Friday, March 3, 2023
Friday Keynote
Educators and Advocates as Everyday C.O.A.C.H.E.S
Dr. Kim Johnson
Children’s author and educator, Dr. Kimberly P. Johnson grew up in Shelby, NC. She is married to Jeff Johnson who retired from the United States Air Force after 22 years of service. She is the author of 22 children’s books. Kimberly received her Doctorate in Curriculum, Teaching, and Leadership from Northeastern University in Boston, Ma. she holds a Master’s Degree from Clemson University, in Youth Development and Leadership. Kimberly has an Early Childhood Education Degree and a Communications Degree from UNC- Chapel Hill. She completed her post-doctorate work in the Advanced Leadership Program at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. She recently completed a certificate in Diversity and Inclusion at Cornell University.
Kimberly is a creative thinker and has a passion for teaching and helping others. She is currently teaching at Clemson University – she teaches Creative Activities for Youth and also teaches, Working with Diverse Youth. Dr. Kimberly also teaches Creative Writing for Social Change at Clinton College and is a course facilitator for the Leading Learning and Managing Evidence courses at Harvard University in the Graduate School of Education.
Friday Public Policy Keynote
Glass Half Full: America’s Early Childhood Policy Landscape and Why Things Aren’t as Bad as They Seem
Dr. Dan Wuori
Dr. Dan Wuori serves as Senior Director of Early Learning at The Hunt Institute, a North Carolina-based education policy resource for the nation’s governors, state lawmakers and other senior state policymakers. A former kindergarten teacher and school district administrator, Dan served as the Deputy Director of South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness – the state’s comprehensive, public-private early learning initiative – from 2005-2018. In this role he worked alongside elected leaders to develop significant, bipartisan support for early childhood education and oversaw system innovations including the delivery of public prekindergarten in private, community- and faith-based preschools, improvements to the state’s IDEA Part C early intervention system, the creation of statewide program accountability standards, and the expansion of evidence-based home visiting programs. A Past President of the SC Early Childhood Association, Dan was honored as South Carolina’s 2018 Champion for Children at the state’s annual Summit on Early Childhood. He lives with his family in Columbia, SC.