The experiences children have in their first three years play a major role throughout their lives, says Geoffrey A. Nagle, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of the Erikson Institute, a graduate school in child development.

Providing positive experiences in those early years can lead to higher academic achievement, better health and greater overall well-being later in life.

On Monday, Jan. 14, Nagle will present The First 1,100 Days Last a Lifetime: Building a Community That Supports Early Childhood Experiences at Elmhurst College.

An internationally recognized leader in the early childhood field, Nagle joined Erikson in 2014 after serving as the founding director of the Tulane University Institute of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health.

At Erikson, Nagle has championed new strategies to broaden the institute’s impact in the complex and ever-changing early childhood arena. Under his leadership, Erikson launched a master of social work degree program, the first in the nation to integrate a child development perspective into a social work curriculum.

In 2016, he received the World Association for Infant Mental Health Sonya Bemporad Award, a global honor recognizing his significant contribution to the advancement of social and public policies that contribute to the mental health and overall benefit of infants, toddlers, and their families.

The First 1,100 Days Last a Lifetime begins at 4:00 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 14, in the Founders Lounge of the Frick Center. Admission is free and all are welcome. This event is sponsored by Elmhurst College, Bensenville School District 2 and the Erikson Institute.