Parent Leadership Conference 2007, January 30, Hilton Sacramento Arden West

Keynote Presenters

Elaine Zimmerman

As Executive Director of the Connecticut Commission on Children, Ms. Zimmerman reviews children’s policy and reports to the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of state government with recommendations for children’s legislation. She is recognized for her policy acumen and commitment to community capacity. She brings in broad and unexpected stakeholders to child policy discussion and ensures strong media dissemination to advance public information for families. Ms. Zimmerman consulted with the Speaker of the House of Representatives on Connecticut’s nationally recognized preschool legislation. She co-designed Connecticut’s School Readiness Campaign, which involved business, mayors, parents, the legislature, and early childhood educators. It has become a state model of policy and public education for young children including model state policy; upbeat public education; community capacity building; business leadership and parent leadership. Ms. Zimmerman also served as Chief Consultant to the Early Reading Success legislation, which created full-day kindergarten, reduced class size, after school programs and summer reading programs, and teacher training in early literacy and language acquisition. She guided legislation that established CT’s Blueprint in Reading, which documents and now codifies what children need to learn in each grade to meet literacy standards and what teachers need to know and do to ensure these outcomes. Ms. Zimmerman is a regular on NBC news, leads and moderates forums on family policy and speaks routinely throughout the state on what parents and community can do to lead for children. Ardent on the importance of family civics, she trains on parent and youth leadership and the critical role that community must play in children’s policy and accountability.