Valerie C. Williams is the Director of the Office of Special Education Programs OSAP at the US Department of Education in this role, she is responsible for overseeing administration of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, ide a, which authorizes formula grants to states under IDE A, Part B, and to lead agencies for the infants and Families program under ide a Part C. Ida also authorizes discretionary grants under ide a Part D to institutions of higher education, and other nonprofit organizations to support grants for State Personnel Development, technical assistance and dissemination, technology and parent training information centers. She has extensive experience in federal public policy, regulatory affairs, and budgeting, as well as disability policy and civil rights. She holds degrees from UC Berkeley, and Johns Hopkins University. She is also the parent of a son with Down syndrome. For this episode, Valerie Williams discusses the importance of inclusion in early childhood education. She shares a personal story about finding the right preschool for her son with Down Syndrome and emphasizes the need for a mindset shift among educators, Valerie highlights the lack of knowledge and resources available to support inclusive practices and calls for better dissemination of information. Director Williams and I also talked about the promising initiatives happening in different states, and she encourages educators to be bold, brave and urgent in their efforts to improve inclusive opportunities for all students. This week's episode is brought to you by the Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center in the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, and will be the first episode in a collaboration between the ECA and the think inclusive podcast on early childhood inclusive practices. After a quick break, we will meet two people from the CTA, who are very passionate about early childhood inclusive education to preview my interview with Director Valerie Williams. We'll be right back.