Connect with hundreds of Nebraska community leaders, gain grassroots insights and ideas, explore rural and city success stories, and hear from early childhood and community vitality experts.
On Tuesday, Sept. 17, the seventh annual conference will bring together hundreds of community leaders from across Nebraska to continue building momentum around quality early childhood education and its connection to economic development and community vitality. Community members and experts will explore challenges, share success stories, learn from each other, and highlight the importance of implementing quality birth to Grade 3 care and education.
The 2023 Thriving Children, Families, and Communities Conference continued its dynamic growth, attracting 542 registrants from 118 Nebraska communities and 15 states.
Keynote Speaker
Linda Smith is a national expert on early childhood federal and state policy. She currently serves as the director of policy at the Buffett Early Childhood Institute and was previously the director of the Early Childhood Development Initiative at the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) in Washington, D.C.
Community Voices
Community leaders will be front and center during panel discussions that highlight local success stories of meeting challenges with thoughtful and creative solutions.
Breakout Sessions
Individual breakout sessions will focus on collaboration with economic development and business partners, community-school partnerships, effective communication with elected officials, understanding the complex network of early childhood funding resources, addressing early childhood capacity issues, and much more.
On Wednesday, Sept. 18, representatives participating in the statewide Communities for Kids initiative will engage in local planning efforts at the C4K Convening. This Nebraska Children and Families Foundation initiative works with communities across Nebraska to advance their early childhood programming and services.
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