Presenter Biographies

Transcription

1 Presenter Biographies Dr. Deborah J. Cassidy is a professor of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. During her tenure at UNCG, she has also been the Coordinator of the Birth-Kindergarten Licensure Program and Director of the Child Care Education Program, which is an on campus child care program serving more than 82 children. Additionally, Deb served as the Project Director for the NC Rated License Assessment Project (NCRLAP) for 10 years at UNCG. NCRLAP conducts the assessments for the Quality Rating and Improvement System in North Carolina. From 2009 until 2013, Deb was the Director of the North Carolina Division of Child Development and Early Education in the Department of Health and Human Services. Her credentials include a Ph.D. in Early Childhood Education from the University of Illinois and a Master s degree from the University of Illinois in Child Development. She has authored or coauthored dozens of reports and articles dealing with early childhood issues, particularly child care quality and the professional development of early childhood teachers and providers. Vickie Stephens Ansley is the Deputy Director for Programs at Southwestern Child Development Commission, Inc., a nonprofit organization, located in Webster, NC. In the role of Deputy Director, Vickie oversees the Child Care Resource and Referral services for Region 8 which includes 13 counties in the western area of NC as well Southwestern s CCR&R statewide initiatives, child care subsidy administration for 9 counties in western NC, and a family resource center. Vickie has worked for Southwestern Child Development for about 20 years. Her prior work includes Licensing Consultant with the NC Division of Child Development and Early Education, teaching public school and working with the Department of Social Services. Vickie holds a Bachelors and a Masters Degree in Early Childhood Education from Western Carolina University and is currently the Board President for the NC Institute for Child Development Professionals. Vickie and her husband, Bill, reside in Cullowhee, NC and are the proud grandparents of 2 granddaughters and 2 grandsons. Douglas G. Udell is an Instructor of Early Childhood Education at the Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC). He has held that position for over twenty years. Before that he worked for fourteen years as an early childhood educator, primarily in childcare with children ages 3-5, but also for two years as a morning nursery school teacher and as an afterschool care coordinator for the Evanston Public Schools (Illinois). Further, Mr. Udell spent one year teaching at the Alexandra Infant School in the London Borough of Hounslow, England, where he had a divided position as the school s music teacher in the mornings (ages 4-8), and nursery school teacher in the afternoon (4 year olds).

2 Mr. Udell has a BA in Early Childhood Education from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and an MS in Human Development from the Erikson Institute (at that time, affiliated with Loyola University of Chicago, now independently accredited). He has many post MS graduate credits in education as well. Over the years in his position as Instructor at MATC he has worked on articulation teams with several colleges in the Milwaukee area. He has also twice served on the statewide early childhood education curriculum revision committee for the Wisconsin Technical College System. Further, Mr. Udell led his program s NAEYC accreditation effort from MATC s early childhood education program is now the first associate s degree program in Wisconsin to be fully accredited by NAEYC (ECADA). Finally, Mr. Udell plays a variety of stringed instruments and has made three children s CD s, the last of which won the Parent s Choice award. He performed children s concerts through the Milwaukee region for over 25 years. Currently he lives in Milwaukee with his wife, 13 year old daughter and the family cat and chief mouser, Eloise. Carla Thompson is vice president program strategy at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Michigan. In this role, she leads the Education & Learning and Family Economic Security teams, providing leadership and management for the creative and strategic direction of programming from design through implementation, evaluation and dissemination. As a member of the executive team, she is also responsible for the overall direction and leadership of the foundation. Prior to joining the foundation in 2012, Thompson was deputy director of the Office of Child Care at the Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington D.C. There, she was responsible for developing national early childhood education policy, managing the $5 billion annual budget of the Child Care Development Fund and providing oversight to 10 regional offices serving states, tribes and territories. Previously, she was assistant superintendent for early childhood education for the District of Columbia, where she initiated the first publicly funded pre-kindergarten program. In other professional experience, she has held positions with the Department of Education and Department of Public Welfare for the state of Pennsylvania; United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania in Philadelphia; and the U.S. Department of Education. Thompson has been honored for her leadership in early childhood education by the Administration for Children and Families, the Children s Defense Fund and the Temple University Institute on Disabilities. She also has served on boards and committees for nonprofit associations and professional organizations, including the West Philadelphia Child Care Network, Pennsylvania s Early Care and Education Advisory Committee, the Governor s

