We're so glad that you're interested in joining the Alliance!

The Children’s Opportunity Alliance manages numerous advisory groups that help shape the priorities and initiatives that will move us toward meaningful change within the early childhood system.

Learn more about the groups below, and fill out this interest form by May 16 if you’d like to join our work.

Strategic Work Groups
The Alliance is looking for individuals to join several new and refreshed work groups that will collaborate to advance the coordinated strategies of the Common Agenda:
  • Affordable Access Work Group: Expand affordable access to high-quality early care and education programs by reducing the cost and removing barriers for families.
  • Family Navigation Work Group: Engage with families about how to ensure their young children are thriving and how to navigate and access early childhood resources.
  • Workforce Work Group*: Recognize and advance the early care and education workforce to recruit, retain, and expand the number of high-quality educators.
  • ECE Funding Campaign: Advocate for systems changes and new public and private funding for the early childhood system to reduce cost for families, raise wages and sustainability for the workforce, and make it easier for families and providers to access support.
*The Workforce Work Group will launch later in the calendar year as we continue to work in close partnership with both Montgomery Moving Forward and the County’s Early Care and Education Initiative, both of whom are already convening leaders focused on moving forward workforce strategies.

Who would thrive as a work group member? 

We are looking for people eager to take action on behalf on young children. We hope to find individuals who will:
  • Contribute individually and/or through an organization in coordination with other partners and report back any data needed to monitor progress;
  • Maintain an equity lens on language, representation, and strategies to ensure that all work is aimed at eliminating or decreasing versus maintaining or increasing disparities;
  • Engage the community (intended beneficiaries and those closest to them) as partners, advisors, and implementers of strategies; and
  • Utilize data, evaluation, stakeholder voices, and community voices to measure progress, learn, improve, and adapt plans to make progress on results.
What’s the commitment?

These work groups will meet roughly every other month for 1.5 - 2 hours. We will alternate between in-person and virtual meetings. Members will be asked to commit to action between meetings.


Common Agenda Steering Committee
The Common Agenda Steering Committee will steward the full collective impact initiative in pursuit of the Common Agenda. This steering committee will take a high-level perspective to ensure alignment, inclusion, and progress across the four strategic work groups and receive and integrate advice from the advisory groups as we collectively implement the Common Agenda.

Who would thrive as a steering committee member?

We are looking for early childhood stakeholders who can see the big picture, think in terms of systems change, and integrate across activities so that projects don’t become siloed. We need true champions who are willing to encourage and influence partners to align their work towards common results.

What’s the commitment?

The steering committee will meet quarterly for 1.5 - 2 hours, alternating in-person and virtual sessions, with actions requested between meetings.
Next Steps: Please complete this interest form by Wednesday, April 30, and someone from the Alliance team will be in touch!

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* 1. Your Contact Information:

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* 2. Employment Information*
* If you will be representing the views of your employer, business, or profession, please include this information; otherwise, skip this question.

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* 3. Which group would you like to join? If you are interested in more than one, please check all that you are interested in, and tell us your first choice in the question below.

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* 4. If you are interested in more than one group, which group is your first choice?

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* 5. What talents, gifts, interests, and/or experience would you bring to conversations?

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* 6. Meeting times will depend upon availability of work group members. Meetings might be held during traditional weekday working hours (M-F, 9am-5pm) or they might be held on evenings or weekends. What day or time would work best for you?

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* 7. The Alliance will provide a modest stipend to those not compensated by their jobs to attend these meetings. We can also work with you to provide transportation and child care stipends as needed for in person meetings. Should the Maryland Credential Program return, we will work with MSDE to provide PAU's to educators. Is there any other support you would need to be successful in serving on an advisory group? Please explain or share your ideas here.

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