2010 Early Childhood Family Leadership Summit

Saturday, May 1, 2010
8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

PACER Center, 8161 Normandale Blvd., Bloomington, MN

The Family Leadership Summit is an opportunity for parents of young children with special needs or health concerns who want to gain leadership skills and improve outcomes for other children and families facing similar concerns.

Who should attend the Family Leadership Summit:

• Parents who currently serve on Interagency Early Intervention Committees (IEICs), IEIC subcommittees, or other advisory boards
• Parents who are interested in serving in a leadership capacity

Participants will:

• Have an opportunity to network with other family leaders
• Learn how to influence public policy and improve personal advocacy skills
• Enhance leadership skills

Agenda

Speaker Topics and Bios

Why Parent Leadership?, Judy Swett

Participants will learn about the historical and contemporary importance of parents as leaders as well as the benefits and challenges of parent leadership. Judy Swett is the Early Childhood Coordinator at PACER, where she has been employed for 14 years. She has served on the St. Paul IEIC as a parent representative and chair, was a member and chair of the Governor’s Interagency Coordinating Council on Early Childhood Intervention (ICC) and served on the St. Paul School’s Special Education Advisory Council for 9 years. In addition, she has served on a number of state and national boards. She is also the parent of an adult child with disabilities.

Fostering the Leaders Among Us, Deb Niedfeldt

Participants will learn more about leadership characteristics, skills, and fostering their own leadership abilities. Information will be provided on: the background of leadership,characteristics of leaders, tips and strategies to build your leadership skills, models of leadership, and leadership and change.

Deb Neifeldt has worked with Arc Southeastern Minnesota as a family support project coordinator for 10 years. She developed and provided trainings for statewide family support projects for 10 years with MN*TAFS, a training team funded through the Minnesota Dept. of Education. She worked at Region 10 Quality Assurance, which does licensing for homes and work places for people with disabilities for 3 years. She currently works as a Training Coordinator for Providers Network in SE Minnesota.

Grassroots Organizing 101, Kim Kang

Participants will learn about ways that parents can create change through grassroots organizing. Participants will learn about different methods to create change as well as organizing strategies which include contacting policy makers, media, and coalitions. Kim Kang is the Public Policy and Early Childhood Director for PACER Center. She is also the parent of a child with a traumatic brain injury. Before coming to PACER, she was employed at the Brain Injury Association of Minnesota as a Public Policy Aide covering special education at the state capitol.