Our Leadership Development Ecosystem grows with you, offering multiple pathways, like Affinity Circles or Leadership Lab, for engagement and development over time.
This approach ensures that leaders at every stage, emerging, evolving, or established, have access to the support they need.
Each component of the ecosystem is intentionally designed to build on the others, creating a cohesive and dynamic structure.
Focused, self-guided or facilitated sessions designed to build core competencies and explore emerging topics in early childhood leadership.
Lead with purpose and shape the future.
A capstone opportunity for early childhood leaders to apply their learning in a real-world project while contributing to system-wide change.
Join us for a look Inside First 5 Association of California: how the Association operates, how our budget is developed and allocated, and what it all means for our shared work.
We’ll explore who we are as a network, how we function as an organization, and how our collective efforts strengthen California’s early childhood system.
Join us for an onboarding session designed to welcome new commissioners to the First 5 Network. This session will provide an introduction to the history and structure of First 5, the statewide case for investing in early childhood, and the essential responsibilities of county commissioners—including ethics, compliance, and key governance resources.
First 5 Commissioners are invited to participate in a series of informal virtual roundtables designed to foster connection, shared learning, and peer support. Hosted by region—Northeast, Northwest, Sacramento, Bay Area, Central Valley, and Southern—these six sessions offer commissioners the opportunity to engage in conversation with peers from similar counties, explore common challenges, and exchange ideas to strengthen local governance and impact. Whether you’re newly appointed or a long-serving commissioner, these meet-ups are a space to connect, reflect, and grow together.
Join us for an engaging onboarding session designed to welcome new First 5 staff into the statewide network. This session will introduce the history and structure of First 5, explore the powerful case for investing in early childhood, and provide an overview of key staff roles across counties. We’ll highlight how First 5 teams work together—within and across counties—to advance equity and improve outcomes for California’s youngest children and their families. Whether you’re new to the organization or looking to deepen your understanding of the network, this session offers a valuable foundation for your work ahead.
Part of First 5 Association’s Strategic Framework goals is developing and implementing comprehensive leadership development programs and learning opportunities for members of the First 5 Network, the early childhood field, and other sector leaders.
Our goal is to have more leaders in California who prioritize the health and well-being of young children and their families—and have the knowledge, tools, and experiences to create sustained change.
The First 5 Leadership Institute’s Advisory Council is a small group of thought partners who will help shape the Institute’s design, implementation, and evaluation.
Our advisory council members bring a range of perspectives, professional expertise, and lived experience. They are committed to building an inclusive, innovative, and sustainable supports for California’s early childhood leaders.
