Stronger Together: New Champions, Growing Opportunities for Young Children

Home , Jim Steyer, Pacific Oaks College, Shirley Weber

March 24-25 2014 SHERATON GRAND SACRAMENTO HOTEL • SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA

The Water Cooler Early Learning Conference welcome

y uniting and working together, we can ensure that California’s Bchildren ages 0 to 5 benefit from access to quality early learning opportunities. These early years are crucial to every child’s overall development and well-being. Throughout the conference, national, state and local experts will share their experiences and insights on a variety of early education topics and the impact that they have on our children. Panels will address the following issues:

n The importance of early education in the lives of the more than 1.2 million low income children in California and its key role in helping to close the opportunity gap. n The concept of “parents as first teachers” and the programs and policies that support parents. n Working together to ensure a child’s success by creating a seamless transition from early education to the k-12 system, and n The current political landscape, priorities and opportunities for early childhood reinvestment.

We are excited for keynotes by: n Nicholas Kristof, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Columnist, New York Times n Rob Grunewald, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis

Speakers will offer perspectives on the current early learning policy environment and how California can most effectively contribute to policy change. The conference is designed as an opportunity for policy leaders, experts, First 5 county commissions, and other early learning supporters to highlight successes, strategies, and promising practices that meaningfully improve the lives of young children and their families. Again, we look forward to the opportunity to engage, inform, and inspire you at the Water Cooler.

California Association for Family Child Care

2 STRONGER TOGETHER: New Champions, Growing Opportunities for Young Children agenda

Day One Monday, March 24, 2014

Magnolia Room Opening Plenary Panel

3:00PM – 3:30PM REGISTRATION

3:30PM – 4:45PM Early Childhood Opportunity: A Civil Right and Personal Passion Moderator - Molly Munger, Founding Co-Director, Advancement Project Susie Buffett, Founder, Buffett Early Childhood Fund John Jackson, President & CEO, The Schott Foundation for Public Education Kris Perry, Executive Director, First Five Years Fund Jim Steyer, CEO, Common Sense Media; Co-Founder, Next Generation

he opportunity gap for California’s children starts early. There are about 1.2 million Tlow-income children under 5 in California—nearly 50% of the state’s young children. With their parents more likely to be working several jobs and distracted by the pressures that come with life in and on the edge of poverty, these children start life at a severe disadvantage. While over 90% of upper income children benefit from early care and education programs that strengthen school readiness, less than half of lower income children do. Panelists will discuss the impact that a lack of crucial early support is having on millions of children’s life chances and will describe how they have come to see early care and education as a game-changing strategy to reduce inequities. Panelists will also draw on their personal journeys in civil and human rights struggles to underscore the importance of the early years in an effort to create a more just society.

Gardenia Room Hosted Reception

5:00PM – 6:00PM Lifting Up New Voices & Opportunities For Young Children WELCOME Debra McMannis, Director – Early Education & Support Division, California Department of Education

REMARKS Parker Blackman, Executive Director, LA Partnership for Early Childhood Investment The Honorable Carol Liu, Senator, California State Senate

3 STRONGER TOGETHER: New Champions, Growing Opportunities for Young Children agenda

Day Two Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Sheraton Grand Nave Ballroom

8:00AM – 8:30AM REGISTRATION & BREAKFAST

8:30AM – 8:40AM WELCOME Camille Maben, Executive Director, First 5 California

8:40AM – 9:00AM REMARKS from The Honorable Tom Torlakson, California State Superintendent of Public Instruction

9:00AM – 10:00AM MORNING KEYNOTE: The Economic Case for Investing in Young Children Rob Grunewald, Economist, The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis

10:00AM – 10:15AM BREAK

10:15AM – 11:30AM Parents as First Teachers: A National Public Agenda for Families Moderator - Tahra Goraya, Director – Western Office, ZERO TO THREE Sylvia Acevedo, Chair, Early Childhood Subcommittee, White House Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics Meera Mani, Ed. D., Director – Children, Families, and Communities Program, The David & Lucile Packard Foundation Donna Norton, Deputy Director, MomsRising Jessie Rasmussen, President, Buffett Early Childhood Fund

hildren grow and learn in the context of responsive, nurturing, and stable relationships Cwith parents and caregivers. Parenting is difficult even in the best of circumstances, let alone when it is coupled with stressful life events, linguistic and cultural barriers, and the complex effects of poverty. Panelists will discuss the concept of “Parents as First Teachers” and ways that national, state, and local policy can support best practices in empowering parents, communities, and young children to grow and learn to their maximum potential. Panelists will highlight how these programs have the potential to improve not only the developmental success of children, but also their overall health and well-being and trajectory for life success.

11:30AM – 12:00PM LUNCH

12:00PM – 1:00PM LUNCH KEYNOTE: Half the Sky: Opportunities for Young Children Nicholas Kristof, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Columnist, New York Times

4 STRONGER TOGETHER: New Champions, Growing Opportunities for Young Children agenda

Day Two (continued) Tuesday, March 25, 2014

1:00PM – 2:15PM Moving Past “Either... Or…”: Forging Common Ground Between Early Learning and K-12 Moderator - Ted Lempert, President, Children Now Lori Easterling, Manager of Legislative Relations, California Teachers Association Deborah Kong, President, Early Edge California Kendra Rogers, Executive Director, First 5 Fresno County Jon Youngdahl, Executive Director, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) California State Council

n order to develop a truly child-focused, comprehensive education system, early learning Ileaders must continue to think beyond the age and grade silos. Panelists will discuss the innovative policies and practices they have developed and supported to promote children’s development and achievement as they progress through their education. The conversation will also explore strategies for building support among teachers, parents, administrators, and political champions to create seamless transitions at each step in a child’s progress through the education system. Panelists will address how early learning leaders can develop strategies for investing as soon as learning begins (at birth) and making those investments count by building on children’s successes in the early years by integrating early learning and K12 systems.

