From left: Dr. Kimberly Lucas, Dr. Wendy Wagner Robeson, Dr. Kyle DeMeo Cook, and Dr. Rosa Turco
On March 19, 2026, the Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW) hosted over 160 attendees at the second Massachusetts Early Childhood Policy Research Summit, a gathering of those who produce and support research and design projects related to the early childhood field in Massachusetts.
“After we held our first summit last year, we didn’t necessarily expect to hold a second one. But the energy in the room was so electric, and so many of the participants insisted we should reconvene, that we had to keep the momentum going,” said WCW Senior Research Scientist Dr. Wendy Wagner Robeson, who organized the event along with Dr. Kimberly Lucas, Professor of the Practice in Public Policy and Economic Justice at the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University, and Dr. Kyle DeMeo Cook, Research Assistant Professor at the Wheelock College of Education and Human Development at Boston University.
Wellesley College students Noely Irineu Silva '27 and Shreeya Lakkapragada '26, who helped organize the summitThe purpose of the summit was to learn and engage with others about current research agenda opportunities and other opportunities for research, data, and design collaboration, and to share the latest research, data, and design insights with policymakers and others in the field. Following last year’s summit, the Massachusetts Early Childhood Policy and Research Collaborative was created, and the organizers have spent the past year developing its structure and strategy. (Read more about the Collaborative and its goals on our blog, Women Change Worlds.)
Summit attendees were welcomed by WCW Interim Executive Director Georgia Hall, Ph.D., and Representative Christopher Worrell, who represents the 5th Suffolk district in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.
“You are helping us ask the right questions, measure what matters, and design solutions that are not only visionary but evidence-based,” said Worrell in his remarks. “Today is about learning from one another. It’s about building a roadmap for the future of early childhood research and policy in the Commonwealth.”
The event included a panel discussion on how Massachusetts communities use research, data, and design, featuring Dr. Shanyn Toulouse of Children’s Vision Massachusetts, Dr. Kate Giapponi Schneider of Boston University, and Jessica Acevedo, a doctoral candidate at the University of Massachusetts Boston, moderated by Danubia Camargos Silva of The Boston Foundation. Strategies for Children presented on advocacy 101 for researchers, and the day ended with roundtable discussions on next steps.
Shavon Drayton, a master’s degree student at Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development who is serving as an intern for the Massachusetts Early Childhood Policy and Research Collaborative, offered closing remarks. (Read her recent blog post on Women Change Worlds.)
