Our mission is to ensure that all babies and toddlers have a strong start in life.
The first three years of life are the most important for lifelong mental health and well-being. We are experts in translating the science of early childhood development into real impact.
Our P-5 Competencies
The P-5 Competencies provide a universal set of competencies necessary for all prenatal-5 service providers, supervisors and managers. The P-5 Competencies have a broad purpose of strengthening professional competence on shared fundamental concepts and to facilitating interdisciplinary partnerships and coordinated service delivery.  
Each of the P-5 Competency domains are equally important, and they build upon and reinforce one another. 
[P5-1] Early Childhood Development: how development unfolds from conception to age 5 across social, emotional, cognitive, language, physical and motor development and ways to responsively support it
[P5-2] Family-Centered Practice: why and how to effectively partner with families to support children’s health and development by building positive, supportive relationships
[P5-3] Relationship-Based Practice: why relationships are central to supporting the development of children, and how to create responsive and productive relationships with children, families and other service providers
[P5-4] Health and Development Protective and Risk Factors: how and why multiple factors—including community, economic, political and cultural influences—support or impede healthy development and the quality of relationships; and ways to work with families to identify strengths and use them as resources to reinforce protective factors, help manage challenges and reduce risks
[P5-5] Cultural and Linguistic Responsiveness: how culture and language have profound effects on child and family development, ways to raise awareness of our own assumptions about cultural attitudes and values, and strategies to integrate culturally and linguistically responsive methods
[P5-6] Leadership to Meet Family Needs and Improve Services and Systems: why and how to exercise leadership in advocacy, policy and sharing knowledge and resources with families, colleagues and the general public to promote optimal outcomes for expectant parents, young children and their families and caregivers
[P5-7] Professional and Ethical Practices: why and how to follow and apply high-quality practices consistent with ethical and legal standards, behaviors, requirements and obligations; and improving practices based on evidence, emerging knowledge and promising approaches
[P5-8] Service Planning, Coordination, and Collaboration: why effective and responsive service provision requires planning, including a coordinated effort with other sectors and service providers; and how to take a strength- and relationship-based approach in partnerships
The ZERO TO THREE LEARN Institute wouldn’t have been possible without the diligent input and hard work of our LEARN Signature Events Work Group. Thank you for helping us see our vision driven into reality.
Work Group Members
Jon Korfmacher, PhD (Work Group Chair), Senior Research Fellow, Chapin Hall, University of Chicago; ZERO TO THREE Board Member.
Barbara Thompson, MS (Work Group Chair-Elect), Former Director, Office of Military Family Readiness Policy, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy; ZERO TO THREE Board Member.
Natasha Byars, MS, MSW, LICSW, Director of Equity Consultation & Training, Indigo Cultural Center.
Ann Chu, PhD, Associate Professor, Psychiatry, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco.
Gerard (Gerry) Costa, PhD, NJ Licensed Psychologist; Infant Mental Health Clinical Mentor; Founding Director, Center for Autism and Early Childhood Mental Health-Montclair State University; Trustee and President, ICDL.
Abel Covarrubias, MA, Founder and CEO, Aprendamos Intervention Team; ZERO TO THREE Board Member.
Cristina Galto, LCSW, Faculty Associate with Arizona State University; Clinical Supervisor for Integrated School Based Services at Valle Del Sol, Phoenix AZ; Southwest Maricopa Regional Council Member for First Things First; and Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health provider for Kaleidoscope Family Care in Goodyear AZ.
Holly Hatton-Bowers, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Nebraska Lincoln.
Kyong-Ah Kwon, PhD, Principal Investigator for Happy Teacher Project, Associate Professor & Drusa B. Cable Endowed Chair in Education & Early Childhood Education, Rainbolt Family Endowed Education Presidential Professor, Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education, University of Oklahoma.
Michelle Oliver, MS, Developmental Specialist/Early Start Consultant.
Nichole Paradis, LMSW, IMH-E®, Executive Director, Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health.
Salam Soliman, PsyD, IMH-E® Clinical Mentor, Co-Principal Investigator for NCTSN CAT II Center for Prevention and Early Trauma Treatment, Director, Child First at the National Service Office for NFP and Child First, Leadership team and faculty/trainer at the Reflective Supervision Collaborative, Consultant to KKH Hospital in Singapore.
Aditi Subramaniam, LMHC, R-DMT, IECMH-E® Mentor-Clinical, Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Mentor – Clinical, Associate Director, Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health, Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.
Ayelet Talmi, PhD, IMH-E® Mentor-Clinical, The Gary Pavilion at Children’s Hospital Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus and University of Colorado School of Medicine: Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics; Director, Section of Integrated Behavioral Health, Division of Child and Adolescent Mental Health; Director, Project CLIMB; Director, Harris Program in Infant Mental Health; and Associate Editor, Infant Mental Health Journal.
Janna Wagner, EdM, Co-Founder and Chief Learning Officer, All Our Kin.
Jane West, LPC, ECSE, Heart of the West Counseling, LLC.
Paula Zeanah, PhD, MSN, RN, FAAN, Lafayette General Medical Center/Our Lady of Lourdes Endowed Chair and Eminent Professor of Nursing and Director of Research, Picard Center for Child Development, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, LA; Adjunct Professor, Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans; Leadership group, Whole Louisiana (Louisiana First Lady Donna Edwards office); Advisor, New Families home visiting.
ZERO TO THREE Staff Work Group Members
Sarah LeMoine, MS (staff Work Group lead), Senior Director, Professional Innovations Division
Sarah MacLaughlin, LSW, Senior Writer/Training Specialist, HealthySteps
Emeobong (Eme) Martin, MPH, Lead Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Officer
Kathy Mulrooney, MA, IMH-E® Mentor-Clinical, Director IECMH Strategy-Program
Rebecca Parlakian, MEd, Senior Director of Programs
Amanda Szekely, MPP, Director, Strategic Operations, Policy Center