Find Your ECE People!

Connect with like-minded people, grow your network, and build meaningful relationships with the AECEO.

CARE Collectives

Community

Advocacy

Recognition

Empowerment

At the AECEO, we advocate in the best interests of ECEs and early years staff across Ontario, no matter where you work. An important part of this advocacy begins with building relationships and forming trusting, safe, communities. One of the ways we approach community building is through CARE Collectives.

These CARE Collectives are local and identity-based community groups that are supported and nurtured through the AECEO. Our advocacy starts with relationships, trust, and conversation. Together, we create places where we hold close the values and principles that guide our work as early years professionals, build trust and reciprocity in order to provide care, support one another, and build a community to advocate with.

In CARE Collective meetings, members of the ECE community share experiences, discuss current developments and issues impacting the early childhood sector, plan actions, engage in professional learning and other activities. While there is always opportunity to share, participants are not expected or required to turn on their camera or microphone during CARE Collective meetings. We encourage you to show up in whatever capacity makes sense to you, including just listening. AECEO CARE Collectives aim to be spaces where members of the ECE community can connect with their peers and care out loud together.

If you are interested in getting more involved in advocacy, the work of the AECEO, or finding your ECE people, the CARE Collectives are for you. To learn more about CARE Collectives, check out this resource.

If you are interested in joining a CARE Collective please fill out the AECEO Community of Practice Interest Form.

You build worlds for children, together we build worlds for us!

Our community is here!

Lish Francoeur (they/them)

RECE & Member of All Nations Community CARE Collective

"The AECEO's All Nations Circle of Practice is a living circle of care, rooted in intentional connection and a shared journey of decolonization. Here, relationships are tended with deep respect, and learning flows freely between generations, experiences, and hearts. It is a place where stories are honored, where healing moves gently through words and silences, and where community is not just spoken of, but lived. Elder Brenda’s teachings ripple through us, weaving threads of memory, hope, and belonging. In this collective, we co-create a space where everyone is invited to unlearn, to remember, and to walk together with open hands and open hearts."

Thơ (she/they)

RECE

“Care has made advocacy and activism accessible for me because I no longer think that I can only do the right thing when I remain objective, but I can do the right thing when I care.”

Amy (she/her)

"I have enjoyed being able to connect with the AECEO as a community to uplift each other during trying times in our field. Even when things can feel like a lost cause with governments not listening, connecting with fellow folks who care about our field lifts me up! I am very thankful to have incredible individuals working hard to advocate on our fields behalf."

Sydney

"I did my placement at the AECEO and absolutley loved it. Everyone was so knowledgeable and kind and I admired their advocacy for early childhood educators as well! I would and have recommended the AECEO to a few people and I will continue to advocate for them because I believe they are doing amazing work! I aspire to be like them!"

Nazia

"Being a part of the AECEO makes me feel confidant and up to date related to latest research and making connections with families and other work professionals that I involve with in my everyday work practice. The AECEO also helps me understand my role as an Early Childhood Educator and the responsibilities I have related to my profession. I always recommend my friends and colleagues who are in the same profession to ask any questions that they have related to Early Childhood practice and flourish the ways that can help support the unique, diverse and individuals in our care and practice."

Karly

"I value the AECEO's ongoing commitment to empowering educators and advocating for the profession. I appreciate the range of resources provided by the AECEO to support educator’s professional goals as well as their well-being and sense of community."

Olivia (she/her)

"When my efforts to do advocacy work at my workplace were shut down, the AECEO stood beside me and reminded me I wasn’t alone. This is exactly what I value most about the AECEO: their unwavering sense of community and belonging. In a field that can often feel invisible, they remind us that our work matters, our voices matter, and that collective advocacy is powerful."

Crystal (she/they)

"The AECEO continues to be a driving force for advocacy in the sector, and works tirelessly to better the lives of members and non-members alike. Working alongside the staff was a true pleasure that will stick with me the rest of my life. Their kindness, dedication, and creativity inspires me and pushes me to always keep learning and advocating."

Mara

"I first joined the AECEO about 26 years ago as a passionate Early Childhood Educator graduate from the life changing Humber College ECE program. The inspiration from the AECEO team started me on my journey to “Go make a difference!” Whenever I needed to recharge, the encouraging team and their positive outlook gave me what I needed to continue. We can make a difference together!"

D.W.

"Would recommend the AECEO: Practical organization where everything happens, great staff, it's great to belong to AECEO, love everything about it."

Find your community!

Ruth-Ann Syrette & Sherry Lickers

All Nations Circle of Practice

Tammy Primeau McNabb & Camila Cases

Student Early Childhood Educators of Ontario

Tonja Armstrong-Macinnis & Nicole Cummings-Morgan

Community of Black ECEs

Lisa Johnston

Early Years Professionals Rise-up Toronto

Ashley Clarke, Jamie Harland, & Simone Haughton

Early Years Coalition Waterloo Region

Tracy Saarikoski

Sudbury Community of Practice

Nidhi Menon

Newcomer Services

Brynne Sinclair-Waters

Parents for Child Care

Shelley Metha & Rachel Brophy

ECE Faculty Connect

Want to join a CARE Collective?

Please fill out the interest form.

Events

At the AECEO, we host events related to community building, ECE policy and advocacy, information sharing, and more! Our events are excellent opportunities to connect with like-minded people, build your resume and CPL portfolio, and learn more about how policy impacts your work.

Check out our upcoming events below… Register now to secure your spot!

AECEO Members’ Retreat & Advocacy Summit

75th Anniversary Membership Retreat & Advocacy Summit on May 29th - 31st, 2026 at the beautiful Bayview Wildwood Resort!

The AECEO welcomes you to our 75th Anniversary Membership Retreat & Advocacy Summit. Join us for an unforgettable weekend. This will be a special, members only event for community building, networking, learning, and having lots of fun! Join the AECEO staff team, CARE Collective leads, and your fellow members for an unforgettable weekend!

Please note: Individual rooms are limited, so please consider joining with a friend! Sign up is a first come, first serve basis. Spots are limited. In order to attend this event, you MUST hold an AECEO membership at the time of registration and the time of the retreat.

More Events