{"id":53686,"date":"2024-02-23T09:03:22","date_gmt":"2024-02-23T14:03:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=53686"},"modified":"2024-02-23T09:03:23","modified_gmt":"2024-02-23T14:03:23","slug":"ymcas-lawson-appointed-to-pennsylvania-early-learning-investment-commission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=53686","title":{"rendered":"YMCA’s Lawson appointed to Pennsylvania Early Learning Investment Commission"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Bertram L. Lawson II, President and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Brandywine, addresses state legislators and members of the press during a press conference in January 2024, announcing the expansion of the state’s Child and Dependent Care tax credit.<\/p><\/div>\n

Bertram L. Lawson II, President and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Brandywine (YGBW), has been appointed to serve on the Pennsylvania Early Learning Investment Commission. The Commission is comprised of leaders from across the state and across verticals, including Higher Ed, Healthcare, Finance, Energy, Technology and more \u2013 with a goal of expanding access to quality and affordable childcare and early learning, to benefit all Pennsylvanians.<\/p>\n

Given the Y\u2019s influential role in childcare and early learning, Lawson\u2019s appointment is especially apt. YGBW, an association of nine YMCAs and Program Centers in Chester County, serves as the largest childcare provider in the county. Childcare services include early learning centers, before and after school enrichment programs and summer camps. Collectively, YMCA associations across the state serve more than 65,000 children, making the YMCA the largest provider in the Commonwealth.<\/p>\n

\u201cChildcare is often dismissed as an issue affecting the portion of population with young children. That\u2019s a big misconception,\u201d Lawson explains. \u201cChildcare is the backbone of a thriving economy and matters to children, families, businesses, our economy and all Pennsylvanians.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the Pennsylvania Early Learning Investment Commission<\/a>, the ongoing childcare crisis costs our state\u2019s economy $6.65 billion annually in lost earnings, productivity and revenue.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve experienced the childcare crisis from all sides – as a working parent, as a major employer in the region and as the leader of the largest childcare provider in Chester County,\u201d continues Lawson. \u201cThe issue is very real and very pressing. Without access to affordable and quality childcare, parents aren\u2019t able to hold jobs, employers aren\u2019t able to fill roles and Pennsylvanians aren\u2019t able to thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lawson recently stood alongside Gov Shapiro, state legislators and community leaders in support of the expansion of Pennsylvania\u2019s State Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit. He brings 27 years of experience in nonprofit leadership, education and youth development to the Early Learning Investment Commission \u2013 with 25 years devoted to the YMCA movement. He previously serving as Chief Operating Officer for Mastery Charter Schools Network.<\/p>\n

\u201cBertram\u2019s expertise and leadership will be an asset to the Early Learning Investment Commission,\u201d shares Nathan Brant, CEO of the Pennsylvania State Alliance of YMCAs. \u201cHis passion for youth development is contagious. I can\u2019t think of a better leader to represent YMCAs across the state, all childcare providers in the Commonwealth \u2013 and the needs of Pennsylvanians.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am honored to accept my appointment to the commission,\u201d Lawson continues. \u201cEducation has mattered to me throughout my life. My mother is a retired Head Start teacher and instilled in me the value of a good education at an early age. I\u2019ve devoted my career to building and growing quality youth development programs for children and families \u2013 and know firsthand the challenges facing residents of our great state.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bertram L. Lawson II, President and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Brandywine (YGBW), has been appointed to serve on the Pennsylvania Early Learning Investment Commission. The Commission is comprised of leaders from across the state and across verticals, including Higher Ed, Healthcare, Finance, Energy, Technology and more \u2013 with a goal of expanding access […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":53685,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[15183,15502,6240],"class_list":["post-53686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-bertram-l-lawson-ii","tag-pennsylvania-early-learning-investment-commission","tag-ymca-of-brandywine-valley"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=53686"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53686\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53687,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53686\/revisions\/53687"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/53685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=53686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=53686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=53686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}