Leadership Connections™
"Leading in Harmony: Creating Rhythms of Trust, Collaboration, and Growth."

Founder & CEO | Keynote Speaker

Chris Singleton is a former professional athlete drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 2017. Following the loss of his mother in a racially motivated mass shooting, Chris has now become an inspirational speaker and best-selling author who has shared his message of unity and racial reconciliation with NFL and NBA teams as well as multiple Fortune 500 companies across the country. He shares with over 100 organizations and over 50,000 students annually and resides with his spouse Mariana and 3 children in Charleston, SC.

Founder & CEO, Dr. Angela Searcy Simple Solutions, LLC | Author | International Speaker | Early Childhood Education & Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant | Senior Fellow, Fred Rogers Institute

Dr. Angela Searcy holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and Secondary Education, a Master of Science in Early Childhood Development from Erikson Institute, a Doctorate in Education , and a Master of Jurisprudence in Child Law and Policy from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. She is a certified teacher, credentialed Early Intervention Developmental Therapist, and holds a graduate certificate in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant from Erikson Institute.

An educator since 1990, Dr. Searcy has experience at all levels of education and is the founder and owner of Dr. Angela Searcy Simple Solutions, LLC. She is the author of two books, Push Past It! A Positive Approach to Challenging Classroom Behaviors and Elevating Equity: Advice for Navigating Challenging Conversations in Early Childhood Education. She serves as adjunct faculty at Olivet Nazarene University and is a Senior Fellow in Teaching and Learning at the Fred Rogers Institute.

A former neurodevelopmental specialist with specialized training in neuroscience, Dr. Searcy brings a unique multidisciplinary perspective that integrates child development, education, neuroscience, infant and early childhood mental health, and child law and policy. She is an internationally recognized speaker, consultant, and educator dedicated to translating research into practical strategies that support children, families, educators, and communities. Dr. Searcy has been featured on Chicago's WGN Channel 9 Morning News, WGN Midday Fix, WGN's People to People, WTTW's Chicago Matters, Chicago Public Radio's Chicago Matters, and in Chicago Parent and Chicago Baby magazines. Beyond her professional accomplishments, Dr. Searcy and her husband have been married for over 30 years and are proud parents of four adult children.

Elliot Haspel, Expert, Commentator, and Author

Elliot Haspel is a nationally-recognized family policy expert and commentator, with a specialty in child care issues. He is the author of Crawling Behind: America’s Childcare Crisis and How to Fix It and Raising a Nation: 10 Reasons Every American Has a Stake in Child Care For All, in addition to many policy reports, and the Substack The Family Frontier.

Elliot has testified before the U.S. House of Representatives, appeared on television as an analyst, and his writings have appeared in a wide variety of top publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Atlantic. He is regularly sought out by journalists, and has been quoted in such mediums as NPR, The Guardian, and TIME Magazine. He lives in Denver with his spouse and two children.

Anne Hedgepeth, Senior Vice President of Policy & Research, Child Care Aware of America 

Anne is a seasoned strategist in government relations and grassroots advocacy, dedicated to driving policy change across all levels of government. As the Senior Vice President of Policy & Research at Child Care Aware of America, she leads the organization’s public policy initiatives and bolsters the advocacy efforts of child care resource and referral agencies, along with other early learning stakeholders nationwide. Notably, Anne played a pivotal role in securing over $50 billion in COVID-19 relief funding for child care and early learning, while also providing essential technical assistance to various state initiatives aimed at creating a high-quality, affordable, and accessible child care system. 

Anne’s expertise has garnered attention in major media outlets, including CNN, NPR, NBC News, The Hill, Business Insider, and MarketWatch, where she shares insights on child care policy and advocacy. 

Prior to her current role, Anne contributed her expertise at the American Association of University Women (AAUW), where she was instrumental in the passage of significant legislation, including the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. She also worked on updating and implementing Title IX regulations in schools across the country. 

Anne holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and gender studies from Davidson College and a master’s degree in public policy from George Mason University, where she was honored for outstanding scholarship and accomplishment in public affairs and administration as a member of Pi Alpha Alpha.

