Laura Lessard

Researcher, evaluator & teacher of health behavior and health promotion at the University of Delaware & Delaware INBRE. Tweets are my own.

[Laura Lessard @LessardMPH]

Happy October! Just a few weeks until the @APHAAnnualMtg in Minneapolis. Join the @APHAMCH Child Care Committee for three exciting sessions focused on the intersection of child care settings and public health. Hope to see you there! #childcare #PublicHealth

[APHA @PublicHealth]

Ready, set, submit! The call for abstracts for #APHA2025 is now open. Don't miss your chance to present at the year's premier public health event in Washington, D.C., this fall. https://t.co/AQP8BYdSNj

[Laura Lessard @LessardMPH]

Looking forward to catching up with friends and colleagues next week! All my fellow #ECE researchers - get in touch if you'd like to grab coffee and connect about our work

[APHA's Annual Meeting & Expo @APHAAnnualMtg]

We are one week away from the biggest public health event of the year! As you prepare your schedule for #APHA2024, make sure you plan to visit our Public Health Expo! Learn more about it at https://t.co/6glPyAMvkz

[Laura Lessard @LessardMPH]

What I love the most about this approach is how it addresses affordability problems for families AND fair compensation for educators. We must do both

[Rep. Ro Khanna @RepRoKhanna]

Today I’m announcing my bill to provide $10 per day child care and to raise the wage floor for child care workers to $24 per hour.

It also ensures parents who choose at-home care or kin-care will be fairly compensated for their labor.

@nik_popli https://t.co/v4vPRKSMLy

[U.S. Surgeon General @Surgeon_General]

NEW: As a father of two young children, I know the joys of parenting—but I also know the stress, loneliness, & uncertainty of parenting in a rapidly changing world. Today, I issued a Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Mental Health and Well-Being of Parents https://t.co/Cb6SatT7bH

[Laura Lessard @LessardMPH]

If you want to learn more about (future VP) Tim Walz, I highly recommend listening to his interview on Ezra Klein’s podcast from last week #universalfreemeals

[Tim Walz @Tim_Walz]

I talked with Ezra Klein about what reinvesting in rural America looks like, and why guys like Trump and Vance get it all wrong:

https://t.co/Dljxl1hVPT

[Buffett EC Institute @BuffettECI]

Our Executive Director @WalterGilliam shared an important message Wednesday at the @ZEROTOTHREE LEARN Conference: we must prioritize the mental and physical health and well-being of early educators. Several Institute team members attended the conference, too. #LEARNwithZTT

[National Early Care and Education Workforce Center @NatECEWkfcCtr]

If you’re at #NRCEC2024, make sure to stop by our table to learn more about our work and our recent #GrowYourOwnECE campaign! #WeWorkforECE

[Laura Lessard @LessardMPH]

Less than one hour into #NRCEC2024 and already one shoutout for the need to use #implementationscience approaches in this field 👏 I couldn’t agree more!

[OPRE @OPRE_ACF]

We are looking forward to ACF's National Research Conference on Early Childhood (#NRCEC2024), which begins today! To learn more about NRCEC 2024 and access livestream sessions, visit: https://t.co/D4hisET62p

[Laura Lessard @LessardMPH]

So proud of all our investigators and students from @DelawareINBRE who presented at #NISBRE2024 this week! Each and every one had exciting research to share with the attendees 👏

[Delaware INBRE @DelawareINBRE]

Many our our @DelawareINBRE network members presented posters at #NISBRE2024

It was great seeing everyone’s work from Delaware and so many of the #IDeA states!

#biomedicalresearch
#NIHIDeA

[Laura Lessard @LessardMPH]

The craziest part of this situation is that the educators who work in these programs were likely paid close to minimum wage, with no benefits #fixchildcare

[Laura Mitchell @LauraGMitchell]

To celebrate making our last daycare/PreK payment (not including future summers) today…

I calculated how much my family has spent on childcare for our two kids up to kindergarten.

We sent them to mid-cost centers in Denver & Mpls (think: YMCA), nothing fancy: $197,680.
1/3

[Laura Lessard @LessardMPH]

@LeighMcLeanPhD I also have a strong urge to reduce the fraction, but in this case it allows you to use your odometer to track the distance 🤷🏽‍♀️

[Delaware INBRE @DelawareINBRE]

Are you attending the @Delaware_Bio #DEDNA24 conference today?

Be sure to stop by the @DelawareINBRE table to learn more about us, our core facilities, and industry partnerships!

[Elliot Haspel @ehaspel]

NEW: I'm in @FastCompany today with @_ninaelizabeth_, arguing that Mayor Bowser's proposed cuts to D.C. child care funding are not only foolhardy, they show the need to leverage policy mechanisms that make such public funding permanent and protected.

https://t.co/XeUxHDwS0w

[National Early Care and Education Workforce Center @NatECEWkfcCtr]

📢Today we launched our NEW website that will continuously be updated with the latest resources, event information, and research on supporting the #ECE workforce. Check it out & share with your network! https://t.co/dyAVrAR5rq #WeWorkforECE

[Home Grown @HomeGrownOrg]

“People need to hear and understand the challenges providers face for serving healthy foods and nutritious meals. [With] the high cost of groceries in relation to tiered reimbursement rates … Food insecurity is REAL.” -Child Care Provider #CACFP @NationalCACFP

[Laura Lessard @LessardMPH]

📢 DEADLINE APPROACHING! Calling all #childcare researchers in #PublicHealth ! Abstracts for the @APHAAnnualMtg are due 3/29. The Child Care Committee of the @APHAMCH section welcomes your submissions and we hope to see you in Minneapolis in October https://t.co/IfQQqBXHvk

[Laura Lessard @LessardMPH]

👇🏼

[The Century Foundation @TCFdotorg]

Our economy was built on the underpaid and unpaid wages of women. On #InternationalWomensDay, we honor the early educators who keep our kids safe, keep parents at work, and keep our economy afloat.

It's far past-time to ensure they receive fair wages.
https://t.co/coFAt1ywGg

[Laura Lessard @LessardMPH]

Examples of “anything”: offer chair massage for staff, paid breaks, adult size furniture, access to mental health supports, mindfulness training, health coaching

[Laura Lessard @LessardMPH]

I’ve been asked multiple times over the past month “what can I do to support ECE workforce wellbeing in my work?”

My simple answer: anything is better than nothing. More is better than less, and advocating for permanent, publicly funded wage+benefits increases is foundational.