--- title: "Early Childhood Innovation Summit: Big Innovation for Little Ones" id: "34217" type: "post" slug: "early-childhood-innovation-summit-big-innovation-for-little-ones" published_at: "2016-07-21T19:53:44+00:00" modified_at: "2026-03-16T17:02:18+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2016/07/21/early-childhood-innovation-summit-big-innovation-for-little-ones/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2016/07/21/early-childhood-innovation-summit-big-innovation-for-little-ones.md" excerpt: "The National Head Start Association’s first-ever Early Childhood Innovation Summit kicks off in Seattle next week." taxonomy_category: - "Meetings / Events" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "early childhood" - "Innovation" - "Meetings" - "Technology" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "C-Level" - "Executive Team" - "VP" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Early Childhood Innovation Summit: Big Innovation for Little Ones ## The National Head Start Association’s first-ever Early Childhood Innovation Summit kicks off in Seattle next week. Early childhood education innovators, technologists, and venture-capital and social-venture entrepreneurs will come together in Emerald City to explore ways to introduce the early education world to new technologies and and examine new sources of funding. **Association:** National Head Start Association **Conference:** Early Childhood Innovation Summit **Venue:** Cedarbrook Lodge **Location:** Seattle The inaugural—and sold out—[Early Childhood Innovation Summit (opens in a new tab)](http://www.nhsa.org/events-and-news/event/innovation-summit) starts on Monday evening with a keynote by Jim Sorenson, chairman of the Sorenson Impact Foundation and a national leader in social-impact innovation. He’ll discuss how to make innovation a daily reality, rather than a one-time endeavor. Also worth noting: **This event is the result of another.**Among the catalysts for the summit was June’s successful [Head Start Hackathon (opens in a new tab)](http://www.nhsa.org/head-starts-first-ever-hackathon) , during which early childhood education experts came together in the name of innovation. Rather than code software or build websites, participants used ideation techniques borrowed from the tech world to develop big-picture ideas to pave the way for future generations of the nation’s most vulnerable children. The Innovation Summit will take these steps even further. **There’s a new reality.**Virtual reality, that is—and two time slots on Tuesday will give attendees a chance to learn more about it. During lunch, they can even try out VR for themselves. And later that day, VR expert Gentry Lane will lead a discussion of the opportunities the technology presents both in and out of the classroom. **Your proposals must be pitch perfect.**What types of projects do funders find interesting, and how can you most effectively tell your story? Attendees will get an insider’s view—from funders themselves—about what topics are of interest, where they can be found, and what kinds of pitches resonate the most. Follow this hashtag—[#eceinnovation (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/eceinnovation?f=tweets&vertical=default) —for the latest happenings around the summit. (iStock/Thinkstock) [Samantha Whitehorne](https://associationsnow.com/author/samantha-whitehorne/) Samantha Whitehorne is a former editorial director of Associations Now in Washington, DC. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/samantha-whitehorne/) Tags: [#early childhood](https://associationsnow.com/tag/early-childhood/) [#Innovation](https://associationsnow.com/tag/innovation/) [#Meetings](https://associationsnow.com/tag/meetings/) [#Technology](https://associationsnow.com/tag/technology/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [PodcastAssociations Now Presents: Beyond the Tech Stack: How AI Is Changing the Association PlaybookOctober 29, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/10/29/associations-now-presents-beyond-the-tech-stack-how-ai-is-changing-the-association-playbook/) - [PodcastAssociations Now Presents: Beyond the Contract: Building Stronger Destination PartnershipsSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/associations-now-presents-beyond-the-contract-building-stronger-destination-partnerships/) - [VideoMelvin Tennant, CAE, President & CEO of Meet Minneapolis, Welcomes You to Great Ideas 2026September 2, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/02/melvin-tennant-cae-president-ceo-of-meet-minneapolis-welcomes-you-to-great-ideas-2026/) - [VideoASAE TV Daily Recap: Final Day at the 2026 ASAE Annual Meeting & ExpositionAugust 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/08/24/asae-tv-daily-recap-final-day-at-the-2026-asae-annual-meeting-exposition/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2016%2F07%2F21%2Fearly-childhood-innovation-summit-big-innovation-for-little-ones%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !