Amy O’Leary, director of Strategies for Children’s Early Education for All Campaign, has been elected to the governing board of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Congratulations, Amy!
NAEYC, its website states, “is the world’s largest organization working on behalf of young children.” It has almost 80,000 members and more than 300 local, state and regional affiliates, as well as “a growing global alliance of like-minded organizations.” Among other things, NAEYC advocates for young children at the federal, state and local level; hosts an annual conference on early education that attracts thousands of participants; accredits center- and school-based early education programs; and publishes two journals, Young Children and Teaching Young Children.
Amy joined EEA in 2002, after working for a decade as a preschool teacher and center director at Ellis Memorial & Eldredge House in Boston’s South End. She has also served on the board of the Massachusetts Association for the Education of Young Children. The Children’s Defense Fund invited her to participate in its Emerging Leader Fellowship, and she is a past president of the Innercity Network of Early Education Professionals. Amy has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and early education from Skidmore College and a master’s degree in public administration from the Sawyer School of Management at Suffolk University.
“I am honored to have been elected to the NAEYC Governing Board,” Amy said. “I look forward to working with the other board members to attain NAEYC’s goals of improving professional practice and working conditions in early childhood education, supporting early childhood programs by collaborating to achieve a high-quality system of early childhood education, and building a high-performing, inclusive organization of groups and individuals who are committed to promoting excellence in early childhood education for all young children.”
Also elected to the NAEYC Governing Board are:
- President, Gera Jacobs, Professor of Early Childhood Education, University of South Dakota, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Vermillion, South Dakota
- At-large member, Jim Lesko, Director, Early Development and Learning Resources, Delaware Department of Education, Dover, Delaware
- At-large member, Ginger Marie Swigart, School Readiness, Project Specialist, Sacramento County Office of Education, Sacramento, California
Congratulations to all! The new board members begin their four-year terms on June 1.
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