Skip to content

Children's Opportunity Alliance Advisory Group Interest Form

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

The Children’s Opportunity Alliance, holds itself accountable to an ongoing commitment to advance equity and social justice, while keeping young children and their families centered in all our work. In this spirit, the Alliance will soon launch three advisory groups - focused on Data, Creating a Common Agenda, and engaging the Business community - that will help shape the Alliance’s priorities and initiatives and move towards meaningful change by pushing on various levers and strategies within the early childhood system.

Who would thrive as an advisory group member? We are looking for both early childhood experts AND community members with unique skill sets who are not early childhood experts but are interested in helping the field! You can be a parent, an educator, a business leader, a researcher, or anyone who lives or works in Montgomery County and cares about our youngest citizens.
Learn more about each group:

Data Advisory Group: like many community change efforts, the Alliance relies on data to continually identify, adopt, and scale up ideas that improve outcomes for young children. We aim to expand the availability, use, and power of data to inform decision-making in our community.
  • main goals: This group will initially help us to select the data most relevant to our mission and community-wide goals and set up a data dashboard; long-term the group will deliberate and provide guidance on various aspects related to data analysis, sharing, and accessibility.
  • who we’re looking for: anyone who likes to talk about data and help it make meaning for more people; bonus points if you’re into visualizing and storytelling with data. Also looking for early childhood experts who are willing to talk data to make sure the picture the data paints accurately portrays the field and the issues.
  • the commitment: 1 hour quarterly meetings starting in July 2024 held virtually with limited advance prep and follow-up requested
Common Agenda Advisory Group: A critical legislative duty of the Alliance is to develop a common early childhood agenda that highlights shared priorities for expanding and improving the early childhood system in Montgomery County.
  • main goals: While we embark on extensive listening tour across the county, we need a trusted set of leaders to synthesize, organize, and prioritize the feedback we receive and form it into a comprehensive final agenda.
  • who we’re looking for: visionaries, innovative thinkers, bold leaders – anyone who likes to talk about the solutions and is ready to weave a plan that facilitates multiple ideas working together in a coordinated way.
  • the commitment: The plan and timeline is evolving, currently we are anticipating a condensed project window that will include around four 1 - 2 hour virtual and/or in person meetings over a six month period, beginning in the summer of 2024
Business Advisory Group: Montgomery County recognizes that early care and education is an economic imperative for the well-being of children, families, employers, and the greater community. There are many opportunities to strengthen connections between businesses and the child care community and there are numerous roles that business leaders can play in systems building efforts.
  • main goals: This group will consider and recommend strategies to engage the business community in expanding and improving the early childhood system to create wins for us all.
  • who we’re looking for: business leaders and all those willing to talk with business leaders about early childhood issues.
  • the commitment: 1 hour quarterly meetings starting in September 2024 - 2 in person meetings and 2 virtual meetings, with limited advance prep and follow-up requested
Next Steps: Please complete this interest form by Monday, June 10 and someone from the COA team will be in touch!
1.Your Contact Information:
2.Employment Information*
*if you will be representing the views of your employer, business, or profession, please include this information, otherwise skip this question
3.Which Advisory 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.
4.If you are interested in more than one group, which group is your first choice?
5.Why are you interested in joining a COA Advisory Group?
6.What talents, gifts, interests, and/or experience would you bring to conversations?
7.In an effort to engage working professionals in these groups, the Alliance plans to conduct advisory group meetings during weekday working hours (Monday-Friday 9am-5pm). Will you be able to attend meetings during this timeframe? Is there a day or time that would be easiest for you (e.g., 1-2pm)
8.The Alliance will work with you to provide transportation and child care stipends as needed for in person meetings. We are hoping to be able to provide 1 PAU for advisory group service. Is there any other support you would need to be successful in serving on an advisory group? Please explain or share your ideas here.