Connect Online
As a provincial organization, it is our goal to connect with as many early years staff as possible across Ontario. Connecting online is one way we are able to do this. Whether we connect during virtual meetings and events, with CARE Collectives,or Membership Community Check-Ins, we are so excited to meet you. We know that early years staff have very busy schedules, and connecting in real-time can sometimes be a challenge. Here are some other ways that we can connect online!
ECE Stories
The AECEO is an organization by ECEs, for ECEs. Policy, advocacy, and community building is central to our work, and this all begins with stories.
Stories have the power to move hearts, change minds, and impact policy. Together, we can uplift the personal stories of ECEs on social media, on our website, through our podcast, and more. Your voice matters, and decision makers need to hear from you about your lived experiences. Our goal is to give a platform to these important stories, and uplift your voices so that they can affect positive change in the early years.
Explore these stories to see what our fight for fair pay and decent working conditions for Ontario ECEs really looks like, and why it matters for real people. If you have a story you would like to share with our audience, send us a note!
Podcast
Do you need information on-the-go, by people who just get it?
Do you need a space to think about the complicated parts of your work?
Do you need a resource for your professional learning?
The AECEO has got you covered…
Join us every month for Circle Time with the AECEO.
A space for all things related to ECE culture: the good, the bad, and the sticky.
2024-2025 Episodes
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Episode 1 – WelcomeThe Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario (AECEO) is thrilled to welcome you to our podcast. On this episode, Rachel, Jess, and Patrícia share what to expect from the podcast and welcome you to join us for future discussions!
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Episode 2 – Alana leads the AECEO with Care, Part IOn this episode, Rachel welcomes AECEO Executive Director Alana Powell to talk about the history of the AECEO, her own story as an advocate, her insights about non-profit organizing and policy work, how the AECEO is striving to make transformative change for Ontario’s ECEs and child care workers, and much more!
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Episode 3 – Alana leads the AECEO with Care, Part IILearn about YOUR professional association! In this episode, Rachel welcomes back Alana Powell, Executive Director at the AECEO, to answer questions from the ECE community. Listen to learn about how the organization functions, what it means to represent ECEs, the ways the AECEO serves the community, what we do to advocate for positive change for ECEs and more!
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Valentine’s Day Special: A Love Letter to ECEs (episode 4)Tune in to our Valentine’s Day Special: A love letter to ECEs and child care workers. In this mini episode, the AECEO team shares stories of joy & love from their experiences with educators, families, and children in the ECE sector. Happy Valentine’s Day to all the people who make this important work possible.
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Episode 5 – AECEO CARE CollectivesOn this episode, our Community Organizer Jess Tomas is joined by special guests Lyndsay MacKay, Tonja Armstrong-McInnis, Tracy Saarikoski & Shelly Mehta to discuss their experiences working with and in AECEO CARE Collectives. This recording led to rich discussion with important insight into relationships and community building in the ECE community. Listening to Circle Time with the AECEO episodes can help towards your Continuous Professional Learning program goals. The AECEO team created reflection questions to support our listeners document their learning for their CPL portfolio. Download the reflection questions here!
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Episode 6 – The AECEO staff is unionizing!On this episode of Circle Time with the AECEO, Rachel is joined by fellow AECEO team members Jess and Amber to discuss their experience unionizing the AECEO! Listen to this episode to learn about why unionizing was important to the AECEO team and how our organization navigated this process. We also prepared an accompanying Unions 101 document to share helpful information with members of the ECE community who are interested in learning more about unionization.
Curious about the bread and roses in this episode’s graphics? Learn more about the history behind Bread and Roses here! |
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Episode 7 – Unionization: Supervisor PerspectiveIn this episode, we continue to discuss the topic of unionization. Rachel is joined by Alana Powell to discuss her experience with the unionization process as the Executive Director of the AECEO.
