Dr. Nkechy Ekere Ezeh

Michigan Nightlight: What does being a leader mean to you?
Dr. Nkechy Ekere Ezeh, CEO of the Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative: First and foremost leaders believe in what they do. If you’re not convinced about something, how can you lead the others?
 
Secondly,

leadership is the active ability to inspire by one's own example — to ardently motivate others to achieve with integrity and accountability their greatest potential, for both personal and professional progress. 

leadership is the active ability to inspire by one's own example — to ardently motivate others to achieve with integrity and accountability their greatest potential, for both personal and professional progress.
 
What is your dream for kids?
The ELNC vision states it best: A community where all children, regardless of the neighborhood in which they live, are able to thrive developmentally and educationally allowing them to fully embrace their God given potential and become self-sufficient adults.
 
ELNC maintains advisory councils consisting of parents, teachers and ELNC partner providers to ensure that their voices are heard and that services are designed with them rather than for them.
 
We intentionally seeks external partners who may not be able to initiate new programming on their own, but are willing to bring the resources they have to the table and create innovative partnerships ultimately benefiting vulnerable children.
 
What is one concrete thing that could be done to improve the environment for social sector work in Michigan?
Link early care and education dollars to quality programs. Non-licensed childcare not only exists, but is heavily subsidized by the State of Michigan. Currently 66 percent of all childcare subsidies paid by the state are to non-regulated care relative care.
 
Often the environment that the child is cared for in is the same environment in which the child’s parent was raised, and poverty is perpetuated. Because it is unregulated, data regarding how many children in the Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative (ELNC) target neighborhood are in non-licensed childcare is not known. Anecdotally, many licensed center-based childcare providers report that when parents have to make tough financial choices, the option of receiving a subsidy for someone in the family to provide childcare becomes the preference. 
 
The unintended consequence of the state subsidized non-licensed relative care is now a serious financial threat to center-based childcare.

How do you know you are making progress?
For many years I felt like a lone voice advocating for vulnerable children in the Grand Rapids community, and it seemed that the message was not getting through to the people that mattered.

For many years I felt like a lone voice advocating for vulnerable children in the Grand Rapids community, and it seemed that the message was not getting through to the people that mattered.

Now, thanks to the support of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the message has arrived loud and clear. Not only is the current reality of our vulnerable children being heard – it is being understood and action is happening. We have a long way to go but at least the journey has now started.

What are you most proud of?
In early 2010, I was commissioned by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to lead and facilitate a yearlong project for the purpose of planning and designing an Intentional Preschool Service System (IPSS) aimed at providing, expanding and sustaining the number of high-quality preschool slots in vulnerable neighborhoods of Grand Rapids. The first step in the process was the establishment of Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative (ELNC), a grass roots initiative involving neighborhood-based providers, local community based organizations (CBO) or faith-based organizations (FBO) vested and/or interested in the early education of preschoolers. 
 
Most thought this effort would be like so many that came before it – a great idea but it would never work!  Engage eight grass roots organizations, each unique in leadership and participants served, to work together, share knowledge and resources for a shared vision?  This would require that all involved put the needs of vulnerable children ahead of organizational and personal need for control and or power.
 
Now, just two years later, seems like a lifetime, ELNC is recognized as an IRS tax-exempt organization, with a fully functioning board of directors and has been awarded over 6.5 million dollars in foundation support to carry out its mission.

What keeps you awake at night?
Every year there are about 1,100 children born to families living in the ELNC Target Neighborhoods who go home to a less than ideal environment for critical early brain development. 
 
Every year we delay, means more children, through no fault of their own, who will begin school not ready to learn and potentially set out on a path of under-achievement that could have consequences for a lifetime. 
 
Frederick Douglas said it best “It is easier to build strong children than to fix broken men.”