Ep 83 Andy Roszak
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Andy Roszak, JD, MPA, EMT-Paramedic, is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Childhood Preparedness (ICP), where he equips early childhood professionals and child-centered organizations nationwide with practical emergency preparedness training, tools, and resilience strategies. He is also the Founder of Head Start East, a nonprofit organization founded in 2025 to provide high-quality professional development, technical assistance, and events for the early childhood education field. Since 2018, Andy has supported the Region II Head Start Association in advancing...
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Ep 82 Dr. Santa Ono
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Professor Santa J. Ono is a senior academic leader and internationally recognized scientist whose career centers on leading globally connected research universities and large-scale innovation institutions, with a focus on institutional transformation, research expansion, technology-driven innovation, sustainability, and public engagement. He serves as President of the Ellison Institute of Technology Oxford and Global President of the Ellison Institutes, advancing discovery in health, food security, clean energy, climate, and artificial intelligence. He is developing a major new research campus...
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EP 81 Jani Kozlowski
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Jani Kozlowski, MA is a passionate early childhood professional with a disability, a child of a parent with a disability, and a mother of a son with a disability. This collection of unique perspectives frames her work as an author, presenter, research investigator and consultant. Jani provides professional development and technical assistance for state leaders, educators and other practitioners. She currently leads initiatives focused on early childhood inclusion at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Jani is the author of Every...
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Ep 80 Dr. Brian Boyd
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Brian Boyd, Ph.D., is the William C. Friday Distinguished Professor in Education and Director of the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A special educator by training, Dr. Boyd’s research focuses on the development and implementation of evidence-based practices that bridge school, home, and community contexts. His scholarship also includes a significant focus on the development of rigorous outcome measures for autistic children, ensuring that progress can be accurately captured across diverse settings. Dr. Boyd’s recent work...
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79 Dr. Peter Moss
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Dr. Peter Moss is an Emeritus Professor at the Thomas Coram Research Unit, UCL Institute of Education, University College London. His research and writing interests cover early childhood education, education and democracy, and the relationship between employment, care and gender. Much of his work has been cross-national, especially covering Europe and the Anglosphere. He is co-founder of the International Network on Leave Policies and (with Gunilla Dahlberg) was the initial editor for the Contesting Early Childhood book series. He has published widely, his most recent books being Early...
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Ep 78 STEM for Children
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Erin Klauk is an Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Wyoming and Co-Director of the UW Science Initiative Roadshow and Community Engagement Program. With a background in the earth sciences and geoscience education, Erin is passionate about connecting people of all ages with Earth science through hands-on, place-based learning. Before joining the university, she spent nearly two decades as a high school Earth science teacher, developing engaging, NGSS-aligned lessons and mentoring students in scientific thinking. Erin’s...
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Ep 77 Sarah Goehring and Kenzee Knott
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“Meet the Helpers” As Director of Programs, Sarah Goehring supports educators and caregivers learning from the life and work of Fred Rogers. Sarah serves as the Director of the Fred Rogers Scholars Program for undergraduate students at Saint Vincent College, supports communities of learning for children's helpers, and assists with programmatic and event coordination for the Institute. Prior to her current role, Sarah joined the Institute as a Fred Rogers Scholar and work-study student while earning a B.S. in Early Childhood Education from Saint Vincent College. She then earned an M.S....
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Ep 76 Alisha Rone
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Alisha was born and raised in Wyoming and graduated from the University of Wyoming with a BA in Psychology and Communications. Alisha then moved to Boise, Idaho where she spent most of her career as Development and Marketing Director for Saint Alphonsus Hospital. After 10 years in Boise, she returned to Wyoming to be the Executive Director of the Wyoming Medical Center Foundation. Alisha focused on capital projects such as building a new tower for the hospital and wellness center as well as specific programs such as providing support for cancer patients and a hospitality house for out...
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Ep 75 Heather Bernt-Santy & Amy Reyes
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Heather Bernt-Santy, author of “Using Schema Play Theory to Advocate for Free Play in Early Childhood” has been living her commitment to children, their families and their teachers for over 30 years. You may know Heather from her work as the host of the popular early care and education podcast “That Early Childhood Nerd,” but she also loves her work as a speaker, consultant, writer and professor. She has held just about every position possible in the field of early care and education: teacher, director, family child care provider, education director—you name it, she’s probably...
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EP 74 Barbara Bocedi
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Barbara Bocedi is a professional language interpreter. Her training is in classical studies with a secondary school certificate in Italian, Latin, and Greek. Ms. Bocedi has a higher-education diploma in English-German to Italian translation. She has over 25 years as a translator, interpreter and teacher of English, German and Italian to foreigners, instructor of private classes and business courses. In addition to being a translator with Italian agency, Ms. Bocedi worked at IBM and then as a translator/localizer in the software industry in Dublin. She started a freelance business in 2001 and...
info_outlineHeather Bernt-Santy, author of “Using Schema Play Theory to Advocate for Free Play in Early Childhood” has been living her commitment to children, their families and their teachers for over 30 years. You may know Heather from her work as the host of the popular early care and education podcast “That Early Childhood Nerd,” but she also loves her work as a speaker, consultant, writer and professor. She has held just about every position possible in the field of early care and education: teacher, director, family child care provider, education director—you name it, she’s probably tried it! Heather is an enthusiastic believer in children’s right to play and of the research that tells us play IS right.
Amy Reyes has been serving in the Early Childhood space in Wyoming for many years and plays an important role in bridging gaps in ECE across the United States. She is an expert in Early Learning, with specializations in Social Emotional Learning specifically digital tech wellness, Outdoor Learning and Early Literacy. She has over 26 years of combined experience in child development and early childhood education, with expertise in leadership, strategic planning, inclusion models and transformational change. Amy spent her career as a Head Start Director also spending a good portion of her career as a kindergarten teacher. Amy holds degrees in Elementary Education with an endorsement in Early Childhood Education, Outdoor Learning and Education, Child Development, and Organizational Leadership with a minor in law. Amy currently works as the State of Wyoming's State Early Learning and Literacy Specialist with the Wyoming Department of Education.
Amy is an advocate for outdoor learning and emotional intelligence regarding digital tech addiction. She has integrated outdoor learning into over 200 classrooms across her home state of Wyoming with the Get Wild Wyoming Initiative. Amy is an early childhood speaker and motivator who firmly believes children learn best in outdoor learning settings where they are able to self regulate through natural colors, shapes, sounds, feelings and most importantly disconnected from devices.