Bay Area Council Strengthens National ECE Effort
By Matt Regan
The Bay Area Council is pleased to share our strengthening of ties across the country on the issue of early childhood education (ECE). In particular, we are delighted that Jim Wunderman, President & CEO of the Bay Area Council, has recently accepted an invitation to join the Advisory Council to the Partnership for America’s Economic Success, a project of the Pew Charitable Trusts. Jim’s champion status as an ECE supporter and his wise strategic council to Pew have already made him a valuable resource to the Partnership, and we are excited about the potentials for learning and advancement of ECE afforded by this new national alliance.
Our strong relationship with the Pew Charitable Trusts has developed over time, beginning with an early childhood education event at the Milken Institute (sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts) in February 2008 at which our Chairman, Lenny Mendonca, spoke. Then, in September 2008, Jim Wunderman and Linda Galliher, Vice President of Education and Healthcare, attended the Pew-sponsored Economic Summit on Early Childhood Investment in Telluride, Colorado. Jim was an active and vocal participant in that conference of business leaders, discussing the challenges and future of ECE in each state. Jim was also able to spend time talking through salient issues with James Heckman, economist, Nobel Laureate, and supporter of ECE given both the economic realities and return on social investment afforded by early care and education.
Since last year, Pew has reached out to the Bay Area Council for advice and counsel during a reformulation of its ECE strategy for 2009. We look forward to our continued and growing partnership!
To learn more about how the Bay Area Council is advancing ECE in California and around the nation, please contact Matt Regan, Director of Government Relations and Early Childhood Education, at mregan@bayareacouncil.org.
Please also see the Council’s recently released report—Key to Economic Success in the 21st Century: Investment in Early Childhood Programs —on the state of early childhood education in the nine-county Bay Area.
