OMSSA Spring 2026 Speakers Series

As part of OMSSA's Spring Speaker Series, BT Founder Michelle Schurter, Founding BT Partner Tonya Millsap, and BT New Narratives Lead Dr. Emis Akbari presented progress towards the BT4EY 2026 Mentorship Project.

Event Summary

Event Details (Free/Virtual)

Building an Evidence-Informed Mentorship Framework for Ontario’s Early Childhood Education Workforce - OMSSA Speakers Series

Presented May 14, 2026 | 12:00EST to 1:00PMEST Ontario’s Early Childhood Education workforce faces ongoing challenges with recruitment, retention, leadership succession, and long-term sustainability. In response, a province-wide Innovation Fund project – bringing together twelve Service System Managers and policy researchers – is developing a shared, evidence-informed mentorship framework to support educators at key career stages. The framework aims to strengthen professional practice, improve retention, and ensure consistency across municipalities while allowing for local adaptation. A key feature is its built-in evaluation and accountability measures, enabling tracking of outcomes like educator growth, retention, and program quality. Overall, the initiative positions mentorship as a strategic, data-driven approach to workforce development and system improvement.

Presenters:

Michelle Schurter, CEO and Founder of Millennial Strategist
Dr. Emis Akbari, Executive Director of the Atkinson Centre & Professor and Program Coordinator at the School of Early Childhood at George Brown Polytechnic
Tonya Millsap, Manager, Early Learning and Child Care System Management, County of Simcoe

Download May 14th presentation slides (PDF)

To find an overview of The BT4EY Mentorship Project visit the BT4EY Mentorship Project page.