The CAYL Institute

CAYL CEO Dr. Valora Washington was honored to serve as the opening keynote speaker at the Nebraska Early Childhood Collaborative's ELEVATE Conference, joining family child care educators, business owners, and leaders committed to strengthening the early childhood workforce.

Pictured: Erica Phillips (The National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC)), Tierra Harper (NECC Director of Child Care Solutions), and Lameakia Collier (NECC Chief Operating Officer).

We were honored to share CAYL's work with workforce development leaders from across the country and to contribute to conversations about building stronger pathways for early childhood educators.

Thank you to the City of Boston and the U.S. Economic Development Administration for bringing together Good Jobs Challenge initiatives from across the nation to learn from one another and advance this important work.

Pictured (l to r): Camille Jonlin, Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) , Abigail Cross, Boston Office of Workforce Development, and Dr. Valora Washington, The CAYL Institute

In case you missed our 60th episode of CAYL Catalyst, the recording is now available for replay!

This special episode features Ellen Galinsky, sharing valuable insights and perspectives for leaders, educators, and changemakers.

🎥 Watch the replay: https://www.youtube.com/
📖 Explore our full video library: https://cayl.org/video-library/

Register at: https://tinyurl.com/47dex6xh
Join us on July 9, 2026, for an important conversation with Elliot Haspel, nationally recognized family policy expert and author. Through his influential books, Crawling Behind: America’s Childcare Crisis and How to Fix It and Raising a Nation: 10 Reasons Every American Has a Stake in Child Care For All, Elliot has helped shape the national dialogue on America’s child care crisis and the path toward a stronger, more equitable system for families.

As we come together, we’ll explore questions such as: Why should every American have a stake in child care? How did we arrive at this moment—and what will it take to build affordable, high-quality options for every family? If we’ve been saying this for years, where might we be missing the mark in how we communicate the urgency of this issue?

Join us on July 9, 2026, for Reflect for Insight, Reset for Action Featuring Elliot Haspel, as we consider what must shift in our thinking, messaging, and advocacy to ensure child care is recognized as essential national infrastructure.

There's still time to register to join us live at 4 pm ET!

Register at: https://tinyurl.com/2n6dhecn

Join us on June 4, 2026, for an inspiring conversation with Ellen Galinsky, President of the Families and Work Institute and nationally recognized author and researcher. From her groundbreaking work in early childhood education to her influential writing on adolescence, Ellen has shaped how we understand children’s development across the years. Her bestselling books, including Mind in the Making and The Breakthrough Years, have become must-reads for educators and parents alike, offering a clear, research-based voice on executive functioning and the realities of the tween and teen years.

As we come together, we’ll explore questions such as: What misconceptions do we hold about children, tweens, and teenagers? Where might we be missing the mark as educators and parents? What are the most important lessons Ellen has learned through her work with families, policymakers, and the media—and how can we apply them in our own contexts?

Join us on June 4, 2026, for Reflect for Insight, Reset for Action! Featuring Ellen Galinsky, as we consider what needs to shift in our thinking and practice—and how a deeper understanding of executive function and adolescence can help us better support children, families, and ourselves.

Don't miss your chance to join us TOMORROW for what promises to be an incredible conversation!
Grab your seat at our virtual table: https://tinyurl.com/2n6dhecn

Have you registered to join us? CAYL Catalyst goes live for Episode 60 on June 4, 2026 @ 4 pm ET!

Register at: https://tinyurl.com/2n6dhecn

Join us on June 4, 2026, for an inspiring conversation with Ellen Galinsky, President of the Families and Work Institute and nationally recognized author and researcher. From her groundbreaking work in early childhood education to her influential writing on adolescence, Ellen has shaped how we understand children’s development across the years. Her bestselling books, including Mind in the Making and The Breakthrough Years, have become must-reads for educators and parents alike, offering a clear, research-based voice on executive functioning and the realities of the tween and teen years.

As we come together, we’ll explore questions such as: What misconceptions do we hold about children, tweens, and teenagers? Where might we be missing the mark as educators and parents? What are the most important lessons Ellen has learned through her work with families, policymakers, and the media—and how can we apply them in our own contexts?

Join us on June 4, 2026, for Reflect for Insight, Reset for Action! Featuring Ellen Galinsky, as we consider what needs to shift in our thinking and practice—and how a deeper understanding of executive function and adolescence can help us better support children, families, and ourselves.