Leadership Connections™
NATIONAL VIRTUAL CONFERENCE 2021

Refocusing Our Vision
April 28 – April 30, 2021

The McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership is pleased to announce,
“We Are Going Virtual!”

We have been working diligently to plan a fully virtual Leadership Connections National Conference for you in 2021. Our three-day conference will deliver the quality experience you have come to expect from the McCormick Center, but from your home or workplace. Conference attendees will learn from and connect with a diverse group of leaders in our field on a variety of topics. We are excited to explore new and innovative ways to connect with you—and to connect you with each other!

For more Conference Information

Download the Program Book!

Download the Leadership Connections 2021 Program Book to take a closer look at the schedule, sessions, and conference details.

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Let’s Get Social!

Download the Leadership Connections 2021 Social Media Toolkit to share and connect with us.

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FEATURING KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
Alex Kotlowitz
BESTSELLING AUTHOR • JOURNALIST • DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER

A national bestseller, There Are No Children Here was selected by the New York Public Library as one of the 150 most important books of the 20th century. It has received many awards, including the Helen B. Bernstein Award for Excellence in Journalism, the Carl Sandburg Award, and a Christopher Award. In 1993, it was made into a television movie starring Oprah Winfrey. It continues to be taught at high schools, colleges, and universities across the nation.

In his latest, An American Summer: Love and Death in Chicago, which Wes Moore calls “revelatory and brilliant,” Kotlowitz returns a generation later to some of Chicago’s most turbulent neighborhoods to offer a spellbinding collection of intimate profiles of people and communities touched by gun violence. Kotlowitz previously examined the stubborn persistence of urban violence in his Emmy Award-winning documentary The Interrupters—a collaboration with Hoop Dreams director Steve James. It was praised by The New York Times’ A.O. Scott for its ability to “open up” the topic of urban violence and not limit the story to “the comforting clarity of easy conclusions.”

Kotlowitz’s work has regularly appeared in The New Yorker and The New York Times Magazine and on This American Life (notably, the Peabody Award-winning “Harper High School” double episode). His articles have appeared in The New Yorker, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, Rolling Stone, The Atlantic, and Granta.

For more information on Alex Kotlowitz, please visit alexkotlowitz.com.

 

PUBLIC POLICY SPEAKER:
Iheoma U. Iruka
DIRECTOR, EARLY CHILDHOOD HEALTH AND RACIAL EQUITY PROGRAM AT FRANK PORTER GRAHAM CHILD DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE

 

 

 

 

VISIONARY LEADERSHIP AWARDEE, LEADERSHIP COLLOQUIUM SPEAKER:
Aisha Ray
PROFESSOR EMERITA: ERIKSON INSTITUTE

 

 

 

 

 

CLOSING KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
Jahmal Cole
CHAMPION OF SOCIAL JUSTICE • MY BLOCK, MY HOOD, MY CITY

 

 

 

 

 

PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS | TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 2021
10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. CT (4 hours of content)

Inspiring Peak Performance: Competence, Commitment, and Collaboration

PRESENTERS:

Dr. Jill Bella Dr. Melissa Casteel
Dr. Jill Bella Dr. Melissa Casteel

 

  • Reflect deeply about your role as a leader and how you create a climate that inspires peak performance by:
    • Establishing a professional learning community
    • Utilizing developmental supervision
    • Implementing an individualized model for staff development
    • Cultivating shared leadership through peer learning teams

Thinking, Asking, Saying, Doing: Revitalizing Leadership and Communication for Positive Impact in Your Early Childhood Program

PRESENTER:

Dr. Marie Masterson
Dr. Marie Masterson

 

  • Explore the ways cultures, values, beliefs, and assumptions can impact your leadership influence and affect the quality of program relationships, staff commitment, and effectiveness by:
    • Rebalancing leadership priorities and managing stress
    • Solving communication challenges with staff
    • Strengthening family engagement
    • Empowering high-quality teaching through continuous quality improvement

 

 

For more Conference Information

Conference Schedule at a Glance

Note: Schedule subject to change
TUESDAY (Pre-conference) | April 27, 2021
10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.  | Two Full-Day workshops | 4 hours of content / 60 minutes of breaks
OPTION ONE:
Title: Thinking, Asking, Saying, Doing: Revitalizing Leadership and Communication for Positive Impact in Your Early Childhood Program
Presenter: Maria Masterson, Ph.D, Director of Quality Assessment at the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership
OPTION TWO:
Title:  Inspiring Peak Performance: Competence, Commitment, and Collaboration
Presenters: Jill Bella, Ed.D, Director of Professional Learning and Assistant Professor at the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership and Melissa Casteel, Ed.D, Director of Assessment at the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership
WEDNESDAY | April 28, 2021
10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. | Opening General Session | Keynote address by Alex Kotlowitz
11:00 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. | Break
11:15 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. | Concurrent Sessions | 6 options
12:45 p.m. –   1:15 p.m. | Break
1:15 p.m. –   2:45 p.m.   | Concurrent Sessions | 6 options
THURSDAY | April 29, 2021
10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. | Public Policy Forum | General Session | Featuring Iheoma Iruka
11:00 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. | Break
11:15 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. | Concurrent Sessions | 6 options
12:45 p.m. –   1:15 p.m. | Break
1:15 p.m. –   2:45 p.m.   | Concurrent Sessions | 6 options
FRIDAY | April 30, 2021
10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. | Leadership Colloquium | Aisha Ray, Visionary Leadership Award Recipient
11:00 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. | Break
11:15 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. | Concurrent Sessions | 6 options
12:45 p.m. –   1:00 p.m. | Break
1:00 p.m. –   2:00 p.m.   | Closing General Session | Keynote address by Jahmal Cole


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