Empowering Early Childhood Professionals through Community at the Zero to Three Learn Conference

From October 8-9, 2025, LINC's Chief Program Officer, Laura Walsh and Senior Director of Early Literacy, Josh Barocas joined other early childhood professionals for two days of learning and inspiration at the annual Zero to Three Learn Conference in Baltimore, MD.

It was a chance for Literacy in Community (LINC) to share our insights and to network with other experts who use cutting-edge research in the early childhood field.

This year's theme was empowering early childhood professionals through community, a topic near and dear to our heart at LINC. Panel topics included infant mental health, child welfare, early childhood education, and early intervention.

A highlight of the workshop was the opening keynote address by Maryland Governor Wes Moore. His inspiring speech reminded us all of our shared purpose at the conference: 

“We have in this country,” Governor Moore said, “children whose destiny is determined before they have a say to determine it themselves.”

It was inspiring to see the work being done in other parts of the country, including the leaders of the Texas-based nonprofit Avance, who delivered a fantastic talk entitled “Play and Learning: Toy-making Promotes Parent-Child Interaction and School Readiness.” These parent workshops had many interesting similarities to and differences from our own. 

Laura and Josh were also excited to see some familiar faces from our dedicated City's First Readers (CFR) partners, Reach Out & Read, and PlayReadVIP.

It was a privilege to share our insights and learn more about the innovative work happening in early childhood literacy across the country.

To hear more about our current offerings, please contact Josh Barocas, LINC's Senior Director of Early Literacy, at jbarocas@lincnyc.org. To register for a LINC program, please visit: www.lincnyc.org/programs.