2:15PM – 2:30PM REMARKS from The Honorable Kevin De Leon, Senator, California State Senate

2:30PM – 2:45PM BREAK

2:45PM – 3:00PM Special Address from The Honorable Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State (video)

3:00PM – 4:15PM Building Political Will for Early Childhood Investment Moderator - Kim Pattillo Brownson, Director of Educational Equity, Advancement Project The Honorable Jimmy Gomez, Assemblymember, California State Assembly George Halvorson, Former Chairman & CEO, Kaiser Permanente; Chair, First 5 California Commission Ann O’Leary, Vice President, Next Generation; Director, Too Small to Fail Initiative The Honorable Shirley Weber, Assemblymember, California State Assembly

ince 2008, early care and education programs have lost a staggering $1.2 billion. California’s Sunderfunded public early care and education programs leave nearly 1.12 million low- income children underserved. Many of the state’s prominent business leaders consider investing in early education a priority. The Senate and the Assembly leadership have proposed to make Transitional Kindergarten universal for all four-year-olds. Still, there is much work to be done to ensure meaningful investments in early childhood. Panelists discuss the current political landscape, including challenges and opportunities, while discussing their priorities for early childhood reinvestments that will have the most impact on California’s most vulnerable young children.

4:15PM Conference Adjourns

5 keynote speakers

ob Grunewald conducts regional economic research and co-authors Rob Grunewald Rthe Minneapolis Fed’s “Beige Book” report on current economic conditions. He also writes articles on the regional economy and other economics and banking issues for the fedgazette and The Region, two periodicals published by the Minneapolis Fed. Grunewald regularly speaks to business, community and school groups about the Federal Reserve and the regional economy. He co-authored “Early Childhood Development: Economic Development with a High Public Return” (January 2003), an economic policy paper, which has been featured in the media, legislative hearings, and seminars throughout the United States. Grunewald serves on the board of directors for the Minnesota Visiting Nurse Agency, Think Small: Leaders in Early Learning, the advisory board for First Children’s Finance Growth Fund and is a past president for the Minnesota Economic Association. The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Grunewald holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and religion from St. Olaf College and a master’s degree in applied economics from the University of Minnesota.

wo-time Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times columnist TNicholas D. Kristof is often called the “reporter’s reporter” for his Nicholas D. Kristof human rights advocacy and his efforts to give a voice to the voiceless. In 1990, Kristof and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn, then also a New York Times journalist, became the first husband-wife team to win a Pulitzer Prize for journalism for their coverage of China’s Tiananmen Square democracy movement. Kristof won his second Pulitzer in 2006 for what the judges called “his graphic, deeply reported columns that, at personal risk, focused attention on genocide in Darfur and that gave voice to the voiceless in other parts of the world.” Kristof and WuDunn have written three best-selling books: Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide; China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power; and Thunder from the East: Portrait of a Rising Asia. Oprah Winfrey devoted two full programs to their work and they have been on countless other televi- New York Times sion programs. Archbishop Desmond Tutu dubbed Kristof “an honorary African” for his reporting on conflicts there and President Bill Clinton claimed “there is no one in journalism, anywhere in the United States at least, who has done anything like the work he has done to figure out how poor people are actually living around the world and what their potential is.” Kristof graduated from Harvard College, Phi Beta Kappa, and won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford, where he studied law and graduated with first class honors. He later studied Arabic in Cairo, Chinese in Taipei, and Japanese in Tokyo. After working in France, he began backpacking in Africa and Asia, writing articles to cover his expenses. Kristof has lived on four continents, reported on six, and traveled to more than 150 countries. During his travels, he has caught malaria, experienced wars, confronted warlords, encountered an Indonesian mob carrying heads on pikes, and survived an African airplane crash. After joining the New York Times in 1984, Kristof served as a correspondent in Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Beijing, and Tokyo. He has covered presidential politics, interviewed everyone from President Obama to Iranian President Ahmadine- jad, and was the first blogger on theNew York Times website. Ben Affleck executive produced an HBO documentary on him titled Reporter. He has won innumerable awards including the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, the Anne Frank Award, and the Fred Cuny Award for Prevention of Armed Conflict. He serves on the board of Harvard University and the Association of American Rhodes Scholars.

6 speakers

ylvia Acevedo is an award winning CEO, global thought leader and visionary who has earned Sylvia Acevedo Sworldwide recognition for her work in addressing two of society’s most vexing challenges – universal access to education and healthcare. In 2010, President Obama named Sylvia to the White House Commission for Educational Excellence for Hispanics where she serves as Chair of the Early Childhood subcommittee. The President of Mexico recently honored Sylvia with the Ohtli award, the country’s most prestigious civil rights recognition for non-Mexican nationals for her work in parental involvement in education. In 2012, US News and World Report named Sylvia one of the top 100 American Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). Sylvia started her career as a rocket scientist at the Jet Propulsion Labs. She has since served as an executive for Fortune 100 companies (Apple, IBM, Autodesk and Dell.) As a technology executive, Sylvia was well known for her ability to lead divisions to record growth and for her strategic acumen in turning around divisions with poor performance records. In global markets, Sylvia’s innovative leadership led to substantial profitability gains through dramatic increases in market share and led White House Commission on to the establishment of the first fiber network installations outside of the USA. As an entrepreneur, Educational Excellence Sylvia has launched and sold two successful companies, a technology firm and a services business. for Hispanics Sylvia is known to create significant market opportunities for clients through analyses and strategies that capitalize on market patterns and trends in a variety of fields. In 2013, Sylvia produced an innovative “Educational Feria” that won an Emmy for her client. Sylvia has presented at TEDx and is a dynamic, captivating, sought-after speaker at corporate events and conferences. Sylvia holds a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University and a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from New Mexico State University. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Girl Scouts of the United States and is very involved in philanthropy. Most recently, she served as the Chair of the Austin Community Foundation. Sylvia currently resides in Santa Barbara, CA.