The AECEO has created a number of resources to support our members and the ECE community learn about unionization, which include a three-part podcast series on the topic and a PDF document containing essential information about labour unions, workers’ rights to unionize and why unions matter to the early learning and child care sector. Click here to learn more! |
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Episode 8 – Unionization: Talking to the ExpertsWhat are unions? Why are they relevant to ECEs and child care workers? On this episode of Circle Time with the AECEO, we wrap up our mini-series on Unionization by talking to the experts! Rachel is joined by special guest Christina Gilligan, Coordinator for Child Care at CUPE, to explore these questions and more!
This episode is part of a number of resources created by the AECEO to bring information about unionization to the ECE community. In addition to the three-part podcast series on the topic, our team also created Unions 101, a document containing important information and links to resources. Click here to learn more! |
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Episode 9 – The AECEO Summer Challenge: Care Counts, Wages MatterSummer is here and the AECEO is launching a new campaign! On this episode Community Organizer Erin Filby talks about the AECEO Summer Challenge: Care Counts, Wages Matter. Join us this summer for fun activities, easy advocacy actions and tons of giveaways!
Good vibes, fun games, new friends and prizes: join us on Monday, July 14th, at the AECEO Summer Challenge (virtual) launch party! At this event, you’ll get a sneak peek at the challenge, and find out how you can win the whole summer long by doing one easy thing each week to make change – and get the chance to bag awesome prizes. Click here to register! |
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Episode 10 – Tackling Issues with the Ontario Coalition for Better Child CareOn this episode we hear from Carolyn Ferns, the Public Policy & Government relations Coordinator at the OCBCC. Carolyn shares her insights into the Ontario early learning & child care sector, and discusses how the AECEO and the OCBCC work together towards systemic change that will increase access to high quality ELCC services for Ontario families, and support ELCC workers with better working conditions and professional pay.
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Episode 11 – Meet the AECEO Guiding Committee on Truth & ReconciliationIn this episode, we invite you to get to know the AECEO Guiding Committee on Truth and Reconciliation. Rachel chats with special guests (and committee founding members) Sherry Lickers, Lyndsay MacKay and Lori Huston about the work they do with the committee, why it matters to them and what is coming up next.
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Episode 12 – Fall 2025 UpdatesOn this episode we catch you up with fall updates, including the second edition of the Roadmap, the report from the Auditor General, and introducing our new Executive Director Amber Straker! Join us to hear more about our plans for the next few months and stay up to date on all things ECE.
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Episode 13 – The AECEO’s 75th AnniversaryIt’s OUR BIRTHDAY! On this episode we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the AECEO! Dive into our history, milestones, and impact, as we cover 75 years of community and advocacy. Stay tuned as we release never before seen photos from the AECEO archives on our website. We are stronger together… Here’s to the next 75 years!
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Episode 14 – Looking Back at 2025In this episode Rachel welcomes AECEO Communications Coordinator Patrícia Borges Nogueira for a stroll down memory lane to reflect on the past year of advocacy and community. There will be laughs (and maybe tears) as we recall all the incredible work that has been done by the ELCC community in 2025.
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2026-2027 Episodes
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Episode 15 – $10aDay UpdatesOn the latest episode of our podcast, Rachel goes over the pre-budget submission and reads our letter to Minister Calandra. You can read the 2026 Ontario Pre-budget submission from the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care and the Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario here. Our letter to Min. Calandra, along with the joint letter led by Child Care Now, can be found here. Episode 15 of Circle Time is available now on YouTube and Spotify.
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Episode 16 – ECE Practice and CraftingIn this episode we will be diving into how crafting and art are an integral part of ECE practice. Not a crafty person by nature? Not to worry, this episode is also for you. Join host Rachel Neville and guest Patrícia Borges Nogueira as they uncover what crafting can mean for ECEs. We want to hear from YOU! Please take a few minutes to fill out this form and share your thoughts about our podcast. Your feedback is very important and will help us plan future episodes and cover topics you want to learn more about. Click here to fill out the form!
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Social Media
Our social media accounts are quick, accessible pathways for you to connect with the AECEO! Check out our Instagram account for concise policy news, event information, updates, and more. Follow us on TikTok for fun, relatable ECE content. Ready for longer form discussions and content? Our podcast is available on YouTube and Spotify!
Are you ready to add a little ECE to your algorithm?