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I was born in Los Angeles, a second generation Californian. I grew up in relative prosperity, yet lived in two different worlds as a child. My mother, who was raised in poverty, took my sister, brother and myself to many places beyond our suburban neighborhood. We took buses and streetcars on a regular basis into downtown Los Angeles, giving me an opportunity to be part of a large, highly diverse urban community. My father was a CPA, which provided a good cover for his true inner passions as a philosopher and social activist. Out of this strange combination of parents, I began traveling a road that taught me to appreciate the value and contributions of differing kinds of people.
It was from my work in early childhood education and my experience of motherhood that I realized the importance of working with young children and their teachers. My intellectual capabilities and sensitivity to issues of freedom and inclusion come directly out of this work. Early childhood has always been a field based on the vision of new possibilities for a more humane and peaceful world. From studying the works of Froebel and Montessori to Piaget and Freire while working with children and families of every income level, I have learned to go beyond the traditional boundaries of the field. It was during my years as a college instructor for women in poverty entering early childhood education that I began to explore and develop new ways of teaching that recognize the strengths and gifts of our nontraditional students.
EDUCATION
• Ph.D. Education: Claremont Graduate University
2000 Thesis: Living Stories: Women in Poverty Entering Early Childhood Education
• M.A. Educational Psychology with honors: emphasis in Early Childhood Education
1983 California State University, Northridge
• B. A. Social Anthropology
1966 University of California,
Los Angeles
EXPERIENCE
Faculty, Human Development: Pacific Oaks College, Pasadena, California
2001-Present:
Specializing in work with nontraditional students, research development, early childhood education, cohort development, professional communication skills, working with children in a diverse society, literacy development with young children, thesis mentoring, life-story educational practices.
Instructor: Child Development
1987 – 2001: Created and taught early childhood teacher preparation courses for low-income, minority and immigrant welfare-to-work students in Los Angeles community colleges. Taught a wide variety of child development courses.
PROFESSIONAL WORK
• Delegate to People’s Republic of China, 2011
Early childhood delegation traveling to People’s Republic of China through People to People Citizen Ambassador Program.
• Reconceptualizing Early Childhood Education 2011 International Conference, London
Presentation, “The Ethic of Caring and the Cultivation of a Democratic Learning Environment” (Co-presenter, Tim Sundeen, Ph.D., Pacific Oaks College)
• National Association for the Education of Young Children 2011Conference
Workshop, “Credit for Life Experience: A Structure for Linking Work Experience to College Credit” (Co-presenter: Tim Sundeen, Ph.D., Pacific Oaks College)
• California Association for the Education of Young Children 2011 Conference
Workshop, “The Many Faces of Our Non-Traditional College Students: Addressing the Needs of Diverse Populations Entering Early Childhood Education”
(Co-presenter: Jing Babb, Ph.D., Los Angeles Trade Technical College)
• 2010 Reconceptualizing Early Childhood Education International Conference
Presentation and Paper, “Inclusion Of Nontraditional Student: In Institutions Of Higher Education: A Theoretical Frame” (Co-presenter: Sara Exposito, PhD., Associate Professor, Lewis and Clark College
• Foundation for California Community Colleges
5th Annual Youth and Adult Services Conference 2009
Keynote Speaker, “Teaching Nontraditional Students”
• Reconceptualizing Early Childhood International Conference Victoria, BC 2008
Presentation, “From Practitioner to Researcher: Enlarging the
Circle” (Co-Presenter, Enid Eliott, Ph.D., University of Victoria)
• Higher Education Forum, Wisconsin Early Childhood Association 2007
Keynote Speaker/Professional Development, “Storytelling Practices: A Key to Cross-Cultural Education and Professional Development”
• Erikson Institute: Professional Development for City Colleges of Chicago Instructors 2007
Speaker/Professional Development, “College Instruction that Builds Upon Strengths of Nontraditional Students”
• Armenian Sisters’ Academy of Los Angeles 2007
Speaker/Professional Development, “Building New Skills: Self-Esteem and Communication for Empowerment”
• Reconceptualizing Early Childhood International Conference, New Zealand 2006
Presentation and Paper, “Learning Institutions and the Nontraditional Student” (Co-presenter: Sara Exposito, PhD., Associate Professor, Lewis and Clark College
• Oxford Round Table 2004
International Forum on Poverty, Education, and At-Risk Children. Oxford University, UK
Paper and Presentation, “Teacher Preparation in Impoverished Communities: Challenges and Opportunities.” Download PDF.
PUBLICATIONS
• New Possibilities for Early Childhood Education: Stories from Our Nontraditional Students, New York: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc, 2003 (2006, third printing)
• Telling Our Stories: A Key to Effective Teaching, Child Care Information Exchange Sept./Oct. 2004
• Teaching from Experience, Connections, 2003.
• Living Stories: Women in Poverty Entering Early Childhood Education
Dissertation, Claremont Graduate University, 2000
• The Community of the Future, in Center Management,
February 1990
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
• National Association for the Education of Young Children
• California Association for the Education of Young Children
• OMEP World organization for early childhood educators
• President’s Advisory Council: Play and Learn L.A. Organization designed to bring early childhood educational resources to low-income regions of South and East Los Angeles.