Members of the Central New York Leadership Initiative are invited to join our networking meetings. Our meeting topics are driven by your questions and needs. Share stories, strategies, feelings, ideas, resources, and words of encouragement about leading an early childhood program.

As a member of the Southern Tier Leadership Initiative, you are invited to join our monthly virtual networking meetings. These evening meeting are especially designed for leaders and owners of family and group family programs. 

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

As a member of the Southern Tier Leadership Initiative, you are invited to join our monthly virtual networking meetings. Meeting topics are driven by your questions and needs. 

The Finger Lakes Leadership Initiative invites you to join our monthly virtual networking meetings. Our meetings create a space for us all to connect, to share ideas and learn from each other’s experiences in a community setting.

Members who are supporting or directly leading early childhood learning spaces are all welcome.

These virtual conversations are held via Zoom on the third Tuesday of every month. One session is held in the afternoon and another in the evening.

As a member of the Western New York Leadership Initiative, you are invited to join our networking meetings! Meeting topics are driven by your questions and needs. This is a space to share stories, strategies, feelings, ideas, resources, and words of encouragement about leading an early childhood program in Western NY.

Members of the WNY Leadership Initiative are invited to join our networking meetings. Meeting topics are driven by your questions and needs. This is a space to share stories, strategies, feelings, ideas, resources, and words of encouragement about leading an early childhood program in Western NY.

Networking in the evening is from 6 to 7 p.m.

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 Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators by Elena Aguilar. 

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

The Early Childhood Leadership Initiative is excited to introduce a new professional learning opportunity — the Leaders Café! We’ll engage with videos, podcasts, TED Talks and other multimedia to explore a range of topics relevant to the early childhood community. We’ll provide you with resources and materials for discussion!

Join us for a 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.

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

Join us for reflection and conversation with other home-based providers who are also supporting and leading family and group family child care spaces.

Children in early childhood programs are suspended and expelled at more than three times the rate of those in grades K-12. Black boys are suspended and expelled at a disproportionate rate of 46% — despite the fact that they make up only 18% of the preschool population.

Early childhood programs that utilize culturally responsive practice have the opportunity to make lifelong impacts on the children in their care. During this learning community, participants will examine the research for culturally responsive practices in early childhood programs and how they can support leaders, educators, families and children. We will also examine key features of anti-bias education and its impact in building relationships.

During this three-part Learning Community, leaders will be provided with materials to review for each session.

Facilitated by: Rachel Dowd, Family Enrichment Network

We've got an exciting update! A new virtual networking space is coming your way in Fall 2024. This September let's make lunchtime lively.

Pick up your favorite sandwich or salad and join us for stimulating conversation with other early childhood professionals. Our opening session is a brainstorming meeting where we'll discover the topics that intrigue you and plan ways to incorporate special guests and resources to enrich the experiences at our upcoming networking sessions. We can't wait to hear your ideas!

Leadership is a practice – it needs to be examined, refined, and current.​ Join us for a 3-part learning community as we dive into discussion and reflection on our own leadership journeys to define our "why."

Studies indicate that pre-K students face expulsion at rates more than three times higher than K-12 students. How can we address this concerning statistic? Join us for a Leaders' Cafe to examine suspension and expulsion practices in early childhood education.