McCormick Institute for Early Childhood

It's already been an eventful second day of Leadership Connections 2026!

Shauna Ejeh, Senior Vice President of Programs, Illinois Action for Children, received our Hometown Hero Award in recognition of her exceptional commitment to the field of Early Childhood Education and Care.

A panel of national experts discussed policy, data, and impact at the Dr. Teri Talan Public Policy Forum, sponsored by Kaplan Early Learning Company.

Participants also attended breakout sessions throughout the day and met dozens of vendors in our exhibit hall.

Day 2 continues with the Leadership Colloquium with Visionary Leader Dr. Teri Talan and the Family Child Care Reception, sponsored by Branagh Group, Inc.

Thank you for a great first day of Leadership Connections 2026!

This year’s conference theme is "Onward!”
Our presenters are sharing actionable tips, strategies, and insights on how to navigate “rough seas” during uncertain times, while supporting “smooth sailing” as early childhood leaders.

Today's schedule was packed with lots of breakout sessions and our annual opening luncheon and keynote, presented by Lizzy Pérez.

We're looking forward to the rest of the conference this week - follow along for more conference photos!

🔗 More about Leadership Connections: https://www.mccormickinstitute.nl.edu/leadership-connections

What is “Family Engagement”?

Early childhood program administrators often hear that they should “engage” families in order to best meet the needs of children and ensure understanding of their programming.

Family engagement is a partnership with the families in your program. It can develop and grow from birth to school age, and change with circumstances.

Family engagement may look different from family to family and can also contain some similar qualities from family to family.

👇️ Read more about family engagement in our article, "Engaging Families in Child Care."

https://www.mccormickinstitute.nl.edu/engaging-families-in-child-care

We are excited to present several awards to early childhood education and care (ECEC) leaders at the Leadership Connections National Conference next week.

Please join us in celebrating these remarkable ECEC leaders!

Visionary Leader Award
⭐ Teri Talan, Ed.D., J.D., Professor Emerita of Early Childhood Education at the McCormick Institute for Early Childhood at National Louis University

Paula Jorde Bloom Scholarship Award
⭐ Monique Watts-Dennis, Center Director, Calvary Day Care-Hazel Dell Campus

Hometown Hero Award
⭐ Shauna Ejeh, Senior Vice President of Programs, Illinois Action for Children

Inspirational Family Child Care Leader Award
⭐ Martina Rocha, Owner of Best Friends Daycare, President and Founder of the Together For Childhood Network/ Juntos por la Niñez.

Learn more about the upcoming Leadership Connections conference, May 27-29, 2026, in Schaumburg, IL: https://www.mccormickinstitute.nl.edu/leadership-connections

We are excited to have distinguished speakers joining us at the Leadership Connections National Conference for Early Childhood Leaders next week!

Our 2026 featured sessions include an impressive lineup of industry leaders:

⭐ Opening Keynote Address:
Dr. Lizzy Pérez, nationally recognized leadership coach, former principal, and Certified Dare to Lead™ Facilitator (trained by Brené Brown)

⭐ Dr. Teri Talan Public Policy Forum, Sponsored by Kaplan Early Learning Company:
- Elliot Haspel, Expert, Commentator & Author
- Anne Hedgepeth, Senior Vice President of Policy & Research, Child Care Aware of America
- Yesy Robles-Brown, Chief of Staff, The National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC)
- Dora Sanders, Ph.D., Senior Manager of Fellowships, Stanford Center on Early Childhood
- Moderated by Dr. Ola J. Friday, Executive Director of the Early Educator Investment Collaborative

⭐ Leadership Colloquium:
Teri Talan, Ed.D., J.D., Professor Emerita of Early Childhood Education at the McCormick Institute for Early Childhood at National Louis University

⭐ Closing Keynote Address:
Prerna Richards, founder of Together We Grow

Leadership Connections 2026 kicks off next Wednesday, May 27. We'll see you in Schaumburg!

👉 https://www.mccormickinstitute.nl.edu/leadership-connections

Our team had an incredible time at the Indiana AEYC Early Childhood Conference in Indianapolis.

We presented “Building and Keeping a Dream Team,” where we celebrated leaders recognizing themselves as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of their programs while also learning how to build a team full of MVPs around them.

We also led the session, “Links in a Chain: Building Connections for Social Emotional Growth.” The conversations, engagement, and shared passion for leadership growth were truly inspiring.

Thank you, everyone who participated in the sessions or visited the McCormick Institute in the exhibit hall!

⭐️ McCormick Institute team members are attending the Indiana AEYC Indiana Early Childhood Conference ⭐️

In addition to presenting several sessions, the McCormick Institute has a booth in the exhibit hall. Stop by and say hi if you're attending the conference!