The Early Link Podcast highlights national, regional, and local voices working in early childhood education and the nonprofit sector. The podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Rafael Otto, Children’s Institute’s director of communications.
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The Latest
Nurturing Child Development Through Inclusive Stories: A Conversation with JaNay Brown-Wood
On this episode of the Early Link Podcast, host Rafael Otto sits down with JaNay Brown-Wood, an award-winning children’s author, poet, educator and scholar. She writes about stories that celebrate diversity, inclusivity, self-esteem, and learning.
Becoming Optimistic Leaders for Children with Judy Jablon
On this episode of the Early Link Podcast, Rafael Otto speaks with Judy Jablon, founder and executive director of Leading for Children. Judy discusses her initial leap into the early learning field after working with young children at Bank Street College in New York City, an experience that piqued her curiosity and led her to a career in teaching. She shares her experiences working with educators, being a curious learner, and the importance of being leaders for children. She also talks about her book, The Five Commitments of Optimistic Leaders, and shares how early childhood educators can embrace optimistic leadership. Finally, Judy talks about how an intentional focus on equity is vital in working with adults and educators.
Taking Action to Improve Social Emotional Services for Young Children: The Power of Data and Metrics
This is a special production created with our colleagues at the Oregon Pediatric Improvement Partnership (OPIP). OPIP is a public private partnership seeking to create a meaningful, long-term collaboration of stakeholders invested in child health care quality, with the common purpose of improving the health of all children and youth in Oregon. This episode explores recent developments in the health sector here in Oregon meant to improve the care for children ages zero to five.
Bridging Gaps and Nurturing Community through Early Learning in Philomath
In this episode of the Early Link podcast, Rafael Otto joins Abby Couture and Sunny Bennett, the principal and preschool teacher at Philomath Elementary School. Abby and Sunny discuss their stories of getting started in education as well as the moments they began to realize many children were missing out on early learning experiences. They go on to describe the educational environment in Philomath, where they partner with LBCC and Strengthening Rural Families to provide more opportunities for toddlers and pre-k students. They also share their positive experience as part of Children’s Institute’s Early Learning Academy, highlighting the inspiring sense of community, information sharing, and resource recommendations it provided.
Talking to Kids About Success
In partnership with Oregon Humanities, we interviewed students in second, fifth, and sixth grades from Vose Elementary and Yoncalla Elementary to see what they think about success and where their ideas of success come from. In this episode of The Detour, we captured wit, wisdom, jokes, and meaningful conversation with some incredible young people. Their messages are clear, thought-provoking, and chock-full of wisdom and wit.
Toward Human Centered Education: An Interview with Ulcca Joshi Hansen
In this episode of the Early Link Podcast, our host Rafael Otto speaks with Dr. Ulcca Joshi Hansen, interim executive director and chief program officer at Grantmakers for Education, about the need for transformational change in the education system.