About Us
Connected Beginnings builds the capacity of infant and early childhood practitioners to engage in nurturing relationships with families and the very young children in their care through a variety of professional development opportunities.
As research has revealed, positive, supportive, enriching and nurturing relationships with adults and other children are critical to young children’s social and emotional well-being, mental health, evolving brain architecture and capacity to learn.
The then-named Connected Beginnings Training Institute was launched by the United Way of Massachusetts Bay/Merrimack Valley, Inc. in 2006, and partnered with Wheelock College from 2011-2018. It became a program of the UMass Donahue Institute in 2019.
Recent News & Updates
- BusinessWest Magazine: UMass Donahue Institute Marks 51 Years Of “Pushing Corners”
- Addressing the social emotional work of restarting in the early education and care system
- COVID-19: A Message to Our Clients, Partners, Colleagues and Friends (UPDATED)
- BusinessWest: UMass Donahue Institute’s New Business Group Focuses on Social, Emotional Health
- Connected Beginnings Training Institute strengthens early childhood expertise
- Connecting with babies and their families…even when it’s hard
- Parents and early intervention professionals learn from each other
