Dr. Timothy Almon Askew holds a B.A. degree from Morehouse College, Summa Cum Laude with Phi Beta Kappa distinction as a junior-year inductee.  He received the master’s degree at Yale University.  Dr. Askew was an NCEA Doctoral Fellow  in the English Department at the University of South Florida. Pursuing an interdisciplinary degree in American Studies and focusing on American Literature and American Music,  he received the Ph.D.  degree at Emory University and had the distinction of being the first Ph.D. Marshal at the University. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including a 4-year Academic Scholarship, Morehouse College; Readers Digest Foundation Scholar, Morehouse College; University Fellowships, Yale University; National Consortium for Educational Access Doctoral Fellowship, The University of South Florida; University Fellowships, Emory University; The United Negro College Fund Dissertation Fellowship; Teacher of the Year, Clark Atlanta University; The N.A.A.C.P.  Image Award for Excellence in Teaching English, Clark Atlanta University; National Endowment for the Humanities Scholar.  Dr. Askew was the Atlanta Public Library “Lift Every Voice and Sing” Centennial Celebration Speaker  at Georgia State University and has been featured in the Atlanta Constitution  and the Houston, Texas newspaper African American News for his research on the song, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”  Dr. Askew is a tenured Full Professor of English and Humanities at Clark Atlanta University. He is the Founding President of Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society at Clark Atlanta University and a Sustaining Member of Phi Beta Kappa.  He is the author of the following books:  Cultural Hegemony and African American Patriotism:  An Analysis of the Song, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and Refreshing The American Literary Canon, both by Linus Publications, New York.  Dr. Askew is the 2017 C. Eric Lincoln Scholar at Clark Atlanta University, one of the highest honors bestowed on a professor at the university. On May 22, 2019, Dr. Askew received the highest honor bestowed on a faculty member at Clark Atlanta University,  the Aldridge/McMillan Award for overall excellence in teaching, research, and service. Dr. Askew was named a Mellon Scholar, February 2020.

Dr. Walter S. Gilliam is the Elizabeth Mears & House Jameson Professor of Child Psychiatry and Psychology at the Yale Child Study Center and Director of Yale’s Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy. Dr. Gilliam is Vice President of ZERO TO THREE, a past president of Child Care Aware of America; board Treasurer for the Irving Harris Foundation, and a board director for First Children’s Finance, and All Our Kin; and a former Senior Advisor to the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Dr. Gilliam is co-recipient of the prestigious 2008 Grawemeyer Award in Education for the coauthored book, A Vision for Universal Preschool Education. Dr. Gilliam’s research involves early childhood education and intervention policy analysis (specifically how policies translate into effective services), ways to improve the quality of prekindergarten and child care services, the impact of early childhood education programs on children’s school readiness, and effective methods for reducing classroom behavior problems and preschool expulsion, as well as issues of COVID-19 transmission, vaccination, and health and safety promotion in early childhood settings. His scholarly writing addresses early childhood care and education programs, school readiness, and developmental assessment of young children. Dr. Gilliam has led national analyses of state-funded prekindergarten policies and mandates, how prekindergarten programs are being implemented across the range of policy contexts, and the effectiveness of these programs at improving school readiness and educational achievement, as well as experimental and quasi-experimental studies on methods to improve early education quality. His work frequently has been covered in major national and international news outlets for print (e.g., New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, LA Times), radio (e.g., NPR), and television (e.g., CNN Headline News, NBC TODAY Show, CBS Early Show, ABC Good Morning America, ABC World News Tonight, FOX News). Dr. Gilliam actively provides consultation to state and federal decision-makers in the U.S. and other countries (such as the People’s Republic of China and the United Arab Emirates) and frequently provides U.S. Congressional testimony and briefings on issues related to early care and education.

Chrisanne Gayl is an education leader with over twenty years of policy experience at the federal, state, and local levels. As Chief Strategy and Policy Officer, Chrisanne oversees Trust for Learning's overall grant-making efforts and leads its policy strategy. Chrisanne served as a Senior Advisor at the U.S. Department of Education, where she was responsible for developing new policies and programs to expand high-quality learning opportunities and supportive services for the nation’s children. She has also worked as the Director of Federal Programs for the National School Boards Association and as an education advisor to the governor of California. Chrisanne has testified in front of Congress and has authored numerous publications. She holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Georgetown University and received her undergraduate degree from Colby College.

