May ICS eNews

ICS Board and Staff Bring Our Voices

To Our Nation's Capital

ICS Board members and staff visit Capitol Hill to advocate for children and families.

We are very pleased to share that we had an incredibly successful Board meeting, special event, and Hill visits in late April in Washington, DC.

ICS Board members and staff gathered for a policy breakfast briefing hosted by ICS and the Riley Institute titled Strong Starts for Young Families: Opportunities for Impact in Times of Change. During the briefing we welcomed speakers and guests discussing the importance of Head Start, Medicaid, and the Child Tax Credit for families with young children, including:

• Dr. Bill Hazel, Former Secretary, Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources
• Stephanie Glier, Senior Director of Federal Advocacy, American Academy of Pediatrics
• Tommy Sheridan, Deputy Director, National Head Start Association
• Leah Sargeant, Senior Policy Analyst, Niskanen Center
• Rebecca Howard, Senior Education and Workforce Policy Advisor to Sen. Tim Kaine

Our Board members and staff headed to Capitol Hill to visit 18 congressional offices across five states, highlighting the importance of improving outcomes for young children and their families. During these visits, board members and staff advocated for key federal priorities, including Head Start, Medicaid, and the Child Tax Credit. 

These were an impactful two days of advocacy in action. We made our voices heard!

Past ICS Board Chair Gary Glickman outside Maryland Sen. Angela Alsobrooks' office.

Dr. Aimée Duncan (ICS VP of Evaluation and Practice) and ICS Board member, Dr. Carlo Panlilio during Capitol Hill visits advocating for young children.

Sen. Lindsey Graham's Office meeting including ICS Board member JoKeitha Seabrook, ICS Senior Fellow Linda Brees, ICS Board Chair Calvin Calhoun, ICS Board members Neil Grayson and Crystal Caldwell, and ICS staff member Deborah DePaoli.

The Landscape for Head Start and Medicaid - CHIP Panel: Bryan Boroughs (Riley Institute), Tommy Sheridan (National Head Start Association) & Stephanie Glier (American Academy of Pediatrics).

ICS At Hilton Grantee Convening

Crystal Xu, Tyson Barker, and Mari Strand Cary at the Hilton Foundation Convening.

Mari Strand Cary with Community Foundation of New Mexico (CFNM) partners.

ICS staff recently attended the Hilton Foundation's 2025 Grantee Convening. During this event, ICS provided "office hours" for various Hilton grantees, to provide effective and tailored support for different programs supported by the Hilton Foundation. ICS staff also met with our partners at the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico.

ICS staff contributions were recognized at the convening's opening. Dr. Aimée Drouin Duncan led the needs assessment work that was used to guide support for the Hilton grantees; her work was highlighted in the opening presentation.

Erin McCarthy, the Foundation’s Senior Officer for Learning and Evaluation, presenting at the Hilton Convening event.

ICS Staff's Contributions Recognized By NAEYC

NAEYC presentation includes information based on the work of Allison Kimble-Cusano.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) recognized the work of Dr. Allison Kimble-Cusano, ICS Research Specialist, during their presentation at a recent meeting of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM).

This presentation featured a highlight of Dr. Kimble-Cusano's work on addressing equity in early childhood education as it relates to high quality curriculum. NAEYC has been working to address their accreditation process, which includes an expansion of training and support with curricula. ICS is supporting NAEYC's efforts to re-imagine a more equitable and accessible early childhood program quality accreditation system.

We are proud to provide important contributions that help support the work of national organizations such as NAEYC. Learn more about our national initiatives here.

ICS Staff Present at National Head Start Association Annual Conference

Allison Kimble-Cusano and Tyson Barker present at the National Head Start Association Conference.

Dr. Allison Kimble-Cusano (ICS Research Specialist) and Dr. Tyson Barker (ICS Chief Science and Innovation Officer) presented at the National Head Start Association Conference and Expo on May 21-22.

The “Acing Assessments” track offered practical insights and fresh thinking on how to make assessments meaningful, manageable, and more effective for early childhood programs. This day-long track focused on child assessments with a comprehensive session on assessment literacy.

Dr. Kimble-Cusano presented "Acing Assessments: Assessments Are Like Shoes" and "Collaborating for Impact: Working with Families and Local Agencies for Effective Special Education Support." Dr. Barker presented "Do Less. How to Align with Partners and Assess Less".

Learn more about ICS's expertise with measurement and evaluation here.

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