General Information

Conference Benefits

Choose from over 100 educational workshops
90 early childhood exhibitors
Free door prizes at events and exhibits
Opportunities to meet and network with colleagues

Featured Tracks & Workshops

Infant/Toddler, Leadership, Prek-3, Trainers, School Age Child Care, Family child Care, Inclusion, New and Experienced Teachers

Scheduled Workshops

Keynote Speakers

Lillian Katz, PhD, an international leader in early childhood education. Parent, teacher, professor and author of, Intellectual Emergencies, an inspirational work for parents and teachers, or anyone who has ever looked into the face of a child and wondered if she was making the right choices.

A graduate of Stanford University and teacher at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for over 30 years and also directed the ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education. She has lectured in all 50 states and in 55 countries. She has held visiting posts at universities in Australia, Canada, England, Germany, India, Israel, the West Indies (Barbados) and many parts of the United States. She lectures and consults around the world.

Katz is one of the founders and past president of the Illinois Association for the Education of Young Children. She has served as vice president and president of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Katz has written more than 150 publications, including articles, chapters and books about early childhood education, teacher education, child development and parenting. For 13 years, she wrote a monthly column for Parents Magazine on parenting 3 and 4 year olds.

Luis A. Hernandez, T/TAS Early Childhood Education Specialist, holds an M.A. in Bilingual/Multicultural Education from the University of San Francisco. Luis brings solid expertise to his position based on his work history in Head Start, child care, Pre K programs, college and universities, child care resource and referral administration, and professional development design.

Luis’ work focuses in a wide range of early childhood education and professional development topics. His expertise includes early literacy, dual language learning, adult learning practices, changing demographics and diversity, and ECE management and partnership topics. As a regular presenter and keynote speaker at national, state, and local conferences, Luis is highly regarded for his motivational and energizing presentations.

Mr. Hernandez is active in a number of organizations that support children and family interests. At NAEYC, he is active in the new accreditation process, and developing professional and leadership development opportunities. He currently serves on the Advisory Board of the McCormick Tribune Center for Early Childhood Leadership and the United Way's Center for Excellence in Early Childhood. He has served on the Boards of the Florida Children’s Forum, the Child Care Workforce, and NACCRRA, the Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, and PSP (Parent Services Project) in California. For Luis, a new area of work and professional interest centers in advancing the goals of the World Forum on Early Care and Education.

Jenna Bilmes has over twenty years of early childhood experience including teaching toddlers and preschoolers in inclusive settings; directing a non-profit child care center and serving as a mental health consultant for Southwest Human Development. She has thirteen years of experience consulting for Department of Defense Dependent Schools early childhood programs, Sonoma State University/CIHS, Sopris West Educational Services, and Teaching Strategies. She has authored a book on early childhood social-emotional development for Redleaf Press Beyond Behavior Management, and has co-authored books for both Redleaf Press and Teaching Strategies on supporting children with emotional challenges.

Currently, Jenna works at WestEd developing online and face-to-face training and technical assistance materials for the California Department of Education and is pursuing a PhD in Sociocultural Early Childhood Education at Walden University.

Amy Laura Dombro, M.S., creates resources for teachers, family support professionals and community leaders. Former head of the Bank Street Infant and Family Center, Amy works with and for national organizations to translate complex information so that it is engaging and easy to use. In addition, she often documents stories of successes, challenges and lessons learned so that readers can benefit from the experiences of others. Her publications include: Powerful Interactions and Honoring Our Babies and Toddlers, a guide for caring professionals working with military families.

Training Hours

Up to 15 Training Hours
(If attending all sessions from Thursday, 6 pm – Saturday, 4 pm)

Hotel Costs

Buffalo Hyatt has offered a special conference rate of $144 single/double; $154 triple/quad. For reservations call (716) 856-1234 or 800-233-1234 or Hyatt.com. Make sure to say you are with NYS Association for the Education of Young Children’s group to get the special rate. The hotel is giving our group many concessions for the conference. Please book inside our block in order to fulfill our obligations.

Would you like to Exhibit or Sponsor at Conference 2012?

Click here for NYSAEYC 2012 Sponsorship & Exhibit Prospectus

Future Conference Dates

The NYSAEYC Conference will be at home for the next three years (2013, 2014, 2015) at the Turning Stone Resort and Conference Center in Verona, NY. Specific dates are April 4-6, 2013; April 10-12, 2014; April 9-11, 2015. Plan on joining us!

Contact us

Questions concerning the annual state conference can be directed to NYSAEYC at (518) 867-3517; Fax: (518) 867-3520, or by email at contactus@nysaeyc.org.  NYSAEYC’s mailing address is: 230 Washington Ave. Ext., Albany, NY 12203.