Strong leadership teams are built on more than structure and representation. They thrive when team members are engaged, meetings are purposeful, and decisions are made collaboratively and effectively.
Join us for a facilitated panel discussion focused on practical strategies for strengthening state leadership team engagement, collaboration, and effectiveness. The discussion will explore approaches for facilitating productive meetings, encouraging meaningful participation, addressing conflict constructively, making decisions collaboratively, and using data to guide action and outcomes.
Through real-world examples and lessons learned, panelists will share strategies that help teams create collaborative environments, build trust, maintain focus on goals, and strengthen shared ownership of their work. Participants will be encouraged to reflect on their own team’s strengths and opportunities for growth while considering how these strategies might be applied in their unique contexts.
What Makes Great Teams Work? A Conversation on Engagement and Effectiveness
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Certificate Info
Certificate of Attendance A downloadable certificate is available for recorded webinars. To receive the certificate, you must fill out the evaluation survey. How to Access the Survey Live participants: You will receive an email after the webinar with the link to the survey. Recording viewers: The URL link for the survey will be displayed at the end of the webinar. You will need to type that URL into your internet browser to access the survey and certificate. Note: Type the URL exactly as you see it. URL is CASE SENSITIVE. Once you submit the survey, the certificate will appear. You can then save and/or print your certificate.
NCPMI Presenter(s)
Angela Van Polen
University of Denver
Angie Van Polen is a Senior Project Manager at the Positive Early Learning Experiences (PELE) Center at the University of Denver. Angie has over 25 years of experience in the field of education. She has held positions as a special education teacher, special education consultant, and state education agency consultant. Her experiences and background provide her with a strong understanding of how high-quality evidence-informed practices can be embedded in classroom, program, and state level systems. Angie is passionate about early childhood systems work and the use of implementation science to guide cross-sector teams to make strong data-informed decisions regarding a chosen initiative to enhance implementation of the initiative while continuously planning for systems improvement, scale-up, and sustainability.
Ben Riepe
University of Denver
Ben Riepe, MA is an Inclusion Coaching Specialist for the Positive Early Learning Experiences (PELE) Center at the University of Denver. In addition to supporting the National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations, Ben is staff on the Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (ECTA). Ben has 13 years of experience as a Head Start teacher, coach, and trainer. Here he supported high fidelity program-wide implementation of the Pyramid Model with families of diverse backgrounds in Denver, Colorado. He then worked at the Colorado Center for Social Emotional Competence and Inclusion for 6 years supporting communities in their efforts to embed evidence-based practices into their systems and classrooms.
Amy Hunter
Georgetown University
Amy Hunter is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) who earned her Masters of Social Work degree at Boston University in 1995. Amy has a post graduate certificate from the University Of Maryland School Of Medicine in early childhood mental health. Amy currently serves as an assistant professor at Georgetown University. In her capacity at Georgetown she directs the mental health section of the Head Start National Center on Health, Behavioral Health, and Safety, a training and technical assistance center for Early Head Start and Head Start. Amy has worked in the field for early childhood mental health for over twenty years. Prior to coming to Georgetown she served in a number of roles at ZERO TO THREE including, but, not limited to: the Director of Program Operations for the Early Head Start National Resource Center and the Director of the Center on the Social Emotional Foundations of Early Learning (CSEFEL). Amy has served as a National Head Start Fellow at the Office of Head Start for two years and was the mental health manager to a large Head Start program for eight years. Amy has provided training and technical assistance on early childhood mental health to a variety of audiences around the country. Amy maintains a private practice in Washington DC providing consultation to parents with young children.
