On July 1, 2022 I became the Community Chair of the Buffett Early Childhood Institute of the University of Nebraska. There are four possible Chairs that represent each campus in the University of Nebraska system for the Buffett Early Childhood Institute. Dr. Julia Torquati is the Buffett Early Childhood Institute Community Chair for University of Nebraska Lincoln. I am the Buffett Early Childhood Institute Community Chair for University of Nebraska Kearney. Both Buffett Early Childhood Institute Community Chairs for University of Nebraska Omaha and University of Nebraska Medical Center are currently vacant. Thursday evening, Buffett Early Childhood Institute threw me a party at the Kearney Country Club to celebrate our newly developed partnership. Below are my reflections on this occasion that I shared with everyone at the reception (and now with you).

Me at the College of Education at the University of Nebraska Kearney standing in front of the “Knowledge Tree” by artist Don Mitchell of Littleton, CO. The apple has 8 slices in it to represent educators who have made contributions: (1) Mary McLeod Bethune, (2) John Dewey, (3) Jaime Escalante, (4) Friedrich Froebel, (5) Thomas Jefferson, (6) Anne Sullivan Macy, (7) Helen Keller, and (8) Horace Mann. Photo by Erika Pritchard.

Being here today at the Kearney Country Club for a party thrown in my honor makes me feel so humbled to join the Buffett Early Childhood Institute’s team as the Community Chair representing the University of Nebraska Kearney (UNK) campus as part of our University of Nebraska (NU) system. I want to do two things: (1) express my gratitude, and (2) share what this opportunity as Buffett Early Childhood Institute Community Chair means to me.

Thank You

There are so many people to thank. First, thank you to Dr. Sam Meisels for inviting me to become the Buffett Early Childhood Institute Community Chair. His contributions to the early childhood field are remarkable, and I have immense respect for his pioneering work as the founding Executive Director of Buffett Early Childhood Institute. When I interviewed for my UNK job, I got to meet Dr. Meisels on Zoom and was star struck. I’d been a Meisels fangirl for many years, and used his works to inform my own in assessment, and measures he created called the Work Sampling System and Ounce. I am grateful to Dr. Meisels for his fabulous career and dedication to improving the lives of children and families, as well as for inviting me to be part of this prestigious team at the Buffett Early Childhood Institute. Thanks a million to the leadership team at Buffett Early Childhood Institute for welcoming me to be part of your family. I am thrilled for all the exciting ways we will collaborate to continue to make Nebraska the best place to be a baby.

I would like to thank my Dean, Dr. Mark Reid, from UNK College of Education for his leadership and all the ways he has inspired and supported me. One of my favorite quotes from Dean Reid is, “Professional and calm solves problems.” I’ve used this as a pep talk for myself. Many thanks to: NU President Ted Carter, NU Provost Jeffrey Gold, NU Vice Provost David Jackson, UNK Chancellor Doug Kristensen, UNK Vice Chancellor Kristen Majocha, UNK Graduate School Dean Mark Ellis, UNK CBT Dean Tim Jares, UNK Director of Research Sharon Obasi, UNK Office of Sponsored Research Travis Reynolds, Vice President of Alumni Relations & Development at the NU Foundation Lucas Dart, UNK COE Associate Dean Miechelle McKelvey & Assistant Dean Scott Unruh, Dept. Chairs Chandra Diaz and Kyle Luthans, and Assistant Teacher Education Chairs Dawn Mollenkopf and Rebecca Nelson. Getting to work alongside amazing people at UNK and NU who care deeply for our students and NU mission is such a joy. I can imagine it is hard work being an academic administrator and this All Star team make it look so easy.

My mentors have helped me navigate my professional life. Their mentoring has inspired me in so many ways to realize potential in myself and others. I am also grateful to my team in the Early Childhood Inclusive program, Dept. of Teacher Ed, COE, friends across UNK campus and UNK Plambeck Early Childhood Center, as well as friends in the NU system at our sister campuses that I’ve gotten a chance to work with since arriving in 2021. I am impressed everyday by the dedication you have to serving our students, contributing to research, and outreach. I am grateful for our Nebraska early childhood care and education workforce, children, and their families. My college students, past and present, are such a big part of my life and I am appreciative for all the ways college students teach me. Thank you: Mr. Ron Williams, Ms. Cille Williams, and the Williams family for creating the Ron and Cille Williams Endowed Chair in Early Childhood Education that has enabled me to focus on outreach as part of my job at UNK. With a smaller teaching load and resources, the Williams family endowment supports me as I strive to make lives better for children and families in Nebraska and beyond through high quality early childhood education.

