We are excited to bring our In Dialogue series back to Stretch the Imagination. In Dialogue is a series for parents and educators to join together in discussion around a topic that is current, related to development, and most of all that encourages our community to learn more about each other. Our goal is for everyone to bring their own perspective to the table in a safe space. Past conversations have included topics of Inclusion in the fall of 2017, gender in early 2018, project work during the fall of 2018 and last year’s discussions around diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging with Flora Mugambi-Mutunga.
This spring we are excited to continue our diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging discussions. We look forward to hosting Nathanael Flynn (he/him) and Mitali Purkayastha (they/them) at Stretch the Imagination on Wednesday, March 29th from 6:00-7:30pm to facilitate a discussion around gender identity especially for parents of preschool age children. This is a topic that has quickly gained much attention both in the media and within schools across our country. Our goal is to start a dialogue and share understanding in a safe space with experts in the field of both Early Childhood and Gender Identity work.
Here you can find an article that shares more about the local resource Rainbow Kids and their efforts in supporting diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in children. Rainbow Kids helped us to identify and contact Nathanael and Mitali for our community and below you can learn more about our facilitators from their bios.
Please sign up to join us for this event! We look forward to connecting in person.
Nathanael Flynn Bio:
Nathanael Flynn has been a preschool teacher for over 15 years. He teaches at the Cabrillo College Children's Center and Lab School, where he trains teachers as well as supporting children. He has a Masters in Early Childhood Education from Mills College and a teaching certificate from Froebel College at Roehampton University. He is a member of Gender Justice in Early Childhood, a collective of educators, researchers, therapists, academics, artists and activists dedicated to supporting gender justice in early childhood through community engaged scholarship, training, resource creation, and more. He co-authored Supporting Gender Diversity in Early Childhood Classrooms: A Practical Guide. Nathanael has also led camps that support trans and gender expansive children, their siblings and their families.
Mitali Purkayastha Bio:
Mitali Purkayastha has over 12 years experience with community organizing and workshop facilitation centering Gender Liberation and collective community centered healing practices as well as Early Childhood Education. Mitali have created healing, artistic and learning spaces for Oakland Queer and Trans Black, Indigenous, and People of color (BIPOC) families, children, and communities as well as for other larger communities throughout the whole Bay Area and at national conferences. Mitali has been creating environments and liberating spaces for young BIPOC youth and babies in Oakland for several years through Summer Camps, Circle Times, family healing spaces, facilitating cultural and political music and arts spaces, and connecting stories by building trusted relationships. Being a Facilitator in the field, they advocate and research deeply in how to create more sustainable environments and learning spaces for children of all ages seeking gender and identity liberation to feel safe and ready to thrive.