In addition to her research and leadership at the McCormick Institute, Talan taught early childhood education courses as a faculty member in the National College of Education at National Louis University , helping to prepare and mentor future leaders in the field. “I have tried to pay it forward and mentor other early childhood professionals to recognize their strengths and grow into their best selves,” she said. To honor Talan’s immeasurable contributions to the ECEC workforce, the Leadership Connections Public Policy Forum has been renamed the Dr. Teri Talan Public Policy Forum . Talan will also receive the annual Visionary Leader Award at the 2026 conference. Dr. Teri Talan Public Policy Forum Held each year during the Leadership Connections national conference, the Dr. Teri Talan Public Policy Forum brings together leaders in ECEC to engage with national experts on the most pressing policy issues shaping the profession. This year’s forum, titled “Navigating the Rapids: Using Data, Policy Levers, and Collective Impact to Keep Your Program Afloat,” applies a policy lens to the 2026 Leadership Connections theme, “Onward!” Panelists include Elliot Haspel, expert, commentator, and author; Anne Hedgepeth, Senior Vice President of Policy & Research at Child Care Aware of America ; Yesenia Robles-Brown, Chief of Staff at the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC) ; and Dora Sanders, Senior Manager of Fellowships at the Stanford Center on Early Childhood . Dr. Ola J. Friday, the Executive Director of The Early Educator Investment Collaborative , will moderate the panel. Visionary Leader Award Each year, the Leadership Connections Visionary Leader Award recognizes a leader who sees beyond the present, imagines what is possible, and inspires others to work toward bold and transformative change. This year, that leader is Dr. Teri Talan. Talan will receive the award in recognition of her decades-long commitment to strengthening the ECEC workforce. Michelle Kang, chief executive officer of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), will present the award in a recorded message. Talan will also serve as the featured speaker at the Paula Jorde Bloom Leadership Colloquium, where she will share the behind-the-scenes story of a career spent advancing the ECEC field. To learn more about the 2026 Dr. Teri Talan Public Policy Forum, sponsored by Kaplan Early Learning Company, the Visionary Leader Award, and the Paula Jorde Bloom Leadership Colloquium, please visit our Leadership Connections page .
