CNAY Partners with Ascend, Bezos Foundation, and W. K. Kellogg in New Mexico

October 9, 2018 – CNAY partnered with the Aspen Institute’s very own Ascend program to co-host a two-day event entitled, “New Mexico Forum on Early Childhood Development and Family Wellbeing.” Ascend is a program focused on a two-generation approach to improving the lives of children and families. Our co-hosted convening brought together leaders from philanthropies, non-profits, service providers, and families themselves to discuss the current landscape of early childhood development and family wellbeing in New Mexico. Moreover, these expert leaders discussed what they envision the future to hold for children and families in New Mexico.

One of the foremost issues discussed at the convening was the importance of immersion and bi-lingual language programming for young children. Dr. Patricia Kuhl of the University of Washington provided our audience with an in-depth examination on the benefits of teaching young children multiple languages and why it is critical to engage our children at a very young age. While Dr. Kuhl provided the neuro-science perspective, our partners Dr. Christine Simms of the University of New Mexico, and Trisha Moquino of the Keres Learning Center, provided the audience with an understanding of what language immersion looks like in tribal communities in New Mexico. Furthermore, participants had regular working-group sessions to discuss these best practices and how to grow their impact.

In addition to our partners at Ascend, CNAY partnered with the Bezos Foundation and the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. We greatly appreciate the support and leadership of our partners at the Bezos Foundation, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, and Ascend.