usie Buffett chairs The Sherwood Foundation®, The Buffett Early Childhood Fund, and SThe Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation. Susie A. Buffett The Sherwood Foundation® focuses on improving public education and alleviating poverty, mainly in Omaha, Nebraska. The Buffett Early Childhood Fund focuses on improving early childhood education, from birth to age five for children growing up in low-income families in Nebraska and across America. In part, The Buffett Early Childhood Fund works with six other national funders and dozens of local funders to build, support and evaluate a nationwide network of specially designed Educare schools.The funders also support the Birth to Five Policy Alliance (aimed at improving early childhood policies in states) and the First Five Years Fund (aimed at improving early childhood policies on the federal level). The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation (formerly The Buffett Foundation) works globally on women’s health issues and nuclear disarmament. The STB Foundation also provides annual college scholarships to students attending public Nebraska colleges. Ms. Buffett also serves on several national nonprofit boards, including ONE, the Ounce of Buffett Early Childhood Fund Prevention Fund, Girls Inc., and the Fulfillment Fund. In Omaha, she serves on the board of Girls Inc., the Rose Blumkin Performing Arts Center Foundation, Building Bright Futures, and the Omaha Airport Authority.

arker Blackman is a senior executive and strategist with a proven track record of scaling start Parker Blackman Pup efforts and managing organizational change and growth. Blackman has worked in the early childhood health and education space for over a decade. While serving as Chief Operating Officer and West Coast Managing Director at Fenton, the largest public interest communications firm in the nation, Blackman helped the LA Partnership establish its original vision, mission, and goals, and created the strategy for LA’s first ever Baby Futures Summit. Blackman has worked with many non profits and foundations in the early childhood development field, including the Atlas Family Foundation, First 5 LA, Playworks, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. A Stanford University graduate, Parker has been published in numerous publications including The Huffington Post, Los Angeles Times, Seattle Times, TomPaine.com and Alternet. He has served on multiple boards of directors and currently serves as a trustee of Coaching Corps, a national non profit improving the health, educational and social outcomes for kids living in struggling communities through the power of service and sports. LA Partnership for Early Childhood Investment 7 speakers

enator Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) is a California leader who embodies the spirit of the Golden SState. De León’s career has been marked by a few key “firsts.” In 2013, he became the first Latino Hon. Kevin de Leon to chair the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee and he chaired the Assembly Appropriations Committee, making him the first Latino Chair of that fiscal committee in the past one hundred years. Since 2009, he’s confronted corporate tax reform to level the playing field for California businesses. His efforts inspired Proposition 39–the California Clean Energy Jobs Act—which passed with over 60% of the vote in November 2012. This initiative will help create more than 40,000 California jobs, according to the non-partisan Legislative Analyst Office, and generate billions of dollars for education and energy efficiency projects. Proposition 39 has resulted in over $400 million for energy efficiency and clean energy projects at every K-12 school district and many community colleges in the state. Proposition 39 is by far the country’s largest investment in energy retrofits. Prior to being elected to the Legislature, De León worked as a community organizer, English as a Second Language and U.S. Citizenship teacher, and was a staff advocate for public schools during his five years at the California Teachers Association. He also served as a Senior Associate for the National Education Association (NEA) in Washington, D.C., where he advocated for more resources for schools California State Senate in low-income neighborhoods. Senator De León grew up in the San Diego barrio of Logan Heights. He was the first in his family to graduate from high school. He attended UC Santa Barbara and graduated from Pitzer College at the Claremont Colleges with Honors. He is a Rodel Fellow at the Aspen Institute and a Guest Lecturer at the University of Southern California. He has one daughter.

ori Easterling is currently the Manager of Legislative Relations for the California Teachers Lori Easterling LAssociation. A staunch advocate of public education, Lori has worked on behalf of public schools, teachers and support professionals since 1990 and has a strong passion for politics and legislation. As Manager of CTA Legislative Relations, she coordinates CTA’s legislative programs and oversees its lobbying staff. Active in both policy and budget areas, Lori accomplishes CTA’s goals by working in coalitions with educators, labor, parents and community groups. Prior to becoming manager, Lori was a CTA Legislative Advocate in Sacramento and lobbied on behalf of CTA members in the areas of Retirement and Early Childhood Education. She has also worked for the Florida Education Association/United, Alabama Education Association, and Sacramento City Teachers Association as well as other local associations. She has extensive experience in teacher organizing, negotiating collective bargaining agreements, and planning large-scale teacher rallies. In 1990, Lori earned a B.S. in Political Science from Florida State University. Lori resides in Sacramento and enjoys competing in marathons and spending time with her husband Larry and daughter Tessa. California Teachers Association

