Creating Responsive Educational Avenues for Training Environments in Early Childhood (CREATE EC) is a new, interdisciplinary initiative aimed at transforming academic programs and professional development at the University of New Mexico's College of Education and Human Sciences. The goal is to co-create a community-informed approach for early childhood education with partners from New Mexico's small towns, rural, Native American, Spanish-speaking, and underrepresented communities. The authors, a team of CREATE EC's Leadership Academy members, tell the story of CREATE EC by sharing big ideas, some lessons learned, and what the work can mean for the future.