3 Institute on Parental Involvement and the National Association of Black Social Workers. In addition, she is the author of three publications related to school readiness and advocacy. Thompson holds a master s degree in social work from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and a bachelor s degree from Syracuse University in Syracuse, N.Y. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), founded in 1930 as an independent, private foundation by breakfast cereal pioneer, Will Keith Kellogg, is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States. Guided by the belief that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive, WKKF works with communities to create conditions for vulnerable children so they can realize their full potential in school, work and life. The Kellogg Foundation is based in Battle Creek, Mich., and works throughout the United States and internationally, as well as with sovereign tribes. Special emphasis is paid to priority places where there are high concentrations of poverty and where children face significant barriers to success. WKKF priority places in the U.S. are in Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans; and internationally, are in Mexico and Haiti. For more information, visit Carla Goble began her career as a public school kindergarten teacher. She has also taught second and third graders, pre-k children, and infants and toddlers. Carla has a Ph.D. and an MS degree in Child Development form Oklahoma State University and a BS degree in education from the University of Central Oklahoma. Carla is currently a Research Fellow at the Early Childhood Education Institute at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa. Her research focus is the assessment and professional development of early childhood educators as it relates to classroom quality and early childhood developmental outcomes. Previously she was the Child Development Program Coordinator and George Kaiser Family Foundation Endowed Professor of Child Development at Tulsa Community College where she worked for 16 years. At Tulsa Community College she developed articulation agreements with Oklahoma 4-year institutions of higher education to facilitate community college student transfer to bachelor degree programs in child development and early childhood education. Some of the past awards and recognition she has received include being selected as a Zero-To- Three Leader for the 21 st Century Fellow; the Oklahoma Sandra Nicholson Award for Outstanding Contributions to Early Childhood Education; the Tulsa Community College Excellence in Teaching Award; the Great Ideas for Teaching Award from the Oklahoma Association of Community Colleges; Exemplary Activities in Teacher Preparation Award from the Division of Undergraduate Education of the National Science Foundation; and, she was selected to serve as a mentor and consultant for 2- and 4-year institutions for the Phi Theta Kappa 2-and 4-year articulation and transfer project Preparing Tomorrow s Science & Math Teachers: The Community College Response, which was funded by a National Science Foundation, Advanced Technological Education Program Grant.

4 Alison Lutton has over thirty years of experience working in early childhood education including direct work with children and families, national consulting work on accreditation and professional development issues, and early childhood faculty positions at Northampton Community College and the Community College of Philadelphia. She holds a Master's degree in Early Childhood Education. Alison joined the staff of NAEYC in 2006 as the founding director for the NAEYC Commission on Early Childhood Associate Degree Accreditation. She currently oversees NAEYC s work on professional preparation standards, higher education issues, and serves as Senior Higher Education and TA Specialist for Regions III, IV and VII for the National Center on Child Care Professional Development Systems and Workforce Initiatives Jointly funded by ACF s Office of Child Care and Office of Head Start. Alison is a frequent presenter at national early childhood and higher education conferences and has published articles and book chapters on early childhood teaching and professional development. Her most recent publication is Advancing the Early Childhood Profession: NAEYC Standards and Guidelines for Professional Development (NAEYC 2012). Carol Brunson Day has spent her career as an advocate for quality early childhood services for young children and families. She recently retired from the National Black Child Development Institute in Washington, DC where she served as CEO and President from 2006 until Prior to 2006, she served as the CEO and President of the Council for Professional Recognition, the home of the Child Development Associate National Credentialing Program, as well as the National Head Start Fellowship Program. Dr. Day was also the liaison for the international exchange between the schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy and the early childhood community in the United States. In addition to her impressive scholarly contributions to the field, Dr. Day is recognized as a leader in the field of early childhood education. Dr. Day sits on numerous national boards including Zero to Three Editorial Board, National Center for Professional Development and Inclusion National Advisory Panel, and T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center National Advisory Panel. She has spoken at conferences and programs across the United States and internationally, and authored publications on subjects such as professional development, diversity and multicultural education, and cultural influences on development, and has a long history of interest and expertise on African- American culture and heritage. Dr. Day received a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education from the Erikson Institute in Chicago and a Ph.D. in Education from Claremont University in Claremont, California.

