Senior Researcher at the Institute of Human Development; early childhood development and policy research
Margaret Bridges is a Developmental Psychologist and Research Scientist at IHD. She is leading the effort to build the new Early Development & Learning Science Program at UC Berkeley, a transdisciplinary, developmental science program focused on young children from the prenatal period to age 8. Dr. Bridges studies how family and preschool experiences influence the socio-emotional development and early academic skills of young children, as well as how families can be supported to prepare their young children for school.
Assistant Dean, Berkeley School of Education; leadership and equity expert
Rebecca Cheung is an Associate Adjunct Professor and the Assistant Dean of the Berkeley School of Education's Leadership Development programs, including the Principal Leadership Institute and LEAD EdD. She has served on advisory and working groups convened by the California Department of Education, California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, CA State Board of Education, California Teacher Credential Commission, UC Office of the President, as well as EdPrepLab,...
Professor, School of Public Health; global child development
Lia C. Haskin Fernald is a Professor of Community Health Sciences, at the School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley. Her research program is focused on questions at the intersection of socio-economic status, health and development in low- and middle-income countries. Her overarching goal is to change the trajectories of vulnerable individuals, particularly children living in poverty, through systemic, strategic and effective interventions. Her research focuses on how interventions can address socio-economic disparities and their related outcomes.
Professor, Berkeley School of Education; early learning and policy scholar
Bruce Fuller, a sociologist and emeritus professor at Berkeley, studies how institutions, large and small, work to lift children and families. He worked on school quality in Africa for the World Bank, then taught at Harvard University. His earlier book, When Schools Work, details how activists in Los Angeles shake civic politics and pitch effective school reforms. Fuller’s forthcoming book explores deeply human controversies over how to raise kids and improve early education.
Professor, Psychology and Public Health; psychopathology and equity
Stephen P. Hinshaw is Distinguished Professor of Psychology at UC Berkeley and Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at UC San Francisco. He focuses on neurodevelopment (especially ADHD) through longitudinal studies, clinical trials, and a major focus on developmental pathways in girls and women. His other core area is related to stigma reduction, including both narrative accounts and research studies. He received his A.B. from Harvard (summa cum laude) and his Ph.D. from UCLA. He has authored over 430 articles/chapters) plus 11 books. His memoir, Another Kind of Madness,...
Chancellor’s Professor, Goldman School of Public Policy; education and equity economist
Rucker C. Johnson is the Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy in the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and faculty research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. As a labor economist who specializes in the economics of education, Johnson’s work considers the role of poverty and inequality in affecting life chances.
Johnson was inducted as the Sir Arthur Lewis Fellow of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, inducted as a member of the American...
Researcher, Berkeley School of Education; early childhood equity
Dr. Austin Land is an early childhood researcher and policy expert dedicated to strengthening early care and education (ECE) systems through data-informed collaboration and equity-centered strategies. He works in partnership with city, county, state agencies, school districts and community organizations, to design and implement improvements in Universal Prekindergarten (UPK) and other ECE initiatives.
Policy Planning & Analysis – Dr. Land leads data-driven planning and policy analysis projects aimed at expanding access to high-quality ECE services across Los Angeles County. He...
Professor, Berkeley School of Education; youth culture and education
Jabari Mahiri is a Professor in the Berkeley School of Education and the William and Mary Jane Brinton Family Chair in Urban Education. He is Faculty Director of Leadership Programs, Chair of the Leadership Board for the 21st Century California State Leadership Academies, Faculty Advisor for the Bay Area Writing Project, and a Board Member and Chair of the Governance Committee of the National Writing Project.
Professor Mahiri's forthcoming book is entitled "Equity Conscious Leaders: Educating for an Anti-Racist World. He also is author of Deconstructing Race: Multicultural...
Assistant Professor, Berkeley School of Education; learning and cognitive development in diverse learners
Dr. Dana Miller-Cotto is an Assistant Professor in the Berkeley School of Education at UC Berkeley. Her work focuses on identifying and supporting skills that support learning at school entry—especially in mathematics—and how those skills are shaped by culture, teaching, and broader social contexts. She studies how to make early learning environments more equitable and responsive to children’s diverse strengths.
Dr. Miller-Cotto leads the Berkeley Lab for Opportunities in Cognition and Knowledge (BLOCK) research group, which explores how children’s executive functions—a set of self-...
Policy Associate, Center for the Study of Child Care Employment; data‑driven early childhood researcher
Anna Powell is an Associate Director at the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment (CSCCE) at UC Berkeley. Anna focuses her research on early care and education (ECE) systems in California. She co-leads CSCCE's portfolio of California research and policy projects, and she leads evaluations of several wage enhancement pilots for child care workers nationally. With a background as an early childhood teacher and nonprofit program manager in Washington, DC, Anna's journey to CSCCE reflects her commitment to improving workforce data collection and use in the field. She holds a Bachelor's...
