Past Conferences

2020 Conference

“Caring for Families and Ourselves”

Keynote Presentation: How we Partner with Each and Every Family: Evolving Practices, Beliefs, and Values

By Dr. Bonnie Keilty, Associate Professor, Special Education, Hunter College, City University of New York

Bonnie Keilty, Ed.D, has worked in early childhood intervention for over 25 years, including research, teaching, practice, and national service. She currently holds a faculty position at Hunter College, City University of New York as an Associate Professor in Special Education and coordinates Hunter’s Early Childhood Development and Learning: Diverse Children and Families program. Dr. Keilty’s research focuses on family-professional partnerships, prenatal supports, home visit planning and implementation, effective inclusion practices, and professional development and preparation. All of her work stresses the translation of research and theory to practice. She has authored peer-reviewed articles and two books on Early Intervention — The Early Intervention Guidebook for Families and Professionals: Partnering for Success (2016) in its second edition and Seven Essentials for Family-Professional Partnerships in Early Intervention (2017). Dr. Keilty is a former President of the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), the international professional association for those who work with or on behalf of young children with disabilities and their families. Dr. Keilty has practiced in a variety of early intervention environments, including home, community, classroom, and hospital-based settings. Dr. Keilty has a Masters and Doctorate in Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Maternal and Child Health, from The George Washington University in Washington, DC.

Featured Presentation: Power to the Profession! Politics, Policy, and Collective Action as Caring for Families and Ourselves

By Dr. Mark Nagasawa, Director, Straus Center for Young Children & Families at Bank Street

Dr. Nagasawa directs Bank Street’s Straus Center for Young Children and Families, which exists to conduct useful, practice-oriented, and policy-relevant research. This work is grounded by being raised by an early educator-mom whose career began as a parent volunteer; being cared for in his aunt’s family child care; and practice experience as a preschool teacher, school social worker, preschool director, and policy analyst. Before coming to Bank Street, he was on the faculty of Chicago’s Erikson Institute, where his research and teaching focused on justice-centered social change.

Workshop Highlights:

  • Building Global Citizenship With Young Children | Facilitator: Dr. Robin Hancock
  • Dual Language Development: Honoring our Families (In Spanish!) | Facilitator: Carmen Colón
  • Early Childhood Coaching: The Ultimate Mashup | Facilitator: Rebecca Newman
  • I Love Bears! Opportunities for Emotionally Responsive Curriculum in Baby, Toddlers, and Twos Rooms | Facilitators:
    Gabriel Guyton and Turkessa Baten
  • The Power of Relationships in Supporting Infants and Toddlers with Processing Traumatic Experiences | Facilitator: Allison Tom-Yunger
  • Challenging Behavior with Toddlers, Twos and Threes | Facilitator: Yasmin Dorrian
  • Sensory Experiences for Infants and Toddlers | Facilitator: Alexandra Martinez
  • Emergent Curriculum with Toddlers Using Emotionally Responsive Practice | Facilitators: Ashley Parks and Anna Peterson
  • Emotional Development of Infants, Toddlers and 2s | Facilitator: Lesley Koplow
  • Outdoor Learning with Toddlers | Facilitators: Melina Gac Levin and Nido Forest
  • Supporting Sensory Differences and Regulation in the Classroom | Facilitator: Gilbert M. Foley
  • The Shape of Things to Come | Facilitators: Alexandra Salomon and Robin Hummel
  • Caring for the Caregivers: Taking Care of Your Own Mental Health | Facilitator: Margie Brickley
  • Brain Development | Facilitator: Michelle Barnea
  • Schedules, Rituals and Routines: How do you turn your day into opportunities to connect? | Facilitator: Mary Lou Allen
  • Engaging Families in Difficult Conversations | Facilitators: Soyoung Park and Laura Araman
  • Moments of Calm in Unsettled Times: Yoga as a Coping for Adults and Children | Facilitator: Maureen Burke