores the psychology of releasing our definitions of an “imperfect” life and embracing living authentically. Brown’s “ten guideposts”  are benchmarks for authenticity that can help anyone establish a practice for a life of honest beauty—a perfectly imperfect life.

Facilitated discussion of leadership books
Book groups present an opportunity for members to gather to discuss leadership publications and resources and are facilitated by committed professionals, dedicated to deepening the dialogue and illuminating the key messages​

Please register for a Book Group, as there is limited space.

Participants will be provided a FREE copy of  "The Gifts of Imperfection, Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are"  by Brene Brown

This virtual panel will offer diverse perspectives on how women leaders of color have navigated their leadership journey.  This panel will discuss ways program leaders can create inclusive spaces where everyone’s voice and strengths are valued, identify leadership qualities and promote opportunities for growth, and discuss strategies for recruiting and mentoring educators to take on leadership roles within the profession. We will learn from the experiences and perspectives of an early childhood director, group family childcare owner, CEO and owner of early childhood programs, and an early childhood educator/professor in early childhood.  Our panelists will also share their career pathways and what has led them to this work.  Attendees will walk away with important considerations and strategies for leadership, program culture and building leadership from within.

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

We welcomed NAEYC President Ann Terrell at our Speaker Series in December 2021.  Ann provided our audience with captivating discussions of the qualities of the contemporary leader in Early Childhood Education.  We began our reflection as leaders and our personal leadership journeys. We will continue these discussions to build a deep understanding of the topics during our two-part Book Group Series.  

Sessions will take place via Zoom on Wednesday, March 2nd and 16th from 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm.

Those who register will be provided with a FREE copy of the book. *This event is only for Leadership Initiative members from the Long Island region.

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.

This virtual panel will offer diverse perspectives on how to break down common myths of self-care, which can be rooted in sexism, racism and other oppressive systems.  This panel will discuss more inclusive strategies, to reduce burnout, promote wellness, and supports for building resiliency to effectively lead your early childhood program. We will learn from the experiences and perspectives of an assistant professor in human development and education, mindfulness and education consultant, meditation instructor, and social worker.  Our panelists will also share their career pathways and what has led them to this work.  Attendees will walk away with important considerations and strategies for leadership, program culture, health and well-being, and resiliency in caring for staff, children and families.

6:30 pm - 8:30 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

"Leadership Journeys in Early Childhood"

Ann is the author of the book "Graceful Leadership in Early Childhood Education", President, NAEYC Governing Board,  and former Executive Director of the Milwaukee Public Schools Foundation, Inc. 

Join us from 12:30 PM -2:00 PM

A professional learning community of early childhood leaders interested in reflecting on and learning about cultivating resilience in themselves and others. This learning community features the book Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators by Elena Aguilar.

October 2021 - October 2022
 

Over the last few months, there has been an increased focus on investment in early childhood care.  With new federal and state investments, Long Island leaders should examine their business practices. We are launching our first learning community focused on calculating the true cost of care. In these sessions, leaders will examine their program costs by age group and identify the "gap" between program expenses, cost per child, and teacher salary. Robin Beller and Erica Chase will lead the group to explore trends and discuss ways in which leaders can strengthen their business practices to ensure stability for their programs.  We plan to have our first meeting Thursday, October 14th.   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.

Special Co-Hosted Meeting on OCFS Guidance

THE EVENT SCHEDULED FOR TOMORROW EVENING, JUNE 9TH WILL BE POSTPONED. NEW GUIDANCE HAS BEEN RELEASED TODAY AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ABLE TO REVIEW THE MATERIALS BEFORE HOSTING OUR NEXT EVENT. 

Co-hosted by the Long Island Leadership Initiative, the Regional Technical Assistance Center, and CSEA/VOICE for a special session to unpack the New Guidance for Child Care, Day Camp, and Overnight Camp Programs. Robin Beller, Regional Manager from OCFS, will join us to provide responses to commonly asked questions that affect your work.  This session is open to all licensed group family and family child care programs. 

* Content of the session will be the same, therefore you only need to attend one session

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.

At this virtual Leadership Panel Discussion, we will hear from a moderated panel of early childhood professionals and leaders about their work to create equitable environments for children in early childhood settings. This panel will allow participants to dive into what it means to truly have an equity stance. Come and be inspired to hear from our panelists to see how you can put your equity stance into practice. Participants will be encouraged to set a goal to work towards advancing equity in early childhood education.

Join us for an engaging and thought-provoking discussion! 

The NY Early Childhood Leadership Initiative is proud to present a Leadership Speaker Series event in our 2021 series. This event is co-hosted virtually by the NYC, Western NY, and Long Island regional Leadership Initiative chapters. Grace Reef, President of Early Learning Policy, will explore and help attendees to consider what is on the horizon for early childhood education with the new federal administration. Who are the key players? How will priorities shift with this new leadership and in response to COVID? What are the opportunities for change, innovation, and advocacy? What can you do as leaders in early childhood education?

Join us to explore critical topics from Stacey Abrams book "Lead from the Outside."  Abrams discusses candidly what she has learned over the course of her impressive career in politics, business and the nonprofit world: that differences in race, gender, and class provide vital strength, which we can employ to rise to the top and create real and lasting change."

