Three days of policy, operations and hiring for the people who run early learning centres in Central Florida.
Wed 11 – Fri 13 March 2026 · Lake Nona Wave Hotel, Orlando
General session, Wave Ballroom — 2025 summit
3Days
42Sessions
640Delegates
28Exhibitors
Register — $395 through 14 Feb
Add all 3 days Directions
Programme
Three days, room by room
7:30AM
Badge pickup & breakfast
Wave Foyer, lobby level. Coffee until 9:00.
All delegates
9:00AM
Opening keynote — What the 2026 session actually changed
Wave Ballroom · Dr. Yolanda Prescott
PlenaryBallroom
10:30AM
Concurrent sessions — block A
Six rooms. Funding formulas · VPK enrolment · Licensing audits · Ratio maths · Two more.
BreakoutNona 1–6
12:00PM
Lunch in the exhibit hall
Laureate Hall. Seated, and yes there is a vegetarian line.
Laureate Hall
1:30PM
Concurrent sessions — block B
Repeat of block A, so you can catch what you missed.
BreakoutNona 1–6
3:15PM
Legislative panel
Wave Ballroom. Four districts, one moderator, questions from the floor.
Plenary
5:00PM
Welcome reception
Pool deck, level 4. Open bar until 7:00.
Social
8:00AM
Breakfast & exhibit hall opens
Laureate Hall. 28 exhibitors, coffee at both ends.
Laureate Hall
9:00AM
Running the numbers — a centre P&L, line by line
Wave Ballroom · Marcus Okonkwo
Plenary
10:30AM
Workshops — block C
Insurance and liability · Facilities and leases · Software migration · Food programme paperwork.
WorkshopNona 1–6
12:00PM
Exhibitor lunch & prize draw
Laureate Hall. Draw at 12:45 — you must be in the room.
Laureate Hall
1:30PM
Roundtables by centre size
Under 40 · 40–100 · 100+ · Multi-site. Pick your table on arrival.
Roundtable
3:15PM
Workshops — block D
Repeat of block C.
WorkshopNona 1–6
6:30PM
Alliance awards dinner
Wave Ballroom. Ticketed separately — check your badge.
Social
8:00AM
Breakfast & late checkout desk
Wave Foyer. The hotel holds bags until 6:00 PM.
All delegates
9:00AM
Hiring, keeping and paying good teachers
Wave Ballroom · Renée Villalobos-Hart
Plenary
10:15AM
Concurrent sessions — block E
Compensation bands · Handbooks that hold up · Coaching new leads · Difficult conversations.
BreakoutNona 1–6
11:45AM
Open mic with the board
Wave Ballroom. Nothing prepared, nothing off the table.
Plenary
12:45PM
Boxed lunch & close
Take one on your way out. Certificates emailed by Monday.
Laureate Hall
On the main stage
Who you will hear from
Dr. Yolanda Prescott
Early Learning Coalition of Osceola
Opening keynote · Wed
Marcus Okonkwo
CFO, Bright Beginnings Network
Plenary · Thu
Renée Villalobos-Hart
Partner, Hartwell & Cruz LLP
Plenary · Fri
Sam Delacroix
Director of Operations, Wave Learning Co.
Roundtables · Thu
Before you drive over
Venue & logistics
Lake Nona Wave Hotel, 6100 Wave Hotel Drive, Orlando FL 32827. Everything below is what the front desk gets asked forty times a day.
Parking
Self-park in the West Garage, $12 per day with your badge validated at registration. Valet is $34 and not validated.
Shuttle
Free loop to the Lake Nona Town Center hotels every 20 minutes, 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM, from the porte-cochère.
Badge pickup
Wave Foyer, Tue 4–7 PM and from 7:30 AM each morning. Bring photo ID. Badges are printed on site, so a typo is fixable.
Wi-Fi
Network WAVE-EVENT, password summit2026. It holds up in the ballroom; it struggles in Nona 5.
Accessibility
All rooms are step-free. Reserved seating at the front of every plenary — tell us in your registration note and it will be marked.
Dress
Business casual. The ballroom runs cold — every year, without fail. Bring a jacket.
Laureate Hall
Twenty-eight exhibitors
Orca Benefits GroupPerfect Day SoftwareSchool Investment PropertiesHartwell & Cruz LLPPreK ClubSunstate PlaygroundsMeridian Food ServiceKissimmee Print & Sign+ 20 more
Register
Hold your seat
$395 through 14 February, $475 after. Member centres send a third delegate free — put the centre name in the notes and the office will apply it.
Full name
Centre / organisation
Work email
Phone
Delegates · 1
Dietary, access or invoicing notes
Submit registration
Goes to the Alliance office. Invoices follow within two working days.
Preview · same link, from 16 March
Then it becomes the recap
Delegates keep the link in their calendar invite. When the summit closes, the schedule steps aside and the same page becomes the recap film, the full gallery and the download — which is what exhibitors and sponsors actually want to be sent.
Summit recap · 2:38 · plus 6 speaker cut-downs
Download the full set · 1,107 photosExhibitor & sponsor cut — 214 images
Full-resolution delivery from Dropbox, about 14 GB. The gallery on this page stays as the fast preview.
event-conference · a Velez Imagery event page Dense and businesslike, built for conferences, summits and association events.
