Leadership Team
Kathryn Tout
Managing Director
Mallory Warner
Deputy Managing Director
Brandy Jones Lawerence
TA Director
Anne Douglass
Research Co-Director
Rena Hallam
Research Co-Director
Katherine Paschall
Deputy Research Director
Sherri Castle
Deputy Director
Sondra Ranum
Deputy TA Director
Lauren Zarick
Communications Director
Core Partners
The National Early Care and Education (ECE) Workforce Center is a collaborative of four core partners. We are staffed by nearly 40 individuals across our partner organizations, representing researchers, technical assistance specialists, subject matter experts, communicators, and project managers who collectively bring decades of expertise to the National ECE Workforce Center.
Child Trends
Child Trends promotes the well-being of all children and youth through applied research that informs public policies and builds the evidence base for what works for children, youth, and families, particularly those overlooked or ill-served by public systems.
UMass Boston
Early Education Leaders builds a leadership development ecosystem to cultivate, sustain, and elevate early educator leadership that reflects the racial and linguistic diversity of the ECE workforce.
University of Delaware
The Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood improves the lives of young children and their families by providing exemplary services for the early childhood community. They conduct research that helps to advance equity and promote high-quality education.
ZERO TO THREE
ZERO TO THREE translates expertise in the science of early childhood development into pioneering programs, field-leading training and resources, and responsive policy solutions.
Collaborating Partners
The National ECE Workforce Center’s seven collaborating partners provide consultation support across the center’s work.
Partner Leadership Team
Anne Douglass, UMass Boston
Rena Hallam, University of Delaware
Tamara Halle, Child Trends
Brandy Jones Lawrence, ZERO TO THREE
Christina Nigrelli, ZERO TO THREE
Kathryn Tout,
Child Trends
Early Educator Advisory Board
Serving as thought partners and advisors, the Early Educator Advisory Board contributes to activities across research and technical assistance. Our current Board members include:
Nadia Alsaban, RI, child care center
Dennette Bailey, NC, family child care
Jamie Rae Bangson, DE, child care center
Cassandra Beaver, IA, child care center
Kyle Bender, PA, child care center/state preschool/pre-K
Beatriz Burgos, RI, child care center
Kelley Burnett, PA, family child care
Tonya Cater, NC, child care center
Kathleen Ann Church, MN, family child care
Michelle Endvick, WI, family child care
Jamie Fowler, FL, child care center
Mary Hanscome, ME, child care center/state preschool/pre-K
Valeria Holloway, NM, family child care
Koya House, IL, Head Start
Charlotte Jacobs, ME, child care center/state preschool/pre-K
Sharon Jackson, AL, family child care/Head Start
Tashundra Jeffers, GA, Head Start
Jacqueline Lawson, RI, child care center
Victoria Lemus, NM, child care center/state preschool/pre-K
Mackenzie Marles Campbell, ME, child care center
Rosalia Morales, NM, family child care
Bernadine Occhiuzzo, MD, child care center
Giane O’Connell, MA, family child care
Olga Pigul, NM, Head Start
Tiffany Skaggs, IA, family child care
Shannon Stutzman, NE, family child care
Desiree White-Bussey, DC, child care center
Sarah Wiehe, NE, child care center/Head Start/state preschool/pre-K
Tiffany Williams, DE, child care center/Head Start
Jamie York, IA, family child care
Integrated Research & Policy Fellows
The Integrated Research & Policy Fellowship Program includes two policy fellows and two research fellows who will deepen their expertise about the key issues impacting the workforce and build research and policy capacity in the field. You can learn more about this program here.
Kristy DeGraaf
Policy Fellow
Family Child Care Provider, Advocate, and Trainer
Casi York
Policy Fellow
Infant and Toddler Early Head Start Educator
Heather Valentine
Research Fellow
Doctoral student in Education Leadership at the Harvard Graduate School of Education
Flora Ziprin
Research Fellow
Doctoral student in Human Development and Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles