The Leadership Journey and Board Builders: Transforming a Vision into Creating a Meaningful Impact

Includes a Live Web Event on 09/23/2025 at 2:15 PM (EDT)

This transformative session will empower every participant to recognize that leadership is not a fixed trait, but a skill set anyone can develop. Designed for aspiring and current board members in family child care, early care, and education, the session dismantles traditional leadership barriers by demonstrating that impactful leadership is accessible to all. By confronting harsh realities such as unclear vision, misaligned goals, and burnout, the session provides a strategic roadmap to building high-functioning, dynamic leadership boards that amplify mission, create sustainable change and distribute leadership responsibilities. Participants will receive practical tools and learn key strategies for identifying leadership gaps, developing clear communication protocols, and building a culture of mutual accountability that transforms individual and collective potential into meaningful, lasting impact.

Learning Objectives:

Valuate barriers to effective leadership (unclear vision, misaligned goals, burnout) and differentiate strategies to overcome them within family child care, early care, and education boards.
Apply practical tools to analyze leadership gaps, design clear communication protocols, and implement systems of mutual accountability that strengthen board effectiveness.
Create a personalized action plan that integrates individual leadership strengths with collective goals to transform boards into dynamic, mission-driven teams capable of sustaining long-term impact.

Francia Wisnewski

Director of Membership

NAFCC

Francia Wisnewski, Montague MA Francia Wisnewski is the Director of Membership and Community Engagement at the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC). In this role, she is responsible for managing and overseeing all aspects related to membership engagement and growth. This includes developing and implementing strategies to attract new members, retaining existing ones, and fostering a sense of community and collaboration among family child care educators and other stakeholders within the organization. “I am honored to be working alongside the many passionate family child care educators and community allies in Early Childhood Education. I am thankful for the opportunity to be working with NAFCC, an organization that for decades has been committed to elevating family child care systems, keeping them the core of their work. I look forward to many years of strong collaborations and the many opportunities to keep driving this mission.” Francia has over 25 years of dedicated experience in the nonprofit, education, and community organizing sectors. Raised in Cali, Colombia, her professional journey began as a science teacher in South America. In addition, her passion for philanthropy, with an equity lens at the focus, has resulted in securing at millions in funding for for new programs and innovative educational workforce structures in the family childcare sector, across multiple states. Her focus on elevating community leadership and amplifying economic development opportunities has made her a recognized authority in this space. Francia holds a bachelor's degree in Science Teacher Education/ Licentiate in Biology and Chemistry from Universidad Del Valle in Cali, Colombia. She also holds a Masters of Education in Child Study and Early Childhood from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. Francia’s commitment to this work is evident. Her dedication to creating a lasting impact drives her mission to support education, advocacy, and community engagement to contribute to the successful future pipeline of childcare educators.