Yesenia Robles-Brown, Chief of Staff, National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC)

Yesy Robles-Brown is a bilingual, equity-driven leader with over a decade of experience transforming vision into execution across education, early care, and national nonprofit systems. She is deeply committed to ensuring all children—regardless of race, geography, or income—have access to high-quality learning environments, and that the educators who care for them have family-sustaining wages, meaningful career pathways, and a powerful voice in policy.

As Chief of Staff at the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC), Yesy serves as a strategic partner to executive leadership, overseeing organizational strategy, operations, governance, and growth for a national association serving thousands of home-based child care educators. Her leadership has strengthened NAFCC’s policy, data, and advocacy infrastructure, expanded its national influence, and guided the organization through periods of transition with clarity, fiscal discipline, and values-aligned change.

Rooted in deep partnership with communities, Yesy previously held senior leadership roles at All Our Kin and co-founded the Bronx’s first structurally anti-racist, student-centered district high school—an equity-centered model that garnered national attention and informed school system redesign efforts beyond New York City.

Across her career, Yesy has collaborated closely with educators, families, funders, and government agencies to amplify frontline expertise in legislation, organizational design, and public systems change. She brings a rare blend of strategic operations, policy fluency, and movement-building experience, grounded in lived experience and a deep belief in education as a lever for collective liberation.

Dora Sanders, Senior Manager of Fellowships, Stanford Center on Early Childhood

Dora Sanders is a dedicated leader, educator, and early childhood expert with over two decades of experience advancing equity and quality in early learning. Her expertise includes multi-site management, community engagement, curriculum, and leadership development. As Senior Manager of Fellowships at the Stanford Center on Early Childhood, she leads the Zaentz Fellowship Programs, connecting research, policy, and practice. Her research focuses on strengths-based early childhood leadership in local and global contexts.

Dr. Ola J. Friday, Executive Director, The Early Educator Investment Collaborative

Dr. Ola J. Friday is the inaugural Executive Director of The Early Educator Investment Collaborative, a national pooled fund focused on transforming the early childhood education workforce through systems change. She leads the Collaborative’s efforts to ensure early educators can reach their full potential as professionals, and that all children, especially those historically underserved, benefit from high-quality early learning experiences.

As the daughter of immigrant educators, Dr. Friday developed a deep appreciation for the power of education to change lives. She began her career in the classroom, but quickly recognized that the most pressing barriers educators face are structural. This insight led her to pursue leadership roles focused on early childhood policy and implementation.

Previously in her career, she led the statewide implementation of New York’s Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS), and facilitated a career pathways systems redesign process for the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) in Pennsylvania. Most recently, she oversaw professional development and higher education access for more than 65,000 early educators in Massachusetts.



Dr. Friday holds a doctorate in Education Leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, a Master of Public Policy from the Goldman School at the University of California, Berkeley, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Tufts University. She is a proud alumna of the NYC Urban Fellows Program and the Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Fellowship. When not working, she loves traveling, practicing Spanish, eating good food and spending time with her nephews ages 5, 16, and 22.

Join the McCormick Institute, Branagh Group, and NAFCC for the Thursday evening reception! The event will bring together family child care professionals from across the country. The McCormick Institute will honor its Family Child Care Leadership Academy participants, and NAFCC will highlight their important work supporting family child care and share a preview of the upcoming national conference, which will take place in July in Chicago. All are invited to celebrate family child care and enjoy evening desserts!

Martina Rocha



Martina Rocha is the owner of Best Friends Daycare and the president and founder of the Together for Childhood Network Organization, better known as Juntos por la niñez. She is a social worker and child care provider with more than 21 years of experience and a wife and mother of three daughters. She is a CDA Professional Development Specialist for Family Child Care; a Home Visitor, Infant and Toddler, and Preschool settings; a Certified Professional Food Manager; a Food Safety Proctor; and a CPR, First Aid, and AED Instructor. She started Juntos por la niñez in 2007 as a support group for 17 people. Today, Juntos por la niñez has grown into a group of more than 400 child care providers and is a registered non-profit organization.