The Faces of ECE series is designed to raise awareness of the many early care and education professionals who are supporting one of the most important fields in America today. From the people on the front lines working with children to those working behind the scenes to prop the system up from within, everybody has a role to play and a story to tell. Child Care Matters is committed to sharing those stories.
One of the great joys of creating this series has been the opportunity it has afforded me to learn from people who have been there and done that across the spectrum of ECE. All of our guests have been accomplished professionals who are very good at what they do and who are making a difference in this field every day. Even so, you would be hard pressed to find anyone who has crafted a stronger legacy than this month’s guest, Linda Smith.
If you have followed this space at all over the past three decades, you know who Linda is. Her leadership has helped usher in so many of the programs and policies that have moved the field forward, and she continues to be a vocal advocate for the strategies and actions that can lead to a more well-funded and well-functioning system.
One of the things about Linda that shines through in her work (and in our conversation) is her bias toward action. She has little interest in rehashing all the things that are wrong with our current system. Rather than dwell on what’s broken, Linda leads with what works and what we can all do right now to make things better? Her standing call to action can best be summed up as “What are you waiting for?”
All this to say, this is already more introduction than Linda needs. Here she is, in her own words:
This post originally appeared on the Bridgecare blog, Child Care Matters; read the full article here.