Join us for a virtual panel: "Remote Learning for Young Children: Best Practice Considerations for Leaders." Leaders of early childhood programs and schools will learn from the experiences and perspectives of a higher education faculty, a STEM trainer and a pre-K leader. Our panelists will discuss developmentally-appropriate remote learning practices and strategies for young children, features and type of digital platforms to consider, as well as strategies and considerations for evaluating remote learning in your programs. 

The Long Island Regional Early Childhood Leadership Initiative is proud to present a film screening and discussion, featuring the film "Resilience: The Biology of Stress & The Science of Hope."  The event will include a screening of the film followed by a interactive discussion with Tim Hathaway, Executive Director of Prevent Child Abuse New York. This event is co-hosted by the regional Leadership Initiatives of New York City, Western NY, and Long Island. The event will be hosted live over Zoom, the Zoom link will be provided at a later date.

This virtual panel will present diverse perspectives on developing a trauma-informed lens in leading your early childhood program and supporting your program staff.  We will learn from the experiences and perspectives of a trauma systems therapy trainer, Early Childhood program director, social worker and behavioral specialist, and an assistant professor in human development and education. Our panelists will also share their career pathways and what has led them to this work. Attendees will walk away with important considerations and strategies for leadership, program culture, trauma-informed care, and resiliency in caring for staff, children and families.

In an interview moderated by Sherry Cleary, University Dean of Early Childhood Initiatives and Executive Director of the New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute, Melodie Baker will share her experience as a black female education leader and advocate.  She will share her factors to success, navigating challenges, and balancing family and work.

Melodie Baker has spent her career working to advance education opportunities for disadvantaged students. Prior to joining Just Equations she was the director of education at United Way of Buffalo and Erie County. Melodie Chairs and Co-Chairs various national, state and local coalitions including, Erie Niagara Birth-8, Raising New York, and The Coalition for Community Schools. In 2014, she co-founded the first inquiry-based school in Western New York, The Charter School of Inquiry to build on an early learning program she implemented earlier in her career as assistant director for a Head Start.  Her work in education has led to several noteworthy appointments such as being selected to serve on Governor Cuomo’s Reimagining Education Advisory Council and leading the research and evaluation for Rockefeller Institute of Government’s First 1000 Day’s on Medicaid initiative headed by the New York State Department of Health. In 2019, Baker was the first African American to run for the Democratic nomination in New York’s 27th Congressional District.

Elena will explore high leverage strategies that anyone can use to build their resilience, as well as the resilience of others. Attendees will understand how to use these strategies and why they are so effective, particularly in times of crisis and change. 

Elena Aguilar is the Founder and President of Bright Morning Consulting. She has trained trained thousands of educators in transformational coaching. Elena’s expertise derives from twenty five years as a classroom teacher, instructional coach and leadership coach working in diverse school environments. She is the author of four highly acclaimed books: The Art of Coaching, (2013) and The Art of Coaching Teams, (2016) Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators (2018) and the Onward Workbook (2018), and the forthcoming Coaching for Equity (August 2020). She is a regular contributor to Edutopia and ASCD’s Educational Leadership, and she was a blogger for EdWeek Teacher for many years.
 

Join us for to network with your colleagues in the Leadership Initiative.  Please make sure you sign up to become an official Leadership Initiative member to participate in this event.

Come join us for a discussion on the topic of brain development with a specific focus on COVID-19's impact.

The Brain Architects Podcast: COVID-19  A Special Edition" by the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. Please select either an afternoon or evening session. 

Join us for to network with your colleagues in the Leadership Initiative.  Please make sure you sign up to become an official Leadership Initiative member to participate in this event. 

This session will be run if we have at least 5 people in attendance. 

Come join us for a discussion on the topic of brain development with a specific focus on COVID-19's impact.

The Brain Architects Podcast: COVID-19  A Special Edition" by the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. Please select either an afternoon or evening session. 

Join us for to network with your colleagues in the Leadership Initiative

Join us for to network with your colleagues in the Leadership Initiative

This virtual panel, “Leadership During a Time of Crisis”, moderated by Sherry Cleary, Executive Director of the NY Early Childhood Professional Development Institute, will focus on the many qualities and considerations for effective leadership in a time of crisis. We will learn from the experiences and perspectives of a former CEO of a social service non-profit, a licensed child development mental health expert and play therapist, a social worker and FEMA crisis master trainer, and an executive director of a child care program. Attendees will walk away with important considerations and strategies for leadership, trauma-informed care, building resiliency, crisis management and coping, and planning for change. 

Join us for to network with your colleagues in the Leadership Initiative

Join us for to network with your colleagues in the Leadership Initiative

Join us for to network with your colleagues in the Leadership Initiative

Join us for to network with your colleagues in the Leadership Initiative

Join us for to network with your colleagues in the Leadership Initiative

Join us for to network with your colleagues in the Leadership Initiative

Join the Long Island Leadership Initiative in partnership with Nassau BOCES and the Child Care Councils of Nassau & Suffolk for a lunch hour zoom Networking Meeting.

Together we want to let you know we are here for you and grateful for the role you play in supporting young children and their families. This will be a time for you to share how you are doing, what your program is doing during this COVID-19 emergency and to share ideas with each other.