Promise Insider

In this episode we speak with Kristi Snyder, of Christiansburg, VA who serves on our Provider Advisory, and Monica Jackson, of Springfield VA who is an active member of our Promise Advocate community - they are both two child care providers who are passionate about early learning and care. They each operate two very different settings - Kristi owns three centers, Monica is a family day home provider. We talk about the importance of quality, the connection with their families, and how the child care stabilization funds and other support was critical for them during the pandemic.

In this episode I speak with Austin Walker, Virginia State Manager for SCAN. Austin has a Master's in Social Work, and brings her expertise and energy to Virginia. She talks more about SCAN's mission, why its important to support our bold goal, and the importance of Get Out The Vote work.

In this episode, we hear from two legislators who were selected as inaugural 2022 Child Care Champions of the Year by Virginia Promise in Action. Delegate Carrie Coyner - a Republican legislator representing Chesterfield, VA who serves as Chair of the House Education's Subcommittee on Early Childhood/Innovation, and Senator Monty Mason, a Democratic legislator representing Williamsburg and a long standing supporter of child care in his community and in the General Assembly. The legislators discuss their vision for education in Virginia, the work that they have done to promote early learning and care, and share advice on how we can best advocate for child care.

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.There are so many ways that we strengthen our early learning system, advocacy is one way, but why not BE the person who is writing the laws and policies? Think about it… We hope this episode will at least get you to think about yourself at the dais, with the gavel, making important decisions for your community, and moving child care forward.

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.