Behind the scenes of everyday life and activity, there is a network of family members, friends, and neighbors (FFN) who are caring for our nation’s youngest children. Often unnoticed, these individuals provide critical care to the vast majority of children in home-based, informal settings and are an essential part of the fabric of today’s childcare … Continued
As part of its investments in early childhood learning and development, the Packard Foundation has been supporting family, friend, and neighbor (FFN) care providers who play an important role in helping young children be healthy, ready for school, and on track to reach their full potential. We do this through a variety of tactics that … Continued
Many children spend a substantial amount of their early childhood being cared for by extended family, friends, or neighbors (FFN). This type of informal care is both an affordable and a flexible care option and a way to provide children with a warm, nurturing environment with a trusted caregiver. The Packard Foundation formally launched its … Continued
In today’s new normal, when COVID-19 has entire communities sheltering in place, many parents are home with their kids, childcare centers are closed, and grandparent caregivers are quarantined. With so many essential workers heading off to their jobs, family, friend, and neighbor (FFN) caregivers themselves are often becoming essential workers too, as more parents are … Continued
“The way I see it, you have to grasp the opportunity and make the most of it. You have to be a change agent.” In 1999, at the start of her academic career, Dr. Sangeeta Bhatia faced a dilemma—she could take the safe path, or she could risk everything to pursue what ignited her curiosity. … Continued
“We have to be more engaged with the public, and we have to actively explain the importance of our work.” Before her lab’s discovery of the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology revolutionized the way we think about curing disease and altering genetic material, before lengthy intellectual property battles in court over the patent for the technology, … Continued
“Dinosaurs capture the imagination like nothing else.” There are a few phrases that paleontologist Mary Schweitzer believes no scientist should ever use. “Everybody knows…” “I believe…” “Never…” Mary prefers data, facts, and rigorous methods. For her, these should drive a scientist’s conclusions. But what if the results raise more questions than answers? What happens when … Continued
“What’s been fantastic with the Packard Fellowship is this ability to just go and explore ideas without any boundaries.” At first brush, Brice Ménard and Vedran Lekic seem to be polar opposites. Brice grew up in France, studied for his PhD in astrophysics in Paris and Munich, Germany, and moved to the U.S. as a post-doctoral researcher. … Continued
At first brush, Brice Ménard and Vedran Lekic seem to be polar opposites. Brice grew up in France, studied for his PhD in astrophysics in Paris and Munich, Germany, and moved to the U.S. as a post-doctoral researcher. He appears to be quite measured, deliberate, and systematic in his approach to research. Ved, on the other hand, … Continued
“With the Fellowship, we bought a top-of-the-line sewing machine because we sew our own smart garments . . .” “I think it’s important to talk about your own experience and your history not only as a recognition of your own self, but to tell other people, ‘This is who I am.’” “When he told me, … Continued