Small Talks Recap:

Gigi Chawla, MD, MHA, pediatrician, and hospitalist, is the chief of general pediatrics at Children’s Minnesota with oversight over primary care, rehabilitation services, behavioral health, med/surg inpatient care, value-based care, and after-hours triage care. Dr. Chawla is also instrumental in advancing the organization’s forward-looking efforts around population health and community engagement. Through internal efforts to better integrate school-based care, primary care with behavioral health, social support services for families, as well as external advocacy with government groups, she works to create an environment for child health that extends beyond the clinic.

Erin Bailey, Assistant Commissioner of Children’s Cabinet, has been a lifelong advocate for children and health care for communities too often left behind. She launched and served as the inaugural Executive Director at the Center for Native American Youth at the Aspen Institute, which is dedicated to raising national attention to the issues facing Native American youth. Most recently, Erin served as the Director of Executive Initiatives at Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare in St. Paul where she worked on a variety of strategic initiatives, including advocating for children who have disabilities and complex medical conditions.

Family child care provider Shirley Toby says she gravitated to little ones ever since she was a young girl growing up in Liberia. She took care of the kids of her older siblings, and then after moving to the United States, she watched the children of friends, as well as raised four daughters of her own. Toby’s been operating a child care business for 15 years, and like many child care providers, she made the decision to stay open when the pandemic started.

Angela Kapp has worked in the field of early childhood since 1990 as a teacher, director, family advocate, trainer, and consultant. She currently owns and operates three child care centers and works as a NAEYC Assessor and CDA Specialist.