DOUBLE TAP TO ZOOM WITH PHONE OR TABLET Preface Holly Elissa Bruno In the Beginning Talk about bumps. At the annual National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) conference at the Jacob K. Javits Con- vention Center in New York City back in 2002, an inspiration was shaken into me as I jockeyed for balance on a bumpy and rainy nighttime tuk-tuk (bike-cab) ride back to my hotel: invite inspiring, savvy, and insightful col- leagues to present with me at the next conference! Now that would be fun! Plus, I would learn along with the participants. Why not just do it? Images of three presenters appeared before my eyes: Luis Antonio Her- nandez (that man is crazy like a fox), Janet Gonzalez-Mena (gentle, wise, lives and breathes diversity), and Dr. Debra Ren-Etta Sullivan (always offers eye-popping, one-of-a-kind “takes” on issues). Maybe it was no accident that we each hailed from opposite corners of the country: Miami (Luis), Boston (Holly Elissa), San Francisco (Janet), and Seattle (Debra). As one person after another said, “Great idea! Let’s do it!” I knew our gang of four mavericks was meant to be. Look out, NAEYC! Holly Elissa Bruno, Janet Gonzalez-Mena, Luis Antonio Hernandez, and Debra Ren-Etta Sullivan Organic Planning Who knew that by agreeing to agree we had already hit our first bump? Even though NAEYC had supplied us with a topic (which is reflected in the chap- ters that follow, along with other topics from conferences over the years), COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL    ix