5 Dan Haggard is Deputy Director for Programs of the Early Childhood Services Division within the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department, where he has worked for the past nineteen years. The Early Childhood Services Division was created in 2008 to align early care and education programs for young children, including child care, New Mexico PreK, Infant Mental Health, Home Visiting, USDA nutrition programs and other state-funded initiatives for young children. Formerly, Dan served as the Director of New Mexico s Office of Child Development, now located within the Early Childhood Services Division. Created nearly twentyfive years ago by the New Mexico legislature, the Office of Child Development has statutory authority to establish a statewide professional preparation and licensure system for all those working with young children from birth through third grade. The Office also administers federal and state child-care quality funds, the state s Tiered Quality Rating and Improvement System, T.E.A.C.H. scholarships and other quality initiatives. The Head Start Collaboration Office is also located within the Office of Child Development. The New Mexico Early Childhood Care and Education Act, which was signed into law by Governor Martinez in April, 2011 gives the Early Childhood Services Division responsibility for the establishment of a comprehensive, coordinated, high-quality system of early childhood care and education. This is to be accomplished through the active involvement of a governorappointed Early Learning Advisory Council. Recently, New Mexico was the recipient of a Race to the Top/Early Learning Challenge Fund award. Dan was the primary author of the proposal since the bulk of the activity will be carried out through the Early Childhood Services Division in collaboration with the Public Education Department and the Department of Health. Dan s first job was working in a Head Start program for farm-worker children in Stockton, California in He has held administrative positions in a range of programs including Head Start, early intervention, higher education, school systems and an international community development agency. He holds an M.Ed. from Bank Street College of Education in early childhood and elementary education and has completed post-masters coursework from the University of New Mexico in school administration. In New Mexico, Dan holds licensure as a school administrator, a school curriculum specialist and as an early childhood and elementary teacher. His undergraduate degree is in human development and cross cultural studies. Dan s professional area of expertise is the development and transition of early childhood programs and systems. He has been invited to speak throughout the United States and internationally regarding a number of early childhood education topics. He also is commonly asked to participate in national think tanks and consult regarding early childhood systems development issues. As an active member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, he is often asked to participate on boards, commissions and committees of that organization.

6 Sue Russell is currently President of Child Care Services Association (CCSA), a nonprofit agency committed to promoting affordable, accessible, high quality early care and education. CCSA works locally, statewide and nationally, providing services, conducting research and engaging in advocacy in the furtherance of its mission. Information about CCSA can be found at Sue has over forty years of experience in the early childhood profession. She holds a masters degree in Child Care Administration, has written a number of articles on early childhood policies and practices, and has provided numerous hours of training and technical assistance to direct service providers and policy makers both in North Carolina and nationally. Sue developed both the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood and Child Care WAGE$ Projects, initiatives that have been successful in increasing the education, compensation and retention of the early childhood workforce. T.E.A.C.H. is now licensed and operating in twentytwo states and the District of Columbia. Sue s research interests center around building effective systems to serve young children, their families and early care and education providers. She has conducted numerous studies of the early care and education workforce in North Carolina and in other states. Sue currently serves on various statewide and national boards and committees and has served as President of the Board of the National Association for the Education of Young Children.