About Our Program

Our Story

Talk With Your Baby (TWYB) was launched in 2009, in St, Joseph County, Indiana, as an initiative of the Memorial Health Foundation Committee. It quickly took on a life of its own as people and organizations with expertise in early childhood collaborated to choose a curriculum, develop a grass-roots delivery model, train educators, and test out pilot programs in various settings. As an original TWYB partner, the Robinson Community Learning Center (RCLC)began managing the program in the fall of 2013. 

In 2023, RCLC was selected as a recipient of the Early Years Initiative from Early Learning Indiana. The Early Years Initiative grant program focused on enhancing the learning and development of infants and toddlers in Indiana with support from Lilly Endowment Inc. Through the grant, the RCLC was able to expand  TWYB in collaboration with the city of South Bend.

Our Team

The TWYB team consists of a program director, 2 parent educators, an Americorp member, and student volunteers. If you have any questions about the program, please contact a member of the team!

Program Director: Juan Hernandez, jherna37@nd.edu

Parent Educator: Emma Thurston, ethursto@nd.edu

Bilingual Parent Educator: Angela Coaguila Valdivia, acoaguil@nd.edu