Plenary Session 2 - Welcome - Opening Remarks - Calling All Warriors

D.J. Eagle Bear Vanas is a thought leader, celebrated speaker and best-selling author whose expertise is showing people and organizations how to apply the warrior spirit at work. He is the author of the best-selling book The Tiny Warrior which is printed in six countries and the novel Spirit on the Run. D.J.’s newest book, The Warrior Within is being published by Penguin Random House and will be available summer 2022. D.J. is an enrolled member of the Ottawa Tribe and a former U.S. Air Force officer. He inspires organizations to strengthen their tribe and practically apply warrior spirit principles to serve at their best, stay resilient and lead with courage. For two decades, he’s delivered his dynamic programs in 49 states and overseas to clients such as Walt Disney, NASA, Intel Corporation, the U.S. Army, Subaru, Costco and hundreds of tribal governments and organizations. He’s also been invited to speak at The White House - twice. He holds a B.S. from the U.S. Air Force Academy and an M.S. from University of Southern California and has served on the Board of Directors on the National Board of Certified Counselors. D.J. is the President and owner of Native Discovery Inc. He is featured on the PBS documentary The Warrior Tradition, exploring the warrior spirit traditions across Indian Country, which aired nationwide on Veterans Day. He was also the host of his own PBS special Discovering Your Warrior Spirit which aired nationally in 2021.  

Janie Huddleston, MSE, ITCP Director, has a unique background in healthcare administration, social service delivery, education, business, and management that supports her work overseeing the implementation and building knowledge of effective, collaborative court team interventions that transform child welfare systems. In her previous position as Deputy Director for the Arkansas Department of Human Services, she worked to build collaborative problem-solving teams to address the issues facing young children and their families. In 2011, Mrs. Huddleston directed the Division of Behavioral Health Services (Mental Health and Substance Abuse agency), leading a rigorous CMS and Joint Commission recertification process for the State Hospital that included a review of hospital policies and Continuous Quality Improvement processes. As Deputy Director, she led stakeholders in the development of a Medicaid program for pregnant moms and juveniles affected by substance abuse disorder. She also led a four-year collaborative process to overhaul the entire Behavioral Health payment system in Medicaid, following an outside analysis that showed too many children being placed in residential care and high use of psychotropic medications. In two years, usage was reduced by 70% for children under the age of five. She also participated in the development of Episodes of Care, which was a pay-for-performance initiative within Medicaid and strengthened the use of Medical Homes as a big component of care.

As Chief Policy Officer, Miriam Calderón leads the development and implementation of ZERO TO THREE’s policy agenda, priorities, and strategies; oversees the Policy Center, which includes federal and state policy and advocacy; and serves as the principal spokesperson for the organization on public policy matters. Calderón joined ZERO TO THREE after serving as a presidential appointee in the Biden Administration in the role of Deputy Assistant Secretary for Early Learning at the U.S. Department of Education. She also served as a political appointee in the Obama Administration, where she advised the White House on early learning policy at the Domestic Policy Council and the Department of Health and Human Services. Calderón was appointed by Governor Kate Brown in 2017 to serve as the Early Learning System Director for the state of Oregon, where she led an agency responsible for administration of childcare, preschool, and home visiting programs and supports for the early childhood workforce. In this role, she oversaw implementation of the largest expansion of early childhood investments for young children and families in the state’s history. Prior to Oregon, she served as the Senior Director of Early Learning at the Bainum Family Foundation, where she shaped a new $10 million philanthropic investment in a comprehensive birth-to-three system for the District of Columbia. She was also a senior fellow with the BUILD Initiative, leading BUILD’s work related to dual language learners and serving as a faculty member for BUILD’s Equity Leaders Action Network. Previously, Calderón served as Director of Early Childhood Education at District of Columbia Public Schools, where she oversaw Head Start and pre-kindergarten programs, including helping to implement universal pre-kindergarten. Calderón also served as Associate Director of Education Policy at the Unidos US (formerly National Council of La Raza), a Hispanic civil rights organization, where she focused on early education policy for Latinx, immigrant, and dual language learner children. She began her career in early childhood as a mental health consultant in Head Start programs in Portland, Oregon. Calderón holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of Delaware and a Master of Social Work degree from Portland State University.