Pathwaves Fellow Dania Nuno Carrillo (she/they) first attended a Washington State Early Learning Coordination Plan (ELCP) meeting as a proxy for her supervisor. Dania immediately connected with the ELCP’s vision to ensure “a solid foundation for every child’s future.” Furthermore, the commitment to nurturing the family and the village surrounding the child gives her confidence that the plan’s approach is holistic.
At that first meeting, Dania decided they wanted to take an active role with the ELCP. Considering their work with their placement site, Washington STEM, and the focus on community-driven data collection, the evaluation action team seemed like a good fit. “I wanted to learn more about the evaluation process and how data would be shared with the ELCP network and greater community.”
Commitment to inclusivity and racial justice is central to Dania’s work at Washington STEM. She has seen these values influence her leadership on the ELCP evaluation action team: “I feel empowered to exercise my leadership within the ELCP community, particularly with regard to our evaluation work. A colleague recently told me I am a question whisperer, because I know how to ask the right thing to move us forward.” They share an example, “In September for a convening in Spokane, I was one of the primary contributors to determine our approach for structuring the evaluation action team program. We were interested in developing strategies for identifying more qualitative metrics for the evaluation.” At Dania’s suggestion, the group determined that it was necessary to ensure that all participants understood the why and the how of the ELCP’s work before moving on to the next phases. She was also invited to facilitate the virtual activities for the convening.
Dania sees the ELCP as a space where leaders within the early childhood sector in Washington state can come together to pursue their shared vision for children and families. “Of course there is always work to be done to improve the plan, and that is exactly our focus on the evaluation team. It will also be possible with the inclusion of more community voices, especially from leaders of community based organizations. This is what it means to build collective power. Together, we can transform the early childhood landscape in our state and ensure that every child has a solid foundation for their future.”
