CL22 - II-A6, Introductory-Level: Healthy Gender Identity Development In Young Children: What Does It Mean To Be Transgender And How Can You Support Kids Who Might Be?

Brenda Blasingame joined the J.B. and M.K. Pritzker Family Foundation in 2020 as a Program Officer on the Pritzker Children’s Initiative team, focusing on strategy development in child well-being; work with and in the Latino/x and Native American communities; lived experience and parent/community leadership; and justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts. Prior to joining the Pritzker Family Foundation, Ms. Blasingame served as the Executive Director for HealthConnect One where she was responsible for leading their work on peer-to-peer support during the first 1000 days. Over the past 20 years, she worked on early childhood development in California as the founding Executive Director First Five Contra Costa; in Washington as a founding staff member of Thrive Washington; and nationally as the Senior Director of Programs and Partnerships with Save the Children in its United States division. She has a bachelor’s degree in developmental psychology from Rollins College and a master’s degree in organizational psychology from John F. Kennedy University.

Rebecca Parlakian serves as Senior Director of Programs at ZERO TO THREE where she directs a project portfolio related to child development, parenting, home visiting, and high quality teaching. She has also developed five early childhood curricula, including the Early Connections parent education program; Problem Solvers, an early STEM curriculum; and Word Wonders, an early language and literacy curriculum. Rebecca holds a Master’s degree in infant/toddler special education from the George Washington University, where she taught for a decade as an adjunct professor.