8th Annual Water Cooler Conference - Stronger Together: Transforming Opportunity for Every Child

*Day 1
Monday, February 22, 2016

4:00 PM -5:00 PM
Registration & Networking
 
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Welcome Reception & Opening Remarks
Kevin de Leon, President pro Tem, California State Senate
Debra McMannis, Director of Early Education & Support Division, California Department of Education (invited)  
 
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Keynote Address & Dinner
Dr. Patricia K. Kuhl, Co-Director, Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences
 
*Day 2
Tuesday February 23, 2016
 
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM
Registration, Continental Breakfast, & Networking
 
 
9:00 AM – 9:15 AM
Opening Remarks  
John Kim, Executive Director, Advancement Project
Camille Maben, Executive Director, First 5 California
Tom Torlakson, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, California Department of Education
 
9:15 AM – 10:00 AM
Morning Keynote
David B. Grusky, Executive Director, Stanford’s Center on Poverty & Inequality
  
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Educating California’s Young Children: The Recent Developments in Transitional Kindergarten & Expanded Transitional Kindergarten (Panel Discussion)
Deborah Kong, Executive Director, Early Edge California
Heather Quick, Principal Research Scientist, American Institutes for Research
Dean Tagawa, Administrator for Early Education, Los Angeles Unified School District  
Moderator: Erin Gabel, Deputy Director, First 5 California (Invited)
 
 
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
 “Political Will & Prioritizing ECE” (Panel Discussion)
Eric Heins, President, California Teachers Association
Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, Chair of the Women’s Legislative Committee, California State Senate
David Kirp, James D. Marver Professor of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley
Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, Chairman of Subcommittee No. 2 of Education Finance, California State Assembly
Moderator: Kim Pattillo Brownson, Managing Director, Policy & Advocacy, Advancement Project
  
12:00 PM – 12:45 PM
Lunch
  
12:45 PM – 1:45 PM
Lunch Keynote- “How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character”
Paul Tough, New York Times Magazine Writer, Author
 
1:45 PM – 1:55 PM
Break
  
2:00 PM – 3:05 PM
Elevating ECE Through Meaningful Community Partnerships (Panel Discussion)
Sandra Guiterrez, National Director, Abriendo Purtas/Opening Doors
Mary Ignatius, Statewide Organizer of Parent Voices, California Child Care Resource & Referral Network  
Jacquelyn McCroskey, John Mile Professor of Child Welfare, University of Southern California School of Social Work
Jolene Smith, Chief Executive Officer, First 5 Santa Clara County
Moderator: Rafael González, Director of Best Start, First 5 LA
 
3:05 PM – 3:20 PM
Closing Remarks
Camille Maben, Executive Director, First 5 California

*Agenda Subject to Change