Dr. Natalie Danner is the Early Childhood Content and Engagement Coordinator for the Illinois Early Learning Project. She has worked as an early childhood teacher educator in Nebraska, Oregon, and Connecticut.  Dr. Danner has over ten years of experience as an inclusive early childhood (Pre-K & K) teacher and school leader in New York City and Arizona, specializing in the Montessori approach. She earned her Ph.D. in early childhood special education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her research focuses on how teachers support young children with disabilities in their inclusive classrooms as well as the creation and adoption of the EI/ECSE personnel preparation (teacher education) standards. 

Dr. Bo Stjerne Thomsen is Vice-President, Chair of Learning Through Play, and member of the Leadership Team at the LEGO Foundation. As Chair and senior expert on how children and adults learn through play, he provides consultation at a bilateral, regional and multilateral level to international partners and leaders. He represents the LEGO Foundation and the LEGO Brand Group at international forums, and advises leadership teams across the LEGO entities, to attain the overall LEGO Brand Vision of becoming a global force for Learning Through Play. Over the years, Bo lead the international research agenda and organizational expertise on children’s development, play and learning for the LEGO Foundation and supporting the LEGO Group. In his previous roles as Director of the LEGO Learning Institute, Head of the Centre for Creativity, Play and Learning, and Global Head of Research, he built more than 15 international research partnerships and supported the implementation of evidence into projects across 20+ countries, to raise awareness around the role and impact of play on creativity and lifelong learning. Bo Stjerne has published widely on Creativity, Play and Learning, most recently on the integrated role of technologies in everyday life, and the systems change needed in schools and education to achieve equitable outcomes with learning through play. He is a frequent contributor and advisor to international forums like OECD, WISE, UNGA and WEF, and provides research directions for projects worldwide, to bring attention to the quality of childhood and the power of learning through play. He holds a master’s degree in design, architecture and engineering, and a PhD on performative technologies and learning environments. He has been a visiting scholar at the MIT Media Lab in Boston, studied research management and leadership at Copenhagen Business School and IMD in Switzerland, and an advisor to various international research organizations including the Torrance Centre for Creativity, the University of Cambridge PEDAL Research Centre, WISE, OECD, Design for Play in Denmark, World Innovation Summit for Education, and the Lifelong Learning Lab at Tsinghua University. You can follow him on Twitter: @BoStjerne

Rhian Evans Allvin Chief Executive Officer National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Rhian Evans Allvin serves as the chief executive officer of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), a position she has held since August 2013. She is responsible for guiding the organization’s strategic direction as well as overseeing daily operations. NAEYC is the largest national professional association for early childhood educators. Its mission is to promote high-quality early learning for all children, birth through age 8, by connecting practice, policy, and research. NAEYC advances a diverse and dynamic early childhood profession and supports all who care for, educate, and work on behalf of young children. During Rhian’s tenure, NAEYC has successfully completed a dramatic structural transformation to: better serve members nationally and at the state and local levels; exert strong policy and advocacy leadership; and streamline NAEYC’s early childhood program accreditation system to decisively and accessibly define early childhood program quality.    Before joining NAEYC, Evans Allvin was a guiding force in Arizona’s early childhood movement for more than 15 years. In 2006, she cowrote the citizens’ ballot initiative that created First Things First (FTF), which set aside $130 million in annual Arizona tobacco tax monies to support the health, development, and education of children birth to age 5. FTF also created a state agency to ensure that all Arizona children start kindergarten prepared to succeed in school and in life. Then-governor Janet Napolitano appointed Evans Allvin to FTF’s inaugural state board, on which she served for three years before becoming FTF’s chief executive officer. During her tenure, the organization led and participated in a variety of Arizona statewide early childhood systems-building efforts, including panels that adopted the Arizona Model Early Childhood System Framework; the development of FTF’s 10 School Readiness Indicators; the FTF National Research and Evaluation Advisory Panel; and the development and rollout of Quality First, Arizona’s quality rating and improvement system.  Earlier experiences also helped prepare Rhian for her role at NAEYC. As a founding partner in the Brecon Group, she specialized in public policy, philanthropy, and community engagement. As senior advancement officer at the Arizona Community Foundation, she used her knowledge in community organizing, communications, fundraising, and nonprofit management to help donors connect their philanthropic interests with community needs. Additionally, she served in leadership roles with Libraries for the Future, a national nonprofit promoting the important role of public libraries in American life, and Children’s Action Alliance, Arizona’s state-based child advocacy organization.   Rhian has authored a number of white papers, articles, policy briefs, and reports, and she regularly serves as a presenter for diverse international, national, state, and community conversations.  Rhian Evans Allvin holds a bachelor’s degree from Northern Arizona University and a master’s degree in business administration from Arizona State University. She has earned various honors and widespread recognition for her work on behalf of children, including being inducted into the Northern Arizona University College of Education Hall of Fame in 2016 and being given the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center’s Excellence in Early Education Award in 2015, the Southern Arizona AEYC’s Board Award in 2014, and the Junior League of Phoenix Valley’s Impact Award in 2011.  Rhian is married to Paul Allvin, and they live in Falls Church, Virginia, with their three children. 

