Promoting Early Childhood (PEC) 2026
Beneath Behavior: Innovative Strategies and Practices for Understanding and Responding to Children's Needs
Hyatt Regency
Green Bay, WI
March 4-6, 2026
Click to Register for PEC 2026
Registration closes February 9, 2026
Hyatt Regency Green Bay Conference Room Booking Link
Room block closes February 9, 2026
Conference Agenda Coming Soon
Call for Presenters is Now Open
Click here to submit a propsoal
We're looking for innovative proposals to help shape our conference. We encourage you to submit a proposal that explores this theme and builds upon the foundation of Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP).
- The Call for Presenters closes on December 15, 2025.
- All presentations should build upon the foundation of Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP).
- One FREE conference registration will be offered for each accepted proposal.
Pre-Conference: March 4, 2026 (two options)
Inclusion: Transform your approach to challenging behaviors with the Special Education pre-conference, "Chaos to Calm: Teaching Skills Instead of Always Managing Behavior." This interactive, hands-on event will equip educators and support staff with essential, evidence-based frameworks to decode behavior, teach critical social-emotional and executive functioning skills to 3–5-year-old students, and ensure you leave with a personalized action plan you can use tomorrow.
Nature-Based Early Childhood Education: Learning outside provides a myriad of benefits for young children, including school readiness. This pre-conference workshop will provide the tools and resources needed to explore the wonders of an inquiry approach to outdoor nature-based early childhood to foster curiosity through developmentally appropriate practices.
Main Conference Keynote: March 5, 2026
Dr. Lori Desautels has served as an Assistant Professor at Butler University since 2016, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in the College of Education. Prior to this, she spent eight years as an Assistant Professor at Marian University in Indianapolis, where she founded the Educational Neuroscience Symposium. Now in its 16th year, the symposium has reached thousands of educators across the country. Lori is passionate about engaging students through the lens of social and relational neuroscience as it applies to education. She integrates the Tier One trauma-accommodating Applied Educational Neuroscience (AEN) framework, along with its principles and practices, into her coursework at Butler University. In 2016, Lori created the Applied Educational Neuroscience Certification program to support educators, counselors, clinicians, and administrators working with children and adolescents experiencing adversity and trauma. The certification is now a global program and has reached hundreds of educators worldwide. Lori’s work has been featured in Edutopia, Brain Bulletin, and Mind Body Spirit international magazine. She has also published research in the Brain Research Journal based on her work in fifth-grade classrooms during a course release position with Washington Township Schools. She continues to co-teach in K–12 classrooms, applying her research to real-time classroom procedures and transitions that support nervous system regulation and foster felt safety. Lori is the author of six books, with more in development. Her recent titles include Intentional Neuroplasticity: Our Educational Journey Toward Post-Traumatic Growth, Connections over Compliance: Rewiring Our Perceptions of Discipline, and Body and Brain Brilliance: A Manual to Cultivate Awareness and Practices for Our Nervous System, released in 2024. To date, Lori has worked with over 200 school districts across the United States and internationally, including in Canada, Costa Rica, Australia, Scotland, England, and Dubai—reaching more than 150,000 educators, with much more work ahead.
Main Conference Keynote: March 6, 2026
Ginger Healy, LCSW, has spent more than 25 years helping children and families heal and thrive through trauma, attachment challenges, and emotional regulation. She began her career as a child abuse investigator and hospital social worker before moving into school-based therapy. She spent 15 years as the social service supervisor for an international adoption agency, deepening her expertise in developmental trauma and attachment—foundations that continue to shape her work today. Currently, Ginger serves as the Director of Programs at the Attachment & Trauma Network (ATN) and co-hosts the Regulated & Relational podcast with Julie Beem, where she helps educators and parents bring trauma-sensitive, attachment-focused practices into classrooms and homes. A sought-after national speaker and trainer, she’s known for making brain-based, nervous system-informed strategies both practical and compassionate for caregivers, teachers, and mental health professionals. Ginger is also the author of several impactful books, including Regulation and Co-Regulation: Accessible Neuroscience and Connection Strategies that Bring Calm into the Classroom and its accompanying workbook, Managing Big Emotions—a guide for school counselors—and Navigating Family Dynamics, which supports educators working with students from complex family circumstances. Her upcoming children’s book, Stronger Together (January 2026), tells the heartwarming story of a boy learning to calm his anxiety with the help of a wise otter friend. A mom of four, Ginger brings both professional expertise and lived experience to her work. Her family’s journey—including adoption, developmental trauma, and navigating autism—fuels her deep empathy and unwavering commitment to helping all kids and families heal through connection, emotional safety, and hope.
Additional Details
PEC is an early childhood collaborative event sponsored by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) in partnership with the Wisconsin Early Childhood Collaborating Partners (WECCP).
Conference goals include the following:
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Promote Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP)
- Strengthen the age 3-3rd grade continuum of learning and development
- Provide networking opportunities