immy Gomez was elected in November of 2012 to represent California’s 51st Assembly Dis- Jtrict, which includes East Los Angeles and the neighborhoods of Glassell Park, Lincoln Heights, Hon. Jimmy Gomez Highland Park, El Sereno, Echo Park, Cypress Park, Filipino Town, Chinatown, Montecito Heights, El Pueblo, Eagle Rock, Elysian Park, Mt. Washington, Atwater Village, and Silver Lake. Gomez was born and raised in Southern California and is the youngest of six children. His parents and four of his siblings immigrated to California from Mexico in the early 1970s. They brought with them a strong sense of family and a strong work ethic. To make ends meet, his mother and father often worked multiple jobs. After graduating from high school, Jimmy found work where he could – at a fast-food restaurant and a local superstore. But instead of working a 9am to 5pm schedule, he worked from 5pm to 9am the next day. After several months of working both jobs, and with the memory of his parents’ struggle to make ends meet...something just clicked! He now clearly understood the need of a good job with benefits, and most importantly a quality education. With this newfound clarity, Jimmy enrolled in community college and ultimately transferred to UCLA, where he graduated magna cum laude and received a BA in Political Science with a minor in urban planning. Ten years after graduating from high school, he earned a Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. California State Assembly Gomez recognizes that his story today, although not unique, is a lot harder to achieve and out of reach for far too many people because of the struggling economy and the state budget deficit. He believes this is unacceptable and our families deserve better. To help rebuild California, Gomez will fight to increase access to quality education and good jobs by providing leadership based on working class values, pragmatic problem solving skills and a dedication to the empowerment of individuals and communities. As a Director for the United Nurses Associations of California, Gomez empowered nurses to better advocate for their patients through the legislative process and community service. He helped pass legislation to facilitate graduation of community college nursing and allied health students, and established a partnership with a community non-profit to promote healthy living for inner-city children. Gomez’s previous work experience includes the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the National League of Cities, the Democratic National Committee, the office of former L.A. City Councilman Michael Feuer, and the office of former Congresswoman Hilda Solis. Gomez lives in Echo Park with his wife Mary, and dog Austin.

8 ahra Goraya is the Western Office Director for ZERO TO THREE. Most recently, she served as the Tahra Goraya TDistrict Director for California State Senator Carol Liu and is also the founder and president of Goraya Consulting. Goraya has worked in a number of areas including civil rights, drug policy, and juvenile justice in both California and Washington, DC. Goraya brings an appreciation for the local perspective and its power to impact change as well as an understanding and experience of national policy making. Goraya served as National Director for the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), a national Muslim civil rights organization in Washington, DC. Prior to that, she served as Executive Director of Day One in Pasadena, a substance abuse prevention and policy organization. Her familiarity in crafting public policy and building cross cultural coalitions helped her to successfully pass over a dozen policies in Pasadena, South Pasadena, Sierra Madre, Los Angeles County, as well as at the state and federal levels. Goraya is active in a number of social justice, civil rights advocacy, youth empowerment and women’s health programs. Goraya serves as a guest lecturer for the National Homeland Security Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE) at USC. Goraya was recently recognized with the Youth Champion Award by the Mentoring Partnership for ZERO TO THREE Youth Development (MPYD), was named one of Fifty Fabulous Women of Influence by THE Magazine, and recognized as “40 under 40” Leaders by Pasadena Magazine. Previously, she was elected as the first female president of the board of the Southern California Chapter of CAIR. She is Leadership Pasa- dena Alumni, former policy fellow with the California Women’s Foundation, recipient of the California State Senate and Assembly Women in Business Non-Profit Executive Director of the year, and was recognized as a Woman of Excellence by the YWCA. Goraya received a B.S. in Biology with a minor in Psychology from the University of California, Irvine and has an M.A. in Organizational Management. Goraya currently resides in Santa Monica, CA.

overnor Brown appointed George Halvorson as the new Chair of the First 5 California Children and GFamilies Commission. Halvorson has been chairman and chief executive officer of Kaiser Permanente George Halvorson since 2002. Kaiser Permanente is the nation’s largest nonprofit health plan and hospital system, serving more than 8.6 million members and generating $42 billion in annual revenue. George Halvorson serves on the Institute of Medicine Task Force on Evidence Based Care and the Common- wealth Commission for a High Performing Health System. He serves on the American Hospital Association’s Advisory Committee on Health Care Reform and is on the board of the America’s Health Insurance Plans and the board of the Alliance of Community Health Plans. Halvorson chairs the International Federation of Health Plans and co-chairs the Institute for Healthcare Improvement Annual National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care. In 2009, he chaired the World Economic Forum’s Health Governors meetings in Davos. He has received the Modern Healthcare/Health Information and Management Systems Society CEO IT Achievement Award. The Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange also awarded him the 2009 Louis Sullivan Award for leadership and achievements in advancing health care quality. Halvorson has written several health care reform books, including the recently released Health Care Will Not (Formerly) Kaiser Permanente; Reform Itself: A User’s Guide to Refocusing and Reforming American Health Care. He also wrote Health Care First 5 California Commission Reform Now!, Health Care Co-ops in Uganda, Strong Medicine and Epidemic of Care as guidebooks for health care reform. Halvorson served as an advisor to the governments of Uganda, Great Britain, Jamaica, and Russia on issues of health policy and financing. His strong commitment to diversity and inter-ethnic healing has led him to his current writing project, a new book about racial prejudice around the world. Prior to joining Kaiser Permanente, Halvorson was president and chief executive officer of HealthPartners, headquartered in Minneapolis. With more than 30 years of health care management experience, he has also held several senior management positions with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota.

n July 2, 2007, Dr. John H. Jackson became the President and CEO of The Schott Foundation for John H. Jackson OPublic Education. In this role, Dr. Jackson leads the Foundation’s efforts to ensure a high quality public education for all students regardless of race or gender. Dr. Jackson joined the Schott Foundation after seven productive years in leadership positions at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He served as the NAACP Chief Policy Officer and prior to that as the NAACP’s National Director of Education. Dr. Jackson also served as an Adjunct Professor of Race, Gender, and Public Policy at the Georgetown Pub- lic Policy Institute. In 1999, President William Jefferson Clinton appointed Dr. Jackson to serve in his administration as Senior Policy Advisor in the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Education. Dr. Jackson possesses a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Xavier University of Louisiana; A Master of Education in Education Policy from the University of Illinois’ College of Education; and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Illinois’ College of Law. In addition, Dr. Jackson received a Master of Education and Doctorate of Education in Administration, Planning, and Social Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The Schott Foundation for Dr. Jackson served on the Obama-Biden transition team as a member of the President’s 13-member Public Education Education Policy Transition Work Group.

