Program Overview
Program Overview
The Integrated Research & Policy Fellowship is a 12-month paid program designed to support the leadership development of early care and education (ECE) professionals. The program provides an opportunity for emerging leaders to build their expertise on the ECE workforce while gaining skills to effectively bridge research and policy/practice. Fellows will learn about key issues across the National ECE Workforce Center’s five policy areas and about the history underlying the structure and challenges of the current ECE system. The fellowship will culminate with the completion of a capstone project on a topic of high importance to the workforce that showcases the fellows’ ability to translate research to policy/practice.
View the program description here.
2024-2025 Policy Fellows
Alyssa Fortner
Policy Analyst, Child Care and Early Education at CLASP
Policy Area of Interest
My policy area of interest is child care and early education, particularly the Child and Adult Care Food Program and equitable community engagement practices.
Capstone Project Overview
Through a literature review and qualitative study, my project will contribute to the growing knowledge on how the Child and Adult Food Care Program impacts the financial stability and well-being of home-based providers and provide policy recommendations on how the program can be improved to better contribute to these outcomes.
Inspiration for Working in the ECE Field
Growing up with a single, teenage mother, I was exposed firsthand to the widespread impacts that the lack of access to child care and early education can have. Therefore, I have gotten involved in the ECE field to help contribute to building a system that meets the diverse needs of all children, families, and providers.
Favorite Children’s Book
The Rainbow Fish
Colleen Walling
Lead infant/toddler educator with Oklahoma Head Start
Policy Area of Interest
One element of early care and education I have recently been thinking a lot about is staff-to-child ratios within child care programs, with an emphasis on how those ratios may impact staff well-being, stress levels, turnover, and retention. Another area of interest for me is continuity of care with infants and toddlers.
Capstone Project Overview
My project explores how the everyday rules of state regulation relate to educator well-being by looking at trends in all 50 states and doing a deeper dive through five mini case studies.
Inspiration for Working in the ECE Field
From the time I was a young child, I was always playing teacher, and as I got older I knew I wanted to work in the early childhood sector. I love connecting with children and experiencing the world through their perspective where so many things are new and exciting to them.
Favorite Children’s Book
Cam Jansen mystery books
2024-2025 Research Fellows
Liran Laor
Doctoral student in the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Research Focus
The main focus of my research involves policies and strategies that support early childhood leaders, as I believe that those leaders play a central role in shaping the quality of child care and in sustaining a strong workforce. My research focuses on individual leaders as well as on groups of leaders such as professional child care associations.
Capstone Project Overview
My project aims to showcase a solution to challenges in collecting comprehensive, accurate early care and education data nationwide by highlighting Oklahoma’s investments in collecting high-quality data on the early care and education workforce in their state.
Inspiration for Working in the ECE Field
I was always attracted to the field of early childhood education. I was fascinated by the development of children in the first years of their lives. It brought me immense pleasure to work with children and their caregivers and figure out ways to support both of them in realizing their full potential.
Favorite Children’s Book
Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
Melanie Seyarto
Doctoral student in Human Development and Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles
Research Focus
My research focuses on identifying early educators’ needs and understanding which supports can promote their well-being across the many different contexts where children are cared for. I’m especially interested in learning about the ways in which teacher compensation, professional learning, and other aspects of early education workplace environments can play a role in supporting teachers’ well-being, classroom quality and, ultimately, children’s development.
Capstone Project Overview
I will be using national data to better understand the characteristics of early educators who are union members, so we can identify which members of the workforce are and are not being included in this form of collective organizing and work towards building collective voice among early educators to improve wages and benefits.
Inspiration for Working in the ECE Field
I first decided to pursue a career in the ECE field simply because I loved working with children and, in my prior role as a child care teacher, I learned how incredibly valuable and challenging this work can be. The dedication of the ECE workforce inspires me and motivates me to work towards improving conditions for both teachers and children.
Favorite Children’s Book
Nancy Drew series