Panelists
Erin Bailey has been a lifelong advocate for children and health care for underserved communities. She currently serves as the Assistant Commissioner and Executive Director of the Governor’s Children’s Cabinet, housed at Minnesota Management and Budget.
She began her career in Washington, D.C., working in federal health policy including advising the United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. Erin also launched and served as the inaugural Executive Director at the Center for Native American Youth at the Aspen Institute, which is dedicated to raising national attention to the issues facing Native American youth. More recently, Erin served as the Director of Executive Initiatives at Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare in St. Paul. As a member of the senior team, Erin worked on a variety of strategic initiatives, including advocating for children who have disabilities and complex medical conditions.
Erin has a Bachelor of Science from Georgetown University and a Master in Public Health from the University of Minnesota. She is a recipient of the Daniel K. Inouye Indigenous Spirit Award and has been awarded the Outstanding Congressional Staff Award from the American Diabetes Association and the National Impact Award from the National Council of Urban Indian Health. She currently serves on the boards for the Center for Native American Youth at the Aspen Institute, National Alliance for Grieving Children, and the Friends of the Saint Paul Library.
Debra Ren-Etta Sullivan is the cofounder and president of the Praxis Institute for Early Childhood Education-a new, racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse college that provides graduate and undergraduate education and professional development for people who work with young children. Prior to beginning the Praxis Institute, she served six years as the dean at Pacific Oaks College Northwest. Dr. Sullivan has worked in higher education for the last twenty-three years as a teacher, researcher, curriculum developer, and administrator. She earned her doctorate in educational leadership and her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Seattle University. Currently, Dr. Sullivan serves on Washington State’s Early Learning Council, the Foundation for Early Learning Advisory, the Families and Education Levy Oversight Committee, the National Association for the Education of Young Children Professional Development review panel and nominating panel, and the ParentMap Magazine editorial board. Publications: Cultivating the Genius of Black Children: Strategies to Close the Achievement Gap in the Early Years (Redleaf Press, 2017), Learning to Lead: Effective Leadership Skills for Teachers of Young Children (Redleaf Press, 2003) Dr. Sullivan teaches undergraduate and graduate-level leadership classes and has over ten years of experience providing consultation, workshops, presentations, and addresses on topics such as leadership development, cultural relevancy, organizational change, and school readiness.
Heidi Hagel Braid is the Chief Program Officer at First Children’s Finance, a nonprofit organization focused on increasing the sustainability and supply of high quality child care businesses. Hagel Braid leads efforts to create, implement and communicate early care and education business strategies that lead to a well-paid workforce, more sustainable and accessible high quality care, and improved outcomes for children. She specializes in increasing states’ capacity to address early care and education business needs and opportunities for alignment of resources.
Hagel Braid joined First Children’s Finance as the Regional Director, Minnesota and the Dakotas, in 2012, bringing over 15 years of nonprofit experience and a strong history working on the behalf of children and families. In 2013, Heidi launched the Rural Child Care Innovation Program, an innovative effort linking rural economic development and child care. She has also led the development of national child care business analysis tools that assess the financial operations of family child care businesses.