9 speakers

ed Lempert is the President of Children Now, a national research and advocacy organization Tbased in Oakland. He is also a Lecturer in the Political Science Department at UC Berkeley. Previ- Ted Lempert ously, Mr. Lempert was the founding CEO of EdVoice, a California education reform organization. Mr. Lempert was a California State Assemblymember for eight years representing San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties. He served as chair of the Assembly Higher Education Committee and co-chair of the Joint Committee to Develop a Master Plan for Education, and had more than 75 bills signed into law, including major policies in the areas of education, health care, children and families, tax policy and the environment. Mr. Lempert also served on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors and worked for the law firm Sheppard, Mullin, Richter and Hampton. He graduated from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and earned his law degree from Stanford University.

Children Now

s Early Edge California’s president, Deborah leads the organization’s day-to-day work and Deborah Kong Acollaborates closely with senior staff on strategy. She has worked for more than six and a half years as a key member of Early Edge California’s leadership team as it has successfully advanced an early learning agenda. The mother of a 2 year old, she has a real-time appreciation for the current sense of urgency and opportunity for dramatically expanded and improved early childhood education. After 15 years as a journalist, including a position as a national writer for the Associated Press, and as a reporter for the San Jose Mercury News and Philadelphia Inquirer, Deborah pursued a Masters of Public Policy degree at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy so that she could take a more active role in effecting change. She also received her bachelor’s degree in English with a specialization in Asian American Studies from UCLA. The granddaughter of a Chinese immigrant who came to America in the 1920s without any knowledge of its language and culture, and who ended up graduating from UC Berkeley, Deborah carries a special value for the critical role education can play in helping families achieve the American Dream. Early Edge California

arol Liu was elected to her second term in the California State Senate in 2012. She was a CState Assemblymember from 2000 to 2006. Prior to that, Carol served eight years as a City Hon. Carol Liu Councilmember, including two terms as Mayor of La Cañada Flintridge. A former teacher and school administrator, Carol graduated from San Jose State University and holds teaching and administrative credentials from UC Berkeley. She is married to Mike Peevey and together they have three children and four grandchildren. Carol’s priority issues are public education reform, early childhood education, access to higher education, career education, and services for the elderly, low-income, disabled, and disadvan- taged. She Chairs the Senate Education Committee. Carol is promoting community schools implementation in her Senate District and statewide. In 2013, she conducted a statewide tour to visit and increase awareness of community schools among elected officials, government and non-profit service providers, the business community, and the public. California State Senate

10 n December 2012, Camille Maben began serving in her current role as Executive Director of Camile Maben IFirst 5 California. In that role, she is responsible for staffing the California Children and Families Commission, in addition to directing the work of the agency and its staff. Through her leadership, First 5 California is implementing several evidence-based and results-driven Signature Programs targeted to children, parents, and teachers that focus on quality. Prior to her appointment at First 5 California, Camille served as the Division Director of the Child Development Division at the California Department of Education (CDE). Part of her responsibilities in that role included providing leadership and oversight to over 700 early care and education contractors with a $1.7 billion dollar budget. She most recently served as Co-Chair of the State Advisory Council on Early Learning and Care, and also helped win and implement the $52.6 million federal Race-to-the-Top Early Learning Challenge Grant. She was previously appointed by the Governor to serve as Chief of Staff for the Office of the Secretary of Education. She worked closely with the Secretary on the coordination and development of the Governor’s education policy agenda. First 5 California In earlier work at CDE, Camille served as Division Director of the School and District Accountability Division. Her division included the No Child Left Behind Office, oversight of the Categorical Program Monitoring process, the Title I Policy and Partnerships Unit, and the English Learner Accountability Unit. She served as the Superintendent’s representative to the California Interscholastic Federation. Camille also served as Senior Advisor to former State Superintendent Delaine Eastin and has worked as a consultant to the Assembly Education Committee. Camille currently serves as a school board member for the Rocklin Unified School District. She has served on the Rocklin Board for over 20 years.

eera Mani is director of the Children, Families, and Communities (CFC) Program at the David Mand Lucile Packard Foundation. She joined the Foundation in February 2009 as program Meera Mani officer, and in 2010 assumed responsibility for leading the preschool, after-school and summer enrichment subprogram in CFC. Prior to joining the Foundation, Meera served as research director for Preschool California, where she monitored and advised national and state research and evaluation efforts, provided expertise and strategic support to ensure effective policy development, field operations, communications and messaging.Before working for Preschool California, Meera served as the president of The Clayton Foundation in Denver, Colorado. Under her direction, the foundation focused on operating high-quality programs for children from birth to five-years-old and on providing education and professional development opportunities for the early childhood education workforce. Her leadership was also instrumental in developing initiatives, organizations and government programs focused on building a comprehensive system of high-quality early care and education in Colorado. Between 1999-2001, Meera led and managed the day-to-day operations of Educare Colorado, now known as Qualistar Early Learning, a statewide initiative dedicated toimproving children’s early learning experiences through the implementation of a The David & Lucile quality rating and improvement system. Additionally, Dr. Mani served on various task forces, Packard Foundation committees and collaborative projects including the Mayor’s Early Childhood Education Commission. Meera has a master’s degree in child development from M.S. University in India and a doctor of education in Educational Leadership and Administration from Boston University.

ebra McMannis brings 25 years of experience in the field in the private and public sectors. Debra McMannis DPrior to joining CDE, she worked as a teacher and administrator at San Juan Unified School District implementing state and federal early learning programs. Her experience includes working with the California State Preschool Program, child care services Title 5 funds, California School Age Families Education Program, federal Head Start and Early Head Start programs, and the Program for Infant and Toddler Care. She holds an undergraduate degree in Human Development from Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena. She also holds a Program Director permit, teaching credential, and administrative credential.

