Bonnie Neugebauer Child Care Exchange Emerging Leaders in Early ...
Bonnie Neugebauer Child Care Exchange Emerging Leaders in Early Care and Education
Nomination for Amber Holmes
January 22, 2015
Dear Bonnie, It is my pleasure to nominate Amber Holmes as an Emerging Leader in Early Care and Education. My work alongside Amber has given me ample opportunity to see how she, so well, fits your criteria as an emerging leader – and, in truth, I have only known Amber for about a year. Amber struck me as an extraordinary contributor to early childhood education and child care the first day that I met her. At first, it was her quiet confidence that was what impressed me most – we were among a small group of early childhood professionals having dinner with our guest, the keynote speaker for a conference being held the following day. Very willing to engage in conversation with the absolutely delightful, but, let’s face it, could-be-intimidating-given-her-credentials, Susan Stacey, it was clear to me then that Amber was an insatiable consumer and provocateur of new and very progressive ideas in early childhood education. It was Amber’s depth of knowledge and her willingness to engage in critical thinking that was apparent to me at the outset. These are characteristics that I think can only come from a truly disciplined approach to reading, reflecting on, and applying theory and (methodologically sound) research findings to one’s practices in early childhood education. Now that I’ve known Amber a little longer, I know so much better that what Amber actually is, is she is a knowledge builder in early childhood education. I view Amber as “our” emergent leader. She is not afraid to do what is right … and I can say this with extreme confidence. I have seen Amber in action. Most recently, she asked me to read a letter that she had drafted and was preparing to submit to the organizers of (yet) another conference that she had attended in the past year. In the letter (which was 5 pages long, by the way, and it included references!), she drew attention to a speaker’s claims which she thought were – in her word - “alarming.” Amber supported her points that the speaker had not used objective evidence to substantiate her findings. What impressed me – and what further differentiates Amber from so many others, was Amber’s letter was not a hollow compliant. I found it both interesting and compelling (and, indeed, a wee bit terrifying to me, as a sometimes presenter at conferences) that Amber included in her letter to the conference organizers all of her correspondence with the expert with whom she disagreed. She had contacted the speaker first and had sought clarification regarding her claims. I think this is remarkable – especially because I have only recently learned that Amber graduated from her ECE programme in 2011! Amber is
a recent graduate of our ECE education system here in Canada! This is spirit. This is advocacy. This is leadership. When I read the letter, I called Amber “fearless” – but, in fact, she’s not fearless. She is courageous. She stands up for what’s right. I am excited for the future in Early Childhood Education in Ontario because of Amber. I am thrilled to follow her lead. Most sincerely,
Laura Coulman Registered Early Childhood Educator, BA, BA ECE, MSc (Child Studies), PhD Candidate, Applied Psychology and Human Development, Early Learning Cohort, University of Toronto Child Care Planning and Policy Analyst, County of Wellington [email protected] [email protected]
Nomination for Amber Holmes
January 22, 2015
Dear Bonnie, It is my pleasure to nominate Amber Holmes as an Emerging Leader in Early Care and Education. My work alongside Amber has given me ample opportunity to see how she, so well, fits your criteria as an emerging leader – and, in truth, I have only known Amber for about a year. Amber struck me as an extraordinary contributor to early childhood education and child care the first day that I met her. At first, it was her quiet confidence that was what impressed me most – we were among a small group of early childhood professionals having dinner with our guest, the keynote speaker for a conference being held the following day. Very willing to engage in conversation with the absolutely delightful, but, let’s face it, could-be-intimidating-given-her-credentials, Susan Stacey, it was clear to me then that Amber was an insatiable consumer and provocateur of new and very progressive ideas in early childhood education. It was Amber’s depth of knowledge and her willingness to engage in critical thinking that was apparent to me at the outset. These are characteristics that I think can only come from a truly disciplined approach to reading, reflecting on, and applying theory and (methodologically sound) research findings to one’s practices in early childhood education. Now that I’ve known Amber a little longer, I know so much better that what Amber actually is, is she is a knowledge builder in early childhood education. I view Amber as “our” emergent leader. She is not afraid to do what is right … and I can say this with extreme confidence. I have seen Amber in action. Most recently, she asked me to read a letter that she had drafted and was preparing to submit to the organizers of (yet) another conference that she had attended in the past year. In the letter (which was 5 pages long, by the way, and it included references!), she drew attention to a speaker’s claims which she thought were – in her word - “alarming.” Amber supported her points that the speaker had not used objective evidence to substantiate her findings. What impressed me – and what further differentiates Amber from so many others, was Amber’s letter was not a hollow compliant. I found it both interesting and compelling (and, indeed, a wee bit terrifying to me, as a sometimes presenter at conferences) that Amber included in her letter to the conference organizers all of her correspondence with the expert with whom she disagreed. She had contacted the speaker first and had sought clarification regarding her claims. I think this is remarkable – especially because I have only recently learned that Amber graduated from her ECE programme in 2011! Amber is
a recent graduate of our ECE education system here in Canada! This is spirit. This is advocacy. This is leadership. When I read the letter, I called Amber “fearless” – but, in fact, she’s not fearless. She is courageous. She stands up for what’s right. I am excited for the future in Early Childhood Education in Ontario because of Amber. I am thrilled to follow her lead. Most sincerely,
Laura Coulman Registered Early Childhood Educator, BA, BA ECE, MSc (Child Studies), PhD Candidate, Applied Psychology and Human Development, Early Learning Cohort, University of Toronto Child Care Planning and Policy Analyst, County of Wellington [email protected] [email protected]
