Parenting Counts, a Program of Talaris Insitute: Lessons from the Field

Sunday, April 13. 4:00pm-5:30pm. Fidalgo Room.

Monday, April 14. 10:00am-11:30am. Fidalgo Room.

Description 

Learn how new Parenting Counts toolkits for parents of infants, toddlers and preschoolers have been used by community organizations, public health groups, hospitals, libraries, child care resource and referral, foster parents and grandparents, teen parents outreach, Head Start, early childhood family education and parents to enhance outreach and education programs.

Presenter Bios 

Terrence Meersman, Talaris Institute

Terry Meersman is currently the Vice Chair of Talaris Institute in Seattle, where he served as Executive Director since 2003. Prior to Talaris, Terry helped launch the Virginia G. Piper Trust in Arizona, a major regional foundation, as executive vice president and director of programs. Terry helped establish the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation between 1998 and 2001, first as director of finance and administration and then as senior program officer. Besides setting up the foundation’s initial financial and administrative systems, he developed and managed new grant-making initiatives in international relief and Pacific Northwest initiatives. Earlier in his career, Terry served as director of policy analysis for the Seattle City Council and as a venture fund program officer for The Pew Charitable Trusts. He also spent ten years with Save the Children Federation, a non-profit relief and development agency, initially as its director of refugee programs and later as executive vice president and chief operating officer. More recently he has served on its board of trustees. Terry has lived and worked internationally as an educator and trainer in Asia, Europe, and Australia. Terry holds a masters degree in public an private management from the Yale University School of Organization and Management and a masters degree in humanities from the University of Chicago. He is a trustee for the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute. 

Ann Marie Ward, Lakeland Public Television

Ann Marie Ward, Educational Consultant from Minnesota, has been providing workshops and presenting at conferences for parents, child care providers, and early childhood educators for the past eight years. Her focus has been on works created by the Department of Education National Ready To Learn outreach and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s Ready To Lead In Literacy Campaign, in her outreach work on behalf of Lakeland Public Television. Ann Marie has also worked closely with the Talaris Research Institute, creators of the “Parenting Counts: A Focus on Early Learning” multi-media campaign to provide research-based education, as a trainer of professionals in the field of early childhood. She works to connect resources and agencies serving families.