California Department of Education

11 speakers

olly Munger is a co-founder and director of the Advancement Project, a public policy change organiza- Mtion rooted in the civil rights movement. Founded in 1999, Advancement Project engineers large-scale Molly Munger systems change to remedy inequality, expand opportunity and open paths to upward mobility. Molly brings an extensive background of legal expertise to the Advancement Project, including twenty years as a federal prosecutor and business litigator. Between 1994 and 1998, Molly served with her current law partner, Connie Rice, as Western Regional Counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Molly also served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, a partner in the all-women litigation firm Baird, Munger & Meyers, and a partner in the Los Angeles office of New York-based Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson. Together with Advancement Project Co-Directors Connie Rice and Steve English, Molly launched a coalition lawsuit, Godinez v. Davis, which won approximately $1 billion for new school construction in Los Angeles and other urban areas – representing the reclaiming of funds previously slated for less crowded, more affluent suburban school districts. Advancement Project was then instrumental in crafting and shepherding three school construction bond initiatives, raising $25 billion for new and renovated facilities throughout the state. As a result of these efforts, over 66 new schools were built in Los Angeles to relieve chronic overcrowding and over 1 million school spaces were created or renovated throughout California. In recent years, Molly has become deeply involved in efforts to improve and expand early childhood education Advancement Project in California. Her work was critical to the development of thousands of preschool spaces that serve low income children in Los Angeles County, and California’s Preschool Challenge, her report on statewide preschool space shortfalls, spurred the creation of the Speaker’s Task Force on School Facilities. Molly also spearheaded the founding of the Water Cooler network of advocates, bringing together diverse stakeholders from across the state to build consensus for policy solutions that support the needs of children from birth to five. Through quarterly meetings and an annual conference that draws more than 500 education advocates, the Water Cooler elevates the needs of California’s youngest children to the forefront of policy decisions and unites a diverse coalition of unlikely allies to champion their cause. Molly took a greater stance in supporting the needs of California’s students by supporting the Our Children, Our Future tax initiative in 2012. Our Children, Our Future would have provided dedicated funding to an entire generation of children to restore the public education programs and services they need to succeed in the workforce and double the existing funding to expand and improve the early learning opportunities for children across the state. Though the measure failed to pass, the effort has opened many opportunities and conversations which Molly continues to pursue further. Molly is a graduate of Radcliffe College and Harvard Law School. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the James Irvine Foundation and UNITE-LA. She is a former commissioner on the First 5 California Commission and former board member at Children Now, Occidental College and the Westridge School for Girls.

Donna Norton, Esq. is Deputy Director and a founding member of MomsRising.org. She has Donna Norton provided leadership on numerous winning campaigns for MomsRising.org, including the effort to get passage of the Affordable Care Act, improving nutritional standards for school meals and snacks, increasing access to affordable and high quality early learning, and pressuring major retailers to remove baby bottles with BPA from their shelves. Prior to joining MomsRising.org, Norton was senior counsel for the Center for WorkLife Law at the University of California, Hastings, managing the Center’s National Science Foundation-funded project to advance women in science, technology, engineering and math. She also directed the National Workplace Resource Center on Domestic Violence for Futures Without Violence. She holds a law degree from the University of California at Berkeley, and is a graduate of the London School of Economics and Stanford University.

MomsRising

nn O’Leary directs the Children and Families Program at Next Generation, which includes Aspearheading “Too Small to Fail,” developing a national research portfolio, and leading policy Ann O’Leary activities in California. Ann also serves as a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress where she writes about work-family policies. Ann previously served as a lecturer in health law at UC Berkeley School of Law, Executive Director of the Berkeley Center on Health, Economic & Family Security at UC Berkeley School of Law, a Deputy City Attorney for the city of San Francisco, Legislative Director to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, and led the children and family policy team on the White House Domestic Policy Council under President William J. Clinton. She also served as a member of the Obama- Biden Presidential Transition Team, advising the incoming administration on early childhood education issues. Ann is a member of the board for KQED, Northern California’s public news provider, and the East Bay Community Law Center, a legal aid clinic for low-income community members in Berkeley, Cal- ifornia. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Mount Holyoke College, a master’s in education policy from Stanford University and a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. Next Generation; Ann is a resident of Oakland where she lives with her husband, Goodwin Liu, Associate Justice of Too Small To Fail Initiative the Supreme Court of California, and their two children, Violet and Emmett. 12 im Pattillo Brownson is a civil rights lawyer with litigation and advocacy experience in Kim Pattillo Brownson Keducation and constitutional law. Kim currently oversees the day-to-day management of Advancement Project’s Educational Equity team, and focuses on early education, school facilities and overcrowding, and school finance. Prior to joining the Advancement Project, Kim was an attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, where she focused upon ensuring that the State of California provided school children with the basic necessities of a decent education. She also worked as a litigation associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Kim began her legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable Dolores Sloviter on the Third Circuit Court of Appeal, and the Honorable Louis H. Pollak in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Kim holds a J.D. from Yale Law School and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College. Prior to law school, Kim worked at the Boston Consulting Group, where she provided financial and strategic planning services to Fortune 500 companies.

