Nebraska Early Childhood Workforce Leadership Cadre
The Institute coordinated the Nebraska Early Childhood Workforce Leadership Cadre from 2022-2025. These 25 professionals represented communities across the state and different roles, levels of experience, and settings across the birth-age 8 continuum of care and education. Cadre members met quarterly to share ideas and build their collective capacity as thought leaders.
The Institute provided the supports, resources, and coordination to help cadre members engage in ongoing professional learning that elevated their skills and increased their capacity to create local change.
Cadre members continue to implement impact projects they designed to elevate the early childhood workforce in their communities.
Learn MoreCadre News
Diaper Banks and Parenting Groups: Nebraska Early Childhood Cadre Members are Making an Impact
Over the past three years, Cadre members have been designing and implementing projects that help solve an early childhood-related need in their community. These “impact projects” are designed to be a culmination of members’ ideas and what they have learned through the Cadre.
‘The Beauty of Small-Town Living’: How A Kindergarten Teacher Led the Charge to Move a Playground
Kindergarten teacher and Cadre member Amber Holz hated to see a perfectly good playground sit empty, or worse, end up in a landfill. Buying and installing playground equipment is expensive, ranging from tens of thousands of dollars to more than $100,000 depending on the size and design.
How One Child Care Director is Building a Positive Workplace Culture
Dodi Imler spent more than 25 years as a preschool teacher and assistant director, but took on a new challenge in March: opening a new child care center as the director. She’s focusing her efforts on hiring staff and building a strong, supportive culture among employees—no small task in an industry known for low pay, worker shortages, and turnover.