It is with a thankful heart for my family that I get to do what makes me sparkle. I want to thank my wonderful husband, Robert Macy, who has encouraged me and supported me since I was a special education teacher, then when we were both graduate students at the University of Oregon, then as academics struggling to establish our careers, and co-parenting our smart, talented and kind-hearted daughter Adriana. Thank you precious Adriana Maria for making me a Mommy and the opportunity to watch you grow and develop into the supercalifragilisticexpialidocious person you are. When I told you both I wanted us to go to Nebraska, you sweetly jumped on board this grand adventure to the beautiful Heartland of America. I cannot thank you enough. I love you both so much! xo

Willa Cather wrote in her novel My Ántonia, “Ain't it wonderful, Jim, how much people can mean to each other?” Ron and Tina Galliano, my parents who traveled from Seattle to be here with us today, mean the world to me. They modeled for my two brothers and I how to respect and care for others whether it was serving people in their Italian restaurant or beauty shop. My Dad built a hair salon in our home and Mom served our community by doing hair for women in my hometown. Tuesday through Saturday we had people come into our home. My parents treated people in our community as though they were family. If one of Mom’s ladies in the beauty shop was celebrating something special or had a bad day, Mom would go in the kitchen and get her a pizzelle and little shot of Amaretto. I learned from Mom & Dad’s model how important it is to create a connection for everyone to feel included. Lifting up and serving others is rewarding. My brother and his girlfriend are also here with us today from Seattle, as well as a former student of mine who traveled from Bay Area to celebrate this special honor from Buffett Early Childhood Institute. Thank you for your gigantic hearts and being here today, Mom, Dad, Rico Galliano, Molly Dore, and Bingbing Zhang. Ti voglio molto bene.

What the Buffett Early Childhood Institute Chair Means to Me

I love to find dandelions that have turned into magic puffballs. When I was a little girl growing up in Seattle, it was a magical time to find dry dandelions. It was only a matter of time until dandelions became damp and soggy from the Puget Sound mist. So, you had to time it just right. Pick fuzzy dandelions, make a wish, and then blow hard into the fluff and watch the seeds float into the air. Did you ever do that?

The seeds spread all over the place. I remember a recurring wish I would make back then. I was wishing I could grow up and become a teacher. For as long as I can remember I’ve had admiration for the teaching profession that started first by watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood on television. Teachers were, and are, like rock stars to me. My parents have a picture of me around age 3 where I have all my dolls assembled into a class and me teaching. Educators have always been elevated in my mind as a profession I aspire to become, respect, admire, and love with all my heart. What a beautiful logo of the dandelion for the Buffett Early Childhood Institute. On a spring trip to a conference, Dr. Kate Gallagher from the Buffett Early Childhood Institute, shared the story of the logo with me. The image is a symbol for transformation. From a tiny seed great ideas can be propagated into something grand. Buffett Early Childhood Institute represents for me how innovations and ideas can be spread to elevate the early childhood profession, as well as community outreach and research to benefit children and families.

It is every child’s right to have access to high quality education and care in the early years. Yet, right now, many children and their families are missing out on a chance for early childhood education and care. This Chair allows me the privilege and opportunity to join the Buffett team in service to children, families, and our workforce. Welcoming collaboration!!! Open invitation to anyone hearing or reading this message. The Buffett Early Childhood Institute motto is, “Start early, start well.” Dandelion wishes could be planted and grown when we all come together.

This Chair means that I have resources to plant, nurture, and help grow good things for children with my Buffett Early Childhood Institute family. Pathways for community engagement is what this opportunity means to me. Together we partner with others to serve our communities through translational research, practice, policy, and outreach. The Institute’s mission is, “to transform the lives of young children by improving their learning and development.” We can realize this mission with the rapprochement of partnerships within our community to include education, health, legislative, government, non-profit, business, and social sectors to implement research-based early childhood services for children.

Hand in hand/mano a mano, we come together to make the world a better place with our energy and love for our children, families, neighborhoods, community, and each other. We do this by rolling up our sleeves and putting our hands to work to create something that is perennial. At UNK we can use our hand, or mano, to throw lopes by taking our thumb to the middle and ring fingers and leave the index and pinky fingers to dance in the air. It looks like an antelope’s horns. Lopers throw lopes to show our care for one another in our community. If you take that same position and just move the thumb out to the side (middle and ring fingers remain in palm of hand) you will be able to say, “I love you” in American Sign Language. I love YOU for all you do for our community and the children, their families, and our early childhood workforce. Willa Cather said, “Where there is great love, there are always wishes.” My dandelion wish for me and you is that we go together with all our hearts to make the world a better place for children everywhere.

I would like to leave you with some words by Fred Rogers. “In all that you do in all of your life, I wish you the strength and grace to make choices which will allow you and your neighbor to become the best of whoever you are.” xo