Two weeks have passed since we concluded our most successful Symposium yet, and the energy from Child Care Strong: From Problems to Progress still resonates. Held from May 4–7 in Arlington, VA, CCAoA brought together national, state, and local child care leaders, advocates, and changemakers to collaborate on building a stronger child care system.
There were truly too many amazing moments throughout the week to name here (search social medial channels for #ChildCareStrong and #Symposium2025 for more), so here’s a quick highlight reel of some of the most amazing moments.
- With more than 400 attendees, Symposium 2025 was a sell-out crowd. Creating space for learning, community building and networking is a primary goal of Symposium, and we saw countless connections among stakeholders on site and through the event app.
- Attendees join us at Symposium for cutting edge programming—and this year we offered more than 50 sessions cutting across systems work, advocacy, innovation, and research.
- We welcomed a surprise guest! Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) joined us to speak about the importance of high-quality, affordable child care and his work on the bipartisan Child Care Availability and Affordability Act, which he leads alongside Senator Katie Britt (R-AL). His inspiring, personal story energized attendees for Advocacy Day.
- And during Advocacy Day, advocates attended nearly 170 meetings with Congressional offices, delivering the message that investing in child care is critical and transforms lives. Attendees received a sneak peek into our annual report on the price and supply of child care, and used that important national and state-specific data to make compelling cases to policymakers. These meetings underscored our collective commitment to ensuring that all families have access to affordable, high-quality child care.
- We were excited to host two remarkable plenary speakers:
- Layla Zaidane, President & CEO of Future Caucus, who engaged in a dynamic fireside chat with CCAoA CEO Susan Gale Perry, discussing the intersection of policy, leadership, and social impact.
- Reshma Saujani, Founder & CEO of Moms First, who inspired attendees with her insights on finding progress within the challenges faced in the child care sector.
- And finally, we had the chance to honor several incredible people in the child care field:
- The current cohort of Head Start Fellows, who recently lost funding for their program were able to join us and be recognized.
- Several leaders in the child care system are retiring this year, and we were able to honor them with the CCAoA Legacy of Leadership award. Thank you Fannie Glover, Dr. Beverly Lynn, Ann McCully, Janet Singerman—you are leaders who have brought this field to where it is today.
Hundreds of child care system builders coming together to learn, grow, and share inspired and energized us—and we’re excited to keep the momentum going as we work together to make #ChildCareStrong. Because when child care is strong, everyone is stronger.
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