Advancement Project

ris Perry, Executive Director of the First Five Years Fund, understands that America’s future lies Kin the health and well-being of the country’s youngest children. She has dedicated her career Kris Perry to bringing resources and support to parents, caregivers, and early learning workforce professionals to ensure children grow up healthy and ready to succeed in school and in life. Most recently, Kris served as Executive Director of First 5 California, fostering their emergence as one of the most well-known and respected advocates for early childhood development on the state and national levels. Prior to that, Kris served as Executive Director of First 5 San Mateo County, where she implemented cutting-edge programs and led community design groups to develop countywide initiatives, including preschool for all and universal health care. Her dedication to children and their families began at the Alameda County Social Services Agency where she worked for more than 12 years in various capacities, including child abuse investigator, family preservation case manager, and program manager. Such visionary leadership has garnered her past statewide appointments, including co-chair of the California State Early Learning Advisory Council, which was established to position the state for millions of dollars in federal funding for early childhood education. In this and other state posts, First Five Years Fund her leadership resulted in recommendations for system changes for early learning to improve the quality of preschool and school readiness programs. She has played a pivotal role in bringing the Educare model of early childhood centers to California and serves on the California Health Interview Survey Advisory Board. Kris is also a powerful voice for child advocacy, appearing as a commentator and child development expert on state and national media outlets. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a Masters in Social Work from San Francisco State University. She also completed the Stanford Graduate School of Business Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders. Kris is a licensed clinical social worker and a board certified diplomat who holds a postgraduate certificate as a service integration specialist. Kris lives in Berkeley, CA, with her partner, Sandy, and their two youngest children.

essie’s entire professional career has focused on improving outcomes for children and Jessie Rasmussen Jfamilies. For more than 20 years, Jessie was an early childhood practitioner, administrator and infant-toddler specialist. She spent the next 20 years of her profession in state government, first serving as a Nebraska state senator and then as the state human services director in both Nebraska and Iowa. Following her public service, Jessie was the early childhood director for the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation where she played an instrumental role in the development and successful passage of Nebraska legislation that established a $60 million early childhood endowment funded through a public and private partnership. Jessie is now President of the Buffett Early Childhood Fund in Omaha where she manages early childhood investments in Nebraska and nationally in three key arenas - practice, policy and knowledge development. Jessie holds a Master’s degree in Human Development and Family Relations with a primary focus in early childhood development.

Buffett Early Childhood Fund

13 speakers

endra Rogers is First 5 Fresno County’s Executive Director providing leadership and Kaccountability for the Commission’s distribution of over $163 million dollars since its Kendra Rogers inception in 1999. Fresno is the six largest County in California. Under Kendra’s leadership in 2011, First 5 Fresno County lead the successful suit against the Governor and State of California thwarting the attempt to grab $1 Billion from First 5 Commissions through AB99. Consistent with Kendra’s vision, the Commission’s recently completed strategic planning process intensified First 5 Fresno County’s community role as a vocal and bold advocate to systemically change the odds for its children. The 2013-2020 Strategic Plan removed the artificial “outcomes goal post” set at age five and called upon school district and community partners to come alongside the Commission and focus on predictive factors for 3rd grade reading proficiency. This work has led to a countywide focus on 3rd Grade Reading proficiency and adoption of the Kindergarten Student Entrance Profile (KSEP) to assess the school readiness of children. In the first year of implementation, 10,628 Fresno County kindergarteners were observed and assessed utilizing the KSEP. Because of this, the story regarding school readiness can now be told in a statistically significant and compelling manner. First 5 Fresno County Kendra’s leadership has resulted in a highly visible Fresno County Birth-Through-3rd Challenge (Fresno B-3) in partnership with the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Early Edge California, Fresno County Office of Education, and five local school districts. This innovative initiative has drawn national attention and locally has fostered new connections and collaborative work along the continuum of prenatal-3rd grade systems and among early learning, school, county agency, and non-profit partners. Kendra chairs the State First 5 Association communications committee and serves on its executive committee. Additionally, she is a Commissioner for the Fresno Housing Authority where she serves as vice-chair. Kendra is also a founding member of “The Children’s Movement of Fresno” and on the Board of Directors for the Animal Rescue of Fresno. She holds a Master’s in Public Administration from California State University, Dominquez Hills and a Bachelor’s in Law & Society from University of California, Santa Barbara.

ames Steyer is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Common Sense Media, the nation’s Jim Steyer Jleading non-partisan organization dedicated to improving media and technology choices for kids and families. He is also the Founder and Chairman of the Center for the Next Generation, as well as the author of Talking Back to Facebook and The Other Parent: The Inside Story of the Media’s Effect on our Children. Prior to launching Common Sense Media, Mr. Steyer was Chairman and CEO of JP Kids, a leading educational kids’ media company. Before that, Mr. Steyer was the Founder and President of Children Now, the highly respected, national advocacy and media organization for children, which he founded in 1988. Jim also teaches at Stanford University as a Consulting Professor, and he appears regularly on national radio programs as an expert commentator and children’s advocate. Last, but most importantly, he’s a dad of four.

