Join NVAEYC and NVCC for our annual May Event for early childhood educators. This year we will be celebrating YOU - the Educators! We want YOU to come and "fill YOUR buckets" - spend some time with educators like YOU, enjoy some yummy food, listen to speakers who care about YOU and what YOU do every day! We will have crafts, music, meditation, and lots of JOY!
A Professional Development Certificate for 4 hours will be provided. This is a FREE Event!!
Conference Agenda:
8:15 am - Doors open - Registration, Light Breakfast, Vendors
9:00 - 11:00 am - Opening Remarks
Speaker: Dr. Christine Pegorraro Schull
Key Note: Joshua Metz, LCSW
11:00-11:30 - Break, Vendors, Networking
11:30-12:00 - NVAEYC 50th Anniversary Celebration!
12:00 - 1:00 - Break out Birthday Bash Sessions to celebrate YOU!!
Beginning Chair Yoga
Create a Vision Board
Line Dancing
Craft station
Vendors
Live DJ music
NVAEYC’s 50th Anniversary Treats
The event’s Platinum Sponsor: LIIF - Low Income Investment Fund - www.liifund.org
Speakers:
Dr. Christine Pegorraro Schull
Christine Pegorraro Schull, PhD is a Professor of Early Childhood Development at Northern Virginia Community College. Curricular areas of expertise include working with families, policy issues affecting children and families, and developing inclusive professional development pathways for early childhood educators. Christine is coauthor of two free online textbooks: Early Childhood Literacy: Engaging and Empowering Emergent Readers and Writers, Birth – Age 5 (2021) and From Compliance to Co-Regulation: Revisioning Guidance and Behavior Management to Support Children’s Social and Emotional Development within Classroom Communities (2025).
Joshua Metz, LCSW
Joshua Metz is a licensed clinical social worker, specializing in working with families of young children. Most recently, Mr. Metz worked at Positive Development as the mental health lead in a transdisciplinary practice serving young children with autism and related differences in development. From 2020-2022, Mr. Metz was at Ashburn Psychological and Psychiatric Services providing family-based developmentally informed therapy for young children. From 2017-2020, Mr. Metz was the Head of School at The Auburn School (Fairfax Campus), a private k-12 school providing a dynamic educational program for intellectually curious students with challenges in the areas of communication, socialization, pragmatic language, and organization. Prior to joining The Auburn School in June 2017, Mr. Metz spent ten years as a licensed clinical social worker and then Program Director of Neurodevelopmental Center for Early Intervention at Family Compass in Reston VA, providing therapy and early intervention to young children with pervasive developmental and autism spectrum challenges and their families.
Mr. Metz received a Master of Social Work degree from the National Catholic School of Social Service, Catholic University of America, concentrating his studies on infant and early childhood development. Mr. Metz is a 2008 graduate of the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disorders (LEND) Fellowship program located at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. In 2012, Mr. Metz joined the faculty of the National Catholic School of Social Service, serving as a Field Instructor for the Foundation Year Field Education & Integrative Seminar. In 2019 Mr. Metz received certification in Traumatic Stress Studies with the Trauma Center/Trauma Research Foundation. Mr. Metz is currently enrolled at Fielding Graduate University, working towards a Ph.D. in Infant & Early Childhood Development.