National Head Start Association

National Migrant Seasonal Head Start Association (NMSHSA) Affiliate Meetings/Elections

Sunday, January  23, 2011

4:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Registration
(Grand Ballroom Foyer)

6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

NMSHSA Parent Affiliate Event (Reception)/NMSHSA Evento del Afiliado de Padres
(Solarium Room)

 Parent Affiliates will have an opportunity to network and meet other parents from around the country.

Monday, January  24, 2011

7:30 am - 5:00 pm

Registration
(Grand Ballroom Foyer)

8:30 am - 9:30 am

NMSHSA Orientation and Opening Plenary
(Room TBD)

Attendees will learn about the available NMSHSA officer positions, how attendees can participate more actively with the NMSHSA, and hear important updates from Sandra Carton.

Welcome:

• Victor Gómez, Interim Executive Director, NMSHSA
• Elizabeth "Biz" Steinberg, President, NMSHSA

Speaker:

• Sandra Carton, Chief of the Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Branch, Office of Head Start

Orientation:

• Suzanne Orozco, Deputy Executive Director, Telamon, Corporation

9:30 am - 10:00 am

Break

10:00 am - Noon

NMSHSA Affiliate Meetings

During these meetings, the different NMSHSA affiliates will meet to elect officers, decide on the agenda for the year, and take care of business. 

Director Affiliate Meeting
(Lafayette Room)

Parent Affiliate Meeting
(Ballroom C)

CEO and Community Representatives Affiliate Meeting
(Ballroom D)

Staff Affiliate Meeting
(Balloom B)

Noon - 1:00 pm

NMSHSA Board of Directors Lunch
(Quorum Room)

Attendees who were elected officers in each NMSHSA affiliate meeting are invited to eat lunch and become acquainted with each other. In addition, the 2010 officers are invited to meet the new officers and have lunch. 

1:00 pm - 6:00 pm

NMSHSA Board of Directors Meeting
(Quorum Room)

Special Session

2:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Roundtable Discussion between NHSA Affiliate Leaders and Allied National Organizations
(Grand Ballroom)
The purpose of this roundtable discussion is to develop a shared advocacy vision for the 112^th Congress.Welcome:

• Yasmina Vinci, Executive Director, NHSA

Facilitator:

• Edward Condon, Director of Affiliate Relations, NHSA

Presenter:

• Ben Allen, Ph.D., Public Policy and Research Director, NHSA

Main Sessions of the NHSA Leadership Institute Begin

5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Orientation to NHSA Leadership Institute/ Advocacy 101
(Grand Ballroom)

First-time Leadership Institute attendees will receive an orientation to the flow of the Institute concepts and activities over the next three days and be provided with ideas to  leverage for their own leadership development. Both new and veteran Leadership Institute attendees will be provided basic training on advocacy strategies, tactics and effective Hill visits.The Day on the Hill eventswill be discussed in detail.

• Yasmina Vinci, Executive Director, NHSA

Presenters:

• Tommy Sheridan, Legislative Associate, NHSA
• Libby Mullin, President, Mullin Strategies
• Dawn Laguens, President, LKK Partners

7:00 pm - 7:45 pm

Opening General Session - Ensuring the Commitment to Serve Our Nation's Most Vulnerable Children and Families
(Grand Ballroom)

Attendees will hear from U.S. Senator Robert P. Casey, a champion for the continuum of early learning programs, discuss the outlook for early learning programs in the new Congress.

Welcome:

• Yasmina Vinci, Executive Director, NHSA

• Victor Gómez, Interim Executive Director, National Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Association (Confirmed)

• Sam Ceccacci, Project Director, Scranton-Lackawanna Human Development Agency, Inc.

