Barbara Bowman Leadership Fellows
Build your public policy knowledge to safeguard early childhood resources.
Building a Pipeline of Early Childhood Advocates
Meet the 2023 Barbara Bowman Leadership Fellows.
Erikson Institute is proud to announce the new cohort of Barbara Bowman Leadership Fellows (BBLF) program, which runs October 2023 through July 2024. These leaders will leverage their field expertise to develop policy recommendations designed to ensure Illinois’ publicly funded programs and resources are equitable, accessible, and of high quality for young children and their families. Meet the current cohort
As a senior-level early childhood professional, this program takes an anti-racism approach to public policy knowledge and pairs it with your experience in the field to fortify your skills and elevate your advocacy on early childhood policy. This program considers nominated candidates who are reflective of the communities they serve in Illinois.
Named after one of Erikson’s co-founders, Barbara T. Bowman, the Barbara Bowman Leadership Fellows (BBLF) program is designed to enrich the perspective and enhance the capacity of diverse early childhood leaders committed to advancing racial equity through policy and systems change.
Policy Fellows Lead Change in Illinois
Empowering Leaders Through Dynamic Learning Experiences
Early childhood leaders participate in full-day seminars once a month October through July. You can expect an engaging, rigorous, and reflective experience with a thoughtful balance between theory and practice.
Monthly sessions further your skills to analyze critical issues and cultivate a broader understanding of how policy and systems affect children and families in Illinois.
Signature elements of the program include:
Expert guest lectures from early childhood policymakers and advocates
Navigating Illinois’ child and family-serving systems
Developing and applying a critical lens with respect to racial equity
Coaching from policy experts
Fostering an enduring network among fellows
Developing policy recommendations for a current issue
Providing You with Tools to Implement Change
With a deeper understanding of key early childhood policy issues and comprehensive insight into the intricacies of policymaking, you will complete the program ready to initiate change on a local, state or federal level. This program also boosts your capacity to ensure your organization is responsive to community needs, cultivating quality programs and ensuring equitable access to resources.
Contribute to Policy Change with Solutions
During the course of the program, you will identify an issue in the early childhood field and, based on your experience and relevant data, develop policy recommendations that contributes to resolving the problem. Past recommendations focused on workforce issues, barriers to programs and services, systems alignment and more.
2023-2024 Policy Memo Book
2019-2020 Policy Memo Book
2018-2019 Policy Memo Book
2017-2018 Policy Memo Book
2016-2017 Policy Memo Book
Fellows In Action
Start Building Your Capacity and Knowledge of How to Drive Early Childhood Policy Change
Learn about nomination requirements and the application process today.