I talk to three facilitators of the BizKids Club held through the Orange County Library System, which introduces kids to business and entrepreneurship. Michael Linden is a Technology Trainer for the Orange County Library System, where he's served the public for 15 years. He delivers in-person and online classes with a focus on accessibility, adaptation, and personal safety in computer applications and on mobile devices. He also provides one-on-one assistance for library visitors during scheduled Open Lab classes. Oliva Okolue is a Casual Technology Trainer for the Orange County Library System, where she has served part of the BizKids Program for 1.5 years. She is also the Owner and Designer for Livi Simone Designs, an online handmade accessories business. She assists in the BizKids Program by utilizing her experience as a business owner. Tony Orengo is an Instructional Technology Specialist at the Technology and Education Center. He has been a part of the Orange County Library System based in Orlando, Florida, for 17 years and is responsible for the design and development of classroom training and e-learning programs that integrate current and emerging technologies.

Jennifer Ledford, PhD, BCBA-D, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Special Education in the Early Childhood Special Education and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) programs. Dr. Ledford has expertise in single case research design, response prompting procedures, and classroom-based peer-mediated instruction. Her current research relates to improving use and synthesis of research in special education, treating food selectivity and increasing imitation for children with autism, and improving the use of evidence-informed practices by practitioners. She was recently awarded the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children’s Award for Mentoring. Dr. Ledford is the author of more than 50 peer-reviewed articles and two textbooks related to single case design and instruction for young children.

David Dotson is currently the CEO of The Dollywood Foundation. During his 20 year tenure at The Dollywood Foundation, he has led the expansion of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. The program works with 2000 local partners to gift a new book each month to over 1.4 million preschool children in 5 countries. The Imagination Library has gifted 130 million books since the program’s inception.  The Foundation also provides $100,000 for scholarships each year to local high school students.  In November of 2016, he was asked to spearhead the effort to create The My People Fund to provide $12,000,000 of direct assistance to 900 families who lost their homes to the fires which swept through Sevier County, Tennesseee  just after Thanksgiving.  In addition, he coordinated the publication of several books by Dolly including Dream More, Dixie Fixins, I Am a Rainbow and the new edition of Coat of Many Colors. Other projects include the production of Dolly’s children album I Believe in You; oversight of Dolly’s museum, Chasing Rainbows; and he is part of the team that developed and now maintains her website, Dolly Parton.com  Mr. Dotson was previously the Executive Director of Associated Catholic Charities of East Tennessee  and the Field Representative for the Appalachian region for The Youth Project.

Award-winning journalist, professional speaker and author of We Need To Talk: How To Have Conversations That Matter, Celeste Headlee, released her latest book, Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving, in March 2020. A timely, actionable and illuminating manifesto, Do Nothing, reveals that despite our constant search for new ways to “hack” our bodies and minds for peak performance, human being are working more - not less, living harder - not smarter, and becoming more lonely and anxious. Celeste shines a light on a new path ahead with a call to institute a global shift in our thinking so we can stop sabotaging our well-being, put work aside and starting living instead of doing. She shares the keys to embracing what makes us human: our creativity, our social connections (Instagram DOESN’T count), our ability for reflective though, and our capacity for joy, and unveils strategies that allow us to regain control over our lives and break our addiction to false efficiency. Celeste is a globally-recognized journalist and expert in conversation and communication. She’s a regular guest host on NRP and American Public Media, and co-host of the new series Retro Report on PBS. Celeste’s TEDx Talk sharing 10 ways to have a better conversation has over 23 million total views to date and she serves as an advisory board member for ProCon.org and The Listen First Project. She received the 2019 Media Changemaker Award. WE NEED TO TALK. They are, perhaps, the most dreaded four words in the English language. But in her timely and practical book, WE NEED TO TALK: How to Have Conversations That Matter (Harperwave), journalist and public radio host Celeste Headlee makes the case that they are urgently needed. Today most of us communicate from behind electronic screens, and studies show that Americans feel less connected and more divided than ever before. The blame for some of this disconnect can be attributed to our political landscape, but the erosion of our conversational skills as a society lies with us as individuals. And the only way forward, says Headlee, is to start talking to each other. In We Need to Talk, she outlines the strategies that have made her a better conversationalist and offers actionable steps anyone can take to improve their communication skills.