Presenter:

• U.S. Senator Robert P. Casey (Confirmed)

Tuesday, January  25, 2011

A Wide Lens on Challenges Facing Head Start at the National Level

7:00 am - 5:00 pm

Registration
(Grand Ballroom Foyer)

8:00 am - 8:45 am

Presenter

• David Johns, Senior Education Policy Advisor, U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

Moderator:

• Tommy Sheridan, Legislative Associate, NHSA

8:45 am - 9:00 am

Break

9:00 am - 10:15 am

Presenters:

• Alison Feighan, Vice President and Partner, Rapoza Associates, Washington, DC
• Lisa Guernsey, Director of the Early Education Initiative, New America Foundation
• Catriona McDonald, President, Linchpin Strategies LLC, Washington DC
• Sarah Rittling, Senior Policy and Legal Advisor, Education Counsel, LLC, Washington DC

Moderator:

• Yasmina Vinci, Executive Director, NHSA

10:30 am - 11:30 am

Federal and State Budgets: What Are Their Implications for Funding Early Childhood Programs?
(Grand Ballroom)

Federal and State governments face enormous budget deficits amid a lackluster national economy. Recently, federal lawmakers approved legislation to cut taxes and stimulate the economy, and the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform made a list of recommendations to slash the national debt. At the same time, Congress approved a Continuing Resolution which flat-funds Head Start and Early Head Start through March 4, 2011. During this session, attendees will learn more about these developments and their implications for future Head Start and Early Head Start funding.

Presenters:

• Hannah Matthews, Senior Policy Analyst, Center for Law and Social Policy
• Gene Sperling, J.D., Director, National Economic Council, White House (Invited)

Moderator:

• Yasmina Vinci, Executive Director, NHSA

11:30 am - 11:45 am

Break

11:45 am - 12:30 pm

Mobilizing the Head Start Community to Action
(Grand Ballroom)

This session is designed to facilitate a conversation about the Head Start community's next steps and formulate and implement a call to action amid the grim federal and state financial situation. Key NHSA staff will facilitate this session, specifically providing an update on the 8-week campaign to "Build a Home for Head Start in the New Congress," sharing some bold steps NHSA is taking, outlining a short-term strategy, and seeking new input from attendees to better engage and mobilize every member of the Head Start community.

Facilitator:

• Tommy Sheridan, Legislative Associate, NHSA

12:45 pm - 1:45 pm

Lunch on Your Own

1:45 pm - 2:45 pm

The 2010 elections ushered in a very different Congress with Republicans controlling the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Democrats holding onto a slimmer majority in the U.S. Senate. During this session, attendees will hear from Republican and Democratic public opinion pollsters and a journalist about what messages American voters sent by their electoral choices. The presenters will also discuss how these messages and perceptions of them will impact the work of the 112th Congress.

Introduction:

• Yasmina Vinci, Executive Director, NHSA

Presenters:

• Eleanor Clift, Contributing Editor, Newsweek
• Celinda Lake, President, Lake Research
• Brian Nienaber, Vice President, Tarrance Group

Moderator:

• Ben Allen, Ph.D., Public Policy and Research Director, NHSA

2:45 pm - 3:30 pm

What is Next?
(Grand Ballroom)

A long-time scholar of congressional politics offers his insights into the 112th Congress and what divided government might mean for non-defense discretionary programs, including Head Start.

Introduction:

• Yasmina Vinci, Executive Director, NHSA

Presenter:

• Norm Ornstein, Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy

3:30 pm - 5:30 pm

Office of Head Start Update
(Grand Ballroom)

Yvette Sanchez Fuentes and the Office of Head Start team will update attendees about legislative and regulatory issues of interest to the Head Start community, and about the recently announced new organizational structure for OHS.

Introduction:

• Yasmina Vinci, Executive Director, NHSA

Speaker:

• Yvette Sanchez Fuentes, Director, Office of Head Start, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

OHS Leadership Team:

• Amanda Bryans, Director, Education and Comprehensive Services Division
• Ann Linehan, Director, Quality Assurance Division
• Renee Perthuis, Director, Program Operations Division
• Colleen Rathgeb, Senior Social Science Policy Analyst (Policy Branch Chief)

5:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Networking Reception
(Solarium)

During the reception, attendees will have an opportunity to network with colleagues and share their Leadership Institute experiences.

