Discovering the truth about ourselves is a lifetime’s work, but it’s worth the effort.– Fred Rogers
My professional path towards teaching and training in early care and education (ECE) is deeply rooted in my experiences as an ECE teacher and director. Following the completion of teaching certification, I continued to work in a variety of ECE settings with young children as a teacher. I developed a keen awareness of how high quality socioemotional practices enhance children’s growth across developmental domains. In my leadership role as an ECE director, I realized that understanding the professional development and learning of adults in ECE settings could enable me to provide sensitive support to caregivers struggling to meet young children’s needs. My research, teaching, and outreach efforts center around supporting the adults teaching and caring for young children. I aim to help them build a foundation of child development knowledge and reflective orientation towards their practice that enables them to engage in high quality practices needed when they encounter diverse young children and families.
Much of my current work involves the creation of materials to be used by ECE professionals with families and in teacher training. I enjoy this work because it challenges me to creatively apply the content knowledge about child development and inclusive ECE practices in accessible formats for diverse learners.