In this episode, we hear from Radha Mohan, with one of the VPP Coalition Partners, the Early Care and Education Consortium. Child care policy has been front and center not only in Virginia, but also at the federal level. During this episode, we will discuss the status of the federal reconciliation bill and how that would impact child care in Virginia.

In this episode, we hear from Katie Cristol, Chair of the Arlington County Board, who is a Democrat, and Preston Banks, Vice Mayor, City of Manassas Park, who is a Republican, about their paths to local office, and their thoughts on the impact that local elected officials can make towards quality, affordable child care.

In this episode, we hear from Erik Rison, Vice President of Public Policy and Research for the Virginia Chamber. Erik talks about why child care is such an important topic for the business community, and the importance of being realistic in our approach as we reach for the bold goal.

In this episode, we will receive an update on the Virginia budget from Chris Wodicka, Senior Policy Analyst at the Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis. Chris provided insight into The Commonwealth Institute’s budget priorities, what’s next for the budget in Virginia, and key early learning provisions in the budget.

In this episode, we will learn more about redistricting in Virginia from Dr. Alex Keena, an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Virginia Commonwealth University who researches political representation. Alex provides an overview of how redistricting impacts policy, how the nonpartisan redistricting commission in Virginia worked, and how advocates can be effective moving forward.

In this episode, we will hear from Delegate Glenn Davis, who represents the 84th district of Virginia which includes part of the City of Virginia Beach. Delegate Davis is Chair of the House Education Committee. Delegate Davis talks about innovation in early learning, shares his vision for education in Virginia, how you can really get your issue to resonate with lawmakers, and even what he thinks quality affordable early learning opportunities will look like in 2030.

Randy Pearson, Virginia Promise In Action Government Relations Consultant, shares an update on the 2022 Virginia General Assembly session, and Abby Rogers, CEO of the Greater Richmond YMCA, discusses why child care is so important to the YMCA, and how we can best convey our message as we become "solution-focused" advocates.

Carol Muleta, the creator of Parenting 411, shares her thoughts on how to ensure parent voice is at the center of child care and early childhood education policy.

Noted public speaking coach, Kevin Boston-Hill, shares tips on effectively communicating our child care message in a variety of scenarios.

David Cary, Assistant Secretary for Early Childhood Education in Virginia, provides an overview of the Virginia budget process and the work of the outgoing administration to prioritize child care and early childhood education in the proposed outgoing budget.