MECLP Alumni Highlights

Erin Bonzon is the Administrator in the Howard County Office of Children and Families, one of eight offices with the Howard County Department of Community Resources and Services. In this capacity, she oversees Howard County’s first Family Support “Patty” Center, two nationally accredited home visiting programs, and the Child Care Resource Center (CCRC). She also co-chairs the Early Childhood Advisory Council (ECAC). Bonzon applied for the Maryland Early Childhood Leadership Program (MECLP) even before she relocated to Maryland and stepped into her current Administrator role.

“The Director of the Department knew MECLP was just starting, and she thought it would be a good way for me to quickly connect to people in Maryland – to learn the system and the key players. I had participated in previous leadership academies, but MECLP was specific to early childhood in Maryland,” said Bonzon. The inaugural MECLP cohort formed a tight bond that helped Bonzon learn quickly how to navigate in the county and the state, and to begin to plan for the systems-level work she is undertaking today.

“MECLP helped me to become a thoughtful, confident leader with a systems perspective. It helped me to know what to ask, who to include at the table, and how to build relationships,” said Bonzon. The connection to MECLP fellows meant she had a peer group to lean on so that she could learn quickly from others’ experiences and find systems-level solutions to the persistent challenges facing children and families in the county.

Afterall, Bonzon notes, “Every county has the same challenges when it comes to childcare. We all want to do something about it. It’s imperative we come together to form policy solutions that build on our experiences and lessons learned.”

Roshon Casey-Lee is the director of early childhood programs for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington. In this role she supports all Catholic schools in the diocese that have prekindergarten programs, as well as all early learning centers throughout five counties in Maryland and the District of Columbia. An educator through and through, Casey-Lee follows her passion for supporting programs to implement best practices and reminds providers that they too have a role to play in shaping early childhood policy.

“As a Maryland Early Childhood Leadership Program (MECLP) fellow, I learned early on that providers can have a meaningful impact in programs and on policy. I have a role to make sure the providers I work with are aware of all the ways that they can make a difference,” said Casey-Lee. Roshon appreciates the opportunity to be a MECLP fellow and now to serve on the MECLP Advisory Committee, shaping the experience for future cohorts of fellows.

“What MECLP does so well is foster experiences that help you make connections. I knew I wanted to impact policy but wasn’t sure how to do it. MECLP helped me to see the opportunities,” said Casey-Lee. And now she works directly with providers, directors, and principals to help them see and act on the opportunities too, all in service of quality, developmentally appropriate early childhood programming.