Common Sense Media; Next Generation

om Torlakson was elected to a four-year term as California’s 27th State Superintendent of TPublic Instruction on November 2, 2010. As chief of California’s public school system and Hon. Tom Torlakson leader of the California Department of Education, Superintendent Torlakson applies his experience as a science teacher, high school coach, and state policymaker to fight for our students and improve our state’s public education system. Torlakson’s journey has led him from the classrooms of Contra Costa County’s Mount Diablo Unified School District (where he remains a teacher-on-leave), to the Antioch City Council, Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors, and the California State Senate and State Assembly. During his tenure in the California State Legislature, Torlakson acted to protect education funding, improve student nutrition and physical education, and ensure school safety. He also championed legislation to increase funding for textbooks, computers, and other instructional materials and efforts to close the digital divide, eliminate the achievement gap, and reduce the dropout rate. In 1998 Torlakson authored legislation leading to the development of the largest system of after school programs in the nation. In 2006, he authored the bill that led to a 300 percent expansion in these programs—so they now reach 4,000 schools around the state. Torlakson authored the State Superintendent of Public Instruction Continued next page

14 Hon. Tom Torlakson Continued from previous page Quality Education Improvement Act (SB 1133) in 2006, which dedicates nearly $3 billion to our lowest performing schools. He also played a key role negotiating and authoring the $9 billion Proposition 1A bond measure in 1998—which has led to public votes supporting over $36 billion to build new schools and improve existing school buildings. As the chair and founder of the California Task Force on Youth and Workplace Wellness, Torlakson has been a leader on banning junk food from our schools, providing healthier school meals, promoting student health and fitness, and combating diabetes and obesity among our children. Born in San Francisco, Torlakson served as a fireman in the United States Merchant Marine, earning the Vietnam Service Medal. He earned a B.A. in History, a Life Secondary Teaching Credential, and an M.A. in Education from the University of California, Berkeley. Tom lives in Pittsburg with his wife, Mae Cendaña Torlakson, a member of the Ambrose Recreation and Park District Board of Directors.

on Youngdahl, whose experience working with progressive organizations dates back to Jon Youngdahl Jthe early 90’s, has served in a variety of leadership roles within SEIU. Prior to becoming the Executive Director of SEIU California, Jon Youngdahl served as SEIU’s Chief of Staff. From 2007-2010, he served as the National Political Director for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) with responsibility for coordinating SEIU’s electoral and legislative field campaign operations. Before joining SEIU’s national staff at the beginning of 2007, Youngdahl was the Executive Director of the SEIU Minnesota State Council. He also served for a number of years as an Int’l Corporate Campaign Director for the United Steelworkers of America. An experienced veteran of Minnesota politics, Youngdahl was the Campaign Manager for the Hatch for Governor Campaign in the fall of 2006, AFL-CIO State Director of the Minnesota Labor 2004 campaign, and founded and co-chaired Workers for Wellstone in 2002. In 1996 he served on the Wellstone campaign’s field advisory committee and consulted on GOTV in the 5th CD, and was the successful campaign manager for the top targeted state house race in Minnesota.

Service Employees International Union (SEIU) California State Council

ssemblymember Shirley Nash Weber was elected in November of 2012 to represent ACalifornia’s 79th Assembly District, which includes the cities of Chula Vista, La Mesa, Hon. Shirley Weber Lemon Grove, National City and San Diego. Weber Chairs the Assembly the Budget Subcommittee No. 1, which focuses on Health and Human Services issues; the Assembly Select Committee on Higher Education in San Diego County; and the Assembly Select Committee on Campus Climate. She also serves on numerous Assembly committees that represent a diverse range of topics, including, Education, Higher Education, Appropriations, Budget, and Banking and Finance. Born to sharecroppers from Hope, Arkansas, Shirley Weber has lived in California since the age of 3. Her parents, in particular her father, valued education and supported their daughter’s academic aspirations. She attended UCLA, where she received her BA, MA and PhD by the age of 26. Prior to receiving her doctorate, she became a professor at San Diego State University at the age of 23. Dr. Weber also taught at California State University at Los Angeles and Los Angeles City College before coming to San Diego State University. California State Assembly Weber has lived in the 79th Assembly District for over 30 years. Deeply committed to community service, she served on the boards of the NAACP, the YWCA, the YMCA Scholarship Committee, Battered Women Services, United Way and the San Diego Consortium. She eventually made a successful run for a seat on the board of the San Diego Unified School District. As a trustee and subsequent school board president, she became known for her advocacy for closing the achievement gap and setting a higher standard of excellence for all children. As an Assemblymember, Weber has translated her commitment to education into her ambitious legislative agenda. During her freshmen year in the Legislature, five of seven of her successful bills were related to education, including ACR 45 urging lawmakers and the governor to restore funding to early childhood education; AB 56 requiring standards for installing carbon monoxide devices in schools, and AB 899 that links English language development to the state’s Core Curriculum math and science standards. Because of the tens of thousands of children eligible for kindergarten who do not attend, her first bill for the 2014 Legislative Session, AB 1444, would make kindergarten mandatory in California. She is also outspoken on the importance of investing in early childhood education as a means of preventing drop-out rates, dependence on social services, incarceration and unemployment. Assemblymember Weber is the mother of a daughter and son, and has two grandchildren. She is the widow of the late Honorable Daniel Weber, a California state judge.

15 The Water Cooler wishes to thank our Sponsors! sponsors

The Water Cooler is a collaborative effort by Advancement Project, the California Community Foundation, Children Now, Early Edge California, Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, First 5 California, ZERO TO THREE, and many other organizations to advance early care and learning for California’s children ages 0-5. Water Cooler efforts aim to bring the needs of California’s youngest children into the larger education conversation.

A Leading Partner of

The Water Cooler wishes to send a special thank you to the California Department of Education for its support of this year’s conference.