The 2026 NJAEYC

Keynote Speaker

Dr. Gerry Costa
Ph.D., DIR-C®, IMHM- C®

Keynote

Why Leadership is Needed Now More Than Ever

Gerard Costa was the founding director of the Center for Autism and Early Childhood Mental Health, YCS Institute for Infant and Preschool Mental Health, and is a Professor in the Department of Family Science and Human Development at Montclair State University. He holds certificates in the Brazelton Touchpoints model, DIR-C®, and Infant Mental Health. He serves as the Coordinator of the Northeast Regional Terrorism and Disaster Coalition and is past president of the NJ Association for Infant Mental Health and Past President of the Interdisciplinary Council on Development and Learning (ICDL). He is the co-editor of the 2025 volume published by Paul H. Brookes, Publishers., Uniting Infant Mental Health and the Pyramid Model: Connecting Principles and Practices to Improve Outcomes.

In his keynote, Why Leadership is Needed Now More Than Ever, Dr. Costa will examine the need for servant leadership as a response to those times when authoritarian styles are prevailing. We will consider the impact of leaders on personal, professional and organizational growth, and examine the ways in which an organization’s core values and goals are promoted. Leaders function at all levels of an organization, not just “top-down”, and leaders can either reflect or challenge ways of knowing, ways of doing and ways of being-with. A model of professional formation will be used to illustrate the impact leaders have on the culture and practices of the organization.

Schedule

7:30 AM – 8:30 AM REGISTRATION/EXHIBITORS/BREAKFAST

8:30 AM – 8:45 AM WELCOME

8:45 AM – 9:45 AM KEYNOTE: DR. GERRY COSTA

10:00 AM – 11:00 AM SESSION I

11:15 AM – 12:15 PM SESSION II

12:15 PM – 1:45 PM LUNCH, ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING

EXHIBITS, DOOR PRIZES

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM SESSION III

Registration

To register for the 2026 Leadership Institute, please fill out and submit the form below no later than April 15, 2026. You will be automatically directed to Paypal and can pay with your paypal account or a credit or debit card. You may also download the Conference brochure to print, complete, and mail your registration to NJAEYC PO Box 1024 Barnegat Light, NJ 08006. *Registrations after April 16th will be charged an additional $25

*Please download the brochure above to see the full workshop descriptions.

**If you are a 2026 Leadership Institute Presenter, register for attendance HERE. 

For more information, please call 732-329-0033 or mail@njaeyc.org