Summit Schedule

Keynote Speaker: Hiro Yoshikawa, Ph.D

A developmental and community psychologist, Dr. Yoshikawa will set the stage for brain development and public policy by presenting the neuroscience and child development research that addresses the WHY and WHAT about investing in young children.  He will examine what the rapidly advancing biological and social sciences do and do not say about early childhood, brain development, and the impact of state policy and intervention programs.  Dr. Yoshikawa is a lead author of A Science-Based Framework for Early Childhood Policy, published by the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University and co-authored by the National Forum on Early Childhood Program Evaluation and the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. He is Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education where he conducts research on the impact of early childhood education, employment and welfare policy, and immigration on young children’s development.  Among other federal and national advisory committees, Dr. Yoshikawa serves on the DHHS Committee on Head Start Research and Evaluation and the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Family and Work Policies.

Panel: “Early Childhood Challenges Facing Maine”