For Conference & PD Planners

Assistant director speaker

What this is for: the move from teacher to supervisor: carrying authority you were handed but never taught, supervising people who used to be peers, and making decisions without a script.

Who it is for: assistant directors, program coordinators, lead teachers, and newly promoted supervisors — the people running the building on a Tuesday afternoon.

Kate Woodward Young talking with audience members

What Attendees Walk Out With

Language they can use before they get back to the parking lot

Own the role you were handed

What changes the day you become the person who decides, and how to say so out loud without apologizing for it.

Supervise former peers

Language for the first hard conversation with someone who used to be on your side of the door.

Know what is yours to carry

Sorting responsibility so the assistant director is not quietly absorbing everyone else's work.

Grow into the next seat

What directors wish someone had told them before their first year — said early enough to matter.

Sessions That Fit

Built from existing keynotes and workshops

Formats

Shaped to your agenda

Conference keynote

45–75 minutes for a general session.

Breakout or workshop

60–120 minutes on one piece of the work.

Half- or full-day PD

Working sessions that end with a plan, not notes.

Read first: 30/60/90-day onboarding · Training staff the way adults learn

Planner Questions

Answered before you have to ask

FAQ

Questions leaders ask

Yes. The material holds in a mixed room, and the conversation afterward is often better because both seats hear the same language at the same time.

The work of early childhood is hard. Booking a speaker shouldn't be.

Send the date, the audience, and what you hope people walk out with. You will get a real reply, not a media kit.