presented by

Sponsored by The Stella and Charles Guttman Foundation

at

The Legal Aid Society Training & Advocacy Center

55 Water Street, 36th Floor, New York, NY, 10038

July 14, 2026

Event Runs From 9am to 1pm (Doors Open at 8:45am)

Early Intervention (EI) provides crucial evaluations and services to young children with developmental delays and disabilities and their families. As New York City continues to expand universal childcare options for families, it has never been more important to understand how EI and other developmental services can be better integrated into broader systems serving young children in the city in an equitable way.

Unfortunately, too many New York City families with young children miss the window for EI services due to system issues such as provider shortages and application barriers, as well as community challenges such as understanding, navigating, and accessing care. In recent years, a number of innovative, community-based models have arisen that aim to strengthen relationships with families, reduce racial inequities in EI access, and connect families with young children to services they are entitled to. This forum brings together public leaders, service providers, parents, advocates, and philanthropic partners to discuss models for improving access to EI and other services for young children, and to examine what an equitable, integrated, and family-centered early childhood system requires.

Join CCC and a network of Early Childhood Collaboratives to learn how Early Intervention can function as a true gateway to developmental, educational, and family supports across the early childhood continuum — and what is needed to strengthen coordination, reduce disparities in access, and better connect families to services during the critical early years.

Registration is closed. Please email info@cccnewyork.org with any questions.

Event Program & Featured Speakers

Welcome Remarks 

Suzanne C. Sousa, Executive Director, The Stella and Charles Guttman Foundation

Understanding the Early Intervention Landscape  

Alice Bufkin, Associate Executive Director for Data and Policy, Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York

David Harrington, Co-founder and Director of Strategy, United for Brownsville

NYC Leaders Spotlight: Building an Integrated Early Childhood System

Raysa S. Rodriguez (Moderator), Executive Director, CCC

Channing Edson, Senior Director of Special Education Inclusion, Division of Early Childhood Education, NYC Public Schools

Lidiya Lednyak, MA, Esq., Deputy Commissioner for the Division of Family and Child Health

Emmy Liss, Executive Director, Mayor’s Office of Child Care & Early Childhood Education

Jessica Wallenstein, Chief of the Committees on Special Education (CSE) and Preschool Special Education, Division of Inclusion and Accessible Learning (DIAL), NYC Public Schools

Panel Discussion: Community-Based Solutions in Action

Jenny Veloz (Moderator), Policy Associate, Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York

Amanda Esteves, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Columbia University

Danielle Herring, Early Intervention Ambassador, United for Brownsville

Sejal Kothari, Program Director, Literacy in Community

Margot Sigmone, Vice President Early Childhood Division, Children’s Aid

Vanessa Vargas, Early Childhood Collective Impact Manager, Staten Island Alliance for North Shore Children and Families and the New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute

Panel Discussion: Families at the Center

Danielle Herring (Moderator), Early Intervention Ambassador, United for Brownsville

Diana Jaquez, Early Intervention Ambassador, Staten Island Alliance for North Shore Children and Families and the New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute

Veronica Cuello, Early Intervention Ambassador, Upper Manhattan Early Childhood Connect

Kelsi Jensen, Home Based Education Coordinator, Children’s Aid

Mayra Solis Roldan, Upper Manhattan Parent

Artemis Diaz, South Bronx Parent

Gloria Muniz, Staten Island Parent

Call to Action: Partnership, Policy & the Path Forward

Dodi Meyer, Director Community Pediatrics, Columbia University

Georgina Gooden, United for Brownsville Early Intervention Advocate