The Early Education Conversation

Brain health begins in early childhood—and shapes well-being for a lifetime.
Join Patrick McNamara, President and CEO of Palm Health Foundation, as he shares insights on brain health, the vision for Palm Beach County’s Brain Coast, and why investing in early childhood development benefits our entire community.

Elliott Haspel, author of Raising a Nation: 10 Reasons Every American Has a Stake in Child Care for All, and national early learning expert, talks with the Coalition's Aruna Gilbert about the importance of early learning and how it affects our children, our families, and our communities.

AI is changing education. But where do our youngest learners fit in?

Erin Mote, co-founder and CEO of InnovateEDU, joins the Coalition’s Aruna Gilbert for a timely conversation about AI, early learning and responsible innovation before kindergarten.

Erin Mote is a transformative leader operating at the intersection of education, technology, and global policy. As the CEO and Founder of InnovateEDU, she architects the uncommon alliances necessary to modernize data systems, scale special education innovation, and lead the national conversation on Safe by Design AI.

Erin’s career spans from launching the USAID Global Broadband and Innovations Alliance to advising the White House on global development policy. She is the co-founder of the Brooklyn Laboratory Charter School and the visionary behind Project Unicorn, the national standard for data interoperability. Erin serves on the boards of Digital Promise and XPRIZE, dedicated to ensuring technology serves as a bridge, rather than a barrier, to accessible education.

Join our Chief Program and Policy Officer, Aruna Gilbert, and one of the nation’s leading voices in early learning, Dr. Robert Pianta, for a thoughtful conversation about the relationships and experiences that help children thrive.

On this episode of the Early Education Conversation podcast, host Aruna sits down with Kristin Calder, Chief Executive Officer of the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County, to discuss the critical connection between early learning experiences and long-term community success.

Aruna Gilbert, Chief Program and Policy Officer, talks with Dr. Donna Housman, Founder of the Housman Institute, as they explore emotional intelligence and its crucial role in early learning. Their conversation about how young children make sense of the world around them, laying the foundation for their executive functioning skills and their ability to relate to others, contains valuable information that is a must-listen.

Join Aruna Gilbert, Chief Program and Policy Officer, and Sunil Gunderia, Co-Founder and CEO of Mindset CoPilot, as they explore how technology is transforming early learning. From expanding access to enhancing classroom experiences, this conversation highlights how innovative tools can support education and help young learners thrive.

This episode features the Coalition's Chief Program and Policy Officer, Aruna Gilbert, and early childhood champion, Vance Aloupis. This thoughtful discussion digs deep into why investing in young children strengthens families, fuels our workforce, and shapes the future of Florida’s communities.

The Coalition's Aruna Gilbert talks with Makayla Buchanan, Chief of Staff at the Children's Movement of Florida, about why early education matters - the foundational reasons behind prioritizing learning in a child's early years, and what motivates educators and parents to support early childhood development.

Join us for the launch of ELC Palm Beach's Early Education Conversation podcast. In our debut episode Aruna Gilbert, ELC's Chief Program and Policy Officer is joined by Caleb Wesco (@calebwesco) and Sunil Gunderia (@ageoflearning) to discuss how families, educators and data-driven initiatives have come together to boost every child's readiness for school.

Included data referenced from the October 2024 Age of Learning Research Brief focused on Palm Beach County programs, MRA-2024-FL-PBC-RB_RGB_02.pdf