Please join us for an event to learn about successful, collaborative initiatives that help give children the best start possible. Co-hosted by HealthPartners and Greater Twin Cities United Way, the event aims to spark a collective, statewide effort to ensure that every Minnesota child has a healthy start and bright future.
We encourage you to invite others to attend this event. You may RSVP for up to eight additional guests on the registration page.
Event Schedule
- 7:30 - 8 a.m. Registration, networking and light breakfast
- 8 - 10:30 a.m. Program
Keynote Speaker
- George Halvorson, Chair of First 5 California Children and Families Commission: The former CEO of Kaiser Permanente and HealthPartners, Halvorson is also the author of Three Key Years, a book about early childhood brain development.
Moderator
- Angela Davis, WCCO-TV News Anchor
Panel Participants
- Andre Dukes, Family Education Director, Northside Achievement Zone (NAZ): An early-education expert, assistant pastor and community leader, Dukes leads NAZ’s Family Academy, which provides parenting empowerment classes that give low-income parents the skills they need to put their kids on a path to college, beginning at birth.
- Jane Eastwood, Director, Saint Paul Public Library: A leader and expert in issues surrounding education policy, early childhood literacy and equity, Eastwood previously served as Mayor Chris Coleman’s top education advisor.
- Barb Fabre, Director, White Earth Child Care: An enrolled member of the Ojibwa Nation in Minnesota, Fabre has worked for the White Earth Reservation for the past 25 years in the Education and Human Services Department. Fabre also co-founded and co-chairs the Communities Collaborative Conference, Minnesota’s largest annual brain development conference.
- Luz Marķa Frķas, Vice President of Community Impact, Minneapolis Foundation: A noted public policy strategist and thought leader on race equity for over 20 years, Frķas oversees the Foundation’s competitive grant making and provides strategic direction to its systems change initiatives.
“We cannot change the learning trajectory at 15 years; we need to change it at 15 months.”
- George Halvorson