Dinner is on your own.

Get inspired for Wednesday's Day on the Hill. Experience once in a lifetime opportunity to feel like a Washington insider. Watch the President's State of the Union Address with live commentary from Capitol Hill insiders: listen for the President's commitments and priorities. Will a Head Start graduate be in the box with Mrs. Obama? Will early childhood education and Head Start be mentioned in the speech?
Refreshments will be served.

Commentators:

• Alison Feighan, Vice President and Partner, Rapoza Associates, Washington, DC

• Therese Magnuson, Vice President, Beacon Consulting Group

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Day on the Hill

8:00 am - 10:00 am

This catered breakfast will showcase the outcomes of Head Start - our alumni, and introduce a project that will help gather millions of them to be mobilized for strengthening Head Start. Members of Congress, distinguished Head Start alumni, Shaquile O'Neal's mother, and others will promote the value of our work with children and families.

10:00 am - 5:00 pm

Capitol Hill Visits

Scheduled by you or your state/regional Head Start association with your congressional delegation.

Lunch and dinner on your own

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Preparing for Emerging Opportunities: New Strategies to Optimize Your Community's Changing Landscape

8:00 am - 10:00 am

Working with the Local Media to Benefit Head Start
(Room TBD)

Attendees will learn media strategies to keep the many local successes of Head Start and Early Head Start in front of federal, state, and local policymakers and the media.

8:30 am - 9:30 am

Creating and Mobilizing Local Community Grassroots Networks
(Room TBD)

A major strength of Head Start and Early Head Start programs is that they are operated by community-based organizations in every state and most U.S. territories. During this session, presenters will share their highly-effective, cutting-edge grassroots mobilization strategies and tactics, such as using social media. Attendees will learn how to apply these strategies and tactics in their communities.

Presenter:

• Paul Tewes, strategic positioning, {new} partners

Moderator:

• Tommy Sheridan, Legislative Associate, NHSA

8:30 am - 9:30 am

How to Produce and Use Video to Tell the Head Start Story
(Room TBD) 

Learn how you can economically make and use video to tell your Head Start and Early Head Start stories and advocate for your program.  This session will be presented by the Media Mobilizing Project www.mediamobilizingproject.org, producers of the video entitled, "Hope in Hard Times: Head Start Families Fighting for Their Future." 

Presenters:

• Media Mobilizing Project members 

Moderator:

• Edward Condon, Director of Affiliate Relations, NHSA

9:30 am - 9:45 am

Break

Attendees will learn media strategies to keep the many local successes of Head Start and Early Head Start in front of federal, state, and local policymakers and the media.

Presenter:

• Joel Ryan, Executive Director, Washington Head Start and the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program

9:45 am - 11:00 am

Dealing With Unfavorable Publicity: What You Must Remember
(Ballroom C/D)

Even if what you are reading in the paper about your program is not true, unfair, or just ridiculous, it may end up coming back at you and even snowballing into a major uproar that can hurt the image of your program and even of Head Start. Learn from experts how to respond, diffuse, change the dialogue, and not let that happen.

Presenter:

• Michael Maslansky, CEO, Maslansky luntz + partners, Author of The Language of Trust: Selling Ideas in a World of Skeptics

11:00 am - 11:15 am

Break

11:15 am - 12:30 pm

Closing General Session:  Preparing the Future Early Childhood Workforce - A Movement toward Excellence!
(Grand Ballroom)

In this session, attendees will hear from a leading early childhood education expert about  the  will and the way for early childhood education and care, including Head Start and Early Head Start, to prepare their future workforce.

Introduction:

• Yasmina Vinci, Executive Director, NHSA

Speaker:

• Dr. Valora Washington, CEO, Council for Professional Recognition and Founder and President, the CAYL Institute  (Confirmed)

Monday, January 24, 2011

Thursday, January 27, 2011

1:00 pm - 5:30 pm

Head Start Associations' Executive Director Consortium Meeting
(Room TBD)