Early Childhood Conference

Jun 16-17, 2025
Austin (Main Campus)

Save the Date for ECC 2025!

Back by popular demand, the Early Childhood Conference returns for its third year on June 16-17, 2025, at ESC Region 13! This event has been a huge success, selling out in its first two years. Don’t miss your chance to be part of this exciting opportunity to learn, connect, and grow with fellow early childhood educators.

We’re bringing together many local, state, and national presenters to deliver engaging sessions focused on inclusion and developmentally appropriate practices. This is the perfect space to meet all of your professional development needs.

Bookmark this page and stay tuned for when registration opens—spots will go fast!

Join us for a conference filled with learning, inspiration, and a little extra Clifford-sized fun!

Get ready for a BIG surprise at this year’s Early Childhood Conference—Clifford the Big Red Dog is making a special appearance! Don’t miss your chance to meet, hug, and snap a photo with everyone’s favorite giant pup! Whether you're attending with your team or solo, this is your moment to create a paws-itively unforgettable memory.

2025 Keynote Speakers

Mary Jo Huff

Mary Jo Huff is a multi-award-winning teaching artist, author, storyteller, songwriter, and early childhood educator. She shares her passion and humor with audiences ranging from preschoolers and families to professional educators. With over 30 years of experience, Mary Jo effectively connects language and literacy through the use of stories, music, puppets, and props. Her educational workshops target standard-based curriculums, and she engages her audience in hands-on, easy-to-duplicate ideas. Puppets, props, and playful tales open the door for everyone interested in sharing a story.

Story and Puppet Play that Connects With All Children

Come ready to wiggle and giggle with the fun of story play for young children. Learn to connect basic skills, language development, motivation, social awareness, cultural awareness, and diversity along with environmental concerns. Books, stories, songs, finger plays, poems, and fun are interwoven throughout the Keynote. Puppets enrich learning, promote student interest, and ease problem-solving. Come prepared to interact and have educational fun using good common sense!

Jason Kotecki

Jason Kotecki is a professional reminder-er and permission granter who moonlights as an artist, author and professional speaker. Jason and his wife Kim have made it their mission in life to help people and organizations break free from Adultitis to build better lives, businesses, and teams. Jason’s colorful art has been collected and licensed all over the world, and his insights have been featured in publications like Inc. and Woman’s Day. He is the author of seven books, including Penguins Can’t Fly + 39 Other Rules That Don’t Exist, which has been translated into multiple languages. His book A Chance of Awesome: How Changing the Way You See Changes Everything was a welcome guidebook throughout the pandemic. Jason’s newest book released in 2023, with the title, “Must Be Nice: Your Guide to Growing Beyond the Compare Game.” As a speaker, Jason works with organizations to beat burnout and become more innovative by breaking rules that don’t exist.

Curing Adultitis

Jason will arm you with the fresh perspective you need to revitalize your passion for making a difference amidst the burden to do more with less. He provides witty observations, humorous anecdotes, and real-world techniques that will entertain and inspire you to reclaim your passion and create a better harmony between work and home. You’ll learn easy, practical tips for bringing more fun and less stress to the job at hand, contributing to a workplace that’s more positive, enjoyable, and engaging for yourself AND those you serve.