Business leaders can play a significant role in building healthy, happy childhoods for children today while meeting the workforce needs of tomorrow.
Center for Business Champions
Business leaders can play a significant role in building healthy, happy childhoods for children today while meeting the workforce needs of tomorrow.
The period of childhood is a time of unparalleled brain development, when positive support and experiences can profoundly influence a child’s success in school, work, and life. During this time, the child’s brain builds the foundation for the academic, social, and emotional skills necessary for productive adulthood. Giving children a good start benefits business, the local economy, and the nation.
The Center for Business Champions (CBC) supports business executives and childhood development leaders around the world in building effective and lasting partnerships. By growing the number of businesses outside the early learning industry that act as “unexpected” champions supporting investment in children, we can boost the entire sector and build bright futures for all children.
Upcoming events:
Stay informed about the CBC and learn about upcoming events and opportunities by joining our mailing list.
Engage with other business and child development leaders in our online community.
Partnerships between business and child development leaders have lasting and broad effects on communities and nations. They contribute to a better quality of life for children through opportunities to grow and learn foundational skills that will support their development and eventual entry into the workforce.
Through investments in children’s education, healthcare, and protection, business leaders can help working parents be more productive on the job and can make communities and nations better places to live, work, and invest. Businesses can offer financial support and other types of resources, as well as share approaches to innovation and entrepreneurship that can contribute to solving complex social challenges, including the healthy development and education of children.
The CBC aims to become the leading authority and resource for creating and strengthening child development/business linkages, networks, and partnerships. We accomplish this by working with both business leaders and child development leaders to bridge gaps and build communication and collaboration to achieve mutual goals.
To support child development leaders achieve their goals for understanding how to connect with, communicate with, and advocate their needs to business leaders, we provide the following services:
The Building Business Champions Training Institute will kick off in early 2025.
For countries whose leaders wish to move ahead with developing their own network of business champions, we provide the following services:
To support business leaders in achieving their goals, we provide the following advisory services:
The Center for Business Champions Resource Hub features a curated selection of resources to support your efforts in advancing childhood development through business engagement.
Whether you’re looking to make a compelling business case, understand the economic impacts, or explore actionable strategies, these resources offer valuable insights and guidance.
Contact the Center for Business Champions by emailing cbc@ceinternational1892.org, or fill out this form.
Dr. Sara Watson is Director of the Center for Business Champions. She is the only expert in the world who has worked in many U.S. states and cities, at the U.S. national level, and with partners in several countries to create networks of business champions for child development.
Sara founded and was the National and then Global Director of ReadyNation/ ReadyNation International, designing, fundraising for and leading the joint organization for 14 years. Her hands-on work included personally persuading more than a thousand executives to join campaigns for early childhood investments, and supporting them to take action. She worked with local partners in Brazil, Australia, Romania and Uganda to create their own networks of business champions for early childhood.
Sara has spoken at more than 15 international meetings of child development and business leaders on how to build partnerships between the sectors. She led the organization of more than a dozen national (U.S.) and two Global Business Summits on Early Childhood and the first European Business Forum on Early Childhood for audiences of business executives.
Sara also co-chaired ECDAN’s Advocacy Task Force in 2016-2018. Before creating ReadyNation, she led The Pew Charitable Trusts’ national advocacy campaign for pre-K. Dr. Watson is now an independent consultant and the founder and principal of Watson Strategies, LLC. She serves in a consulting capacity with CE International.
Sara holds Master of Public Policy and Ph.D. degrees from the Harvard Kennedy School. More information, including a complete list of presentations and publications, is at www.watson-strategies.com.
