Dr. Gilliam’s dedication to early childhood education research and analysis alongside his exceptional leadership in the fields of child psychiatry and psychology make him a sought after expert in the field.
WASHINGTON, DC — Child Care Aware® of America (CCAoA) is honored to announce Walter S. Gilliam, Ph.D., as the newly-elected president of the CCAoA Board of directors. Dr. Gilliam is a professor of child psychiatry and psychology at the Yale University Child Study Center, and director of The Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy.
“Child Care Aware® of America is our nation’s most trusted voice for child care access, quality and safety,” said Dr. Gilliam. “It is an honor to serve CCAoA and its member Child Care Resource and Referral agencies as they work to keep our families employed and our children safe.”
Dr. Gilliam’s extensive research spans early childhood education and intervention policy analysis, ways to improve the quality and mental health of prekindergarten and child care services, early childhood mental health consultation, early childhood expulsions and suspensions and the impact of early childhood education on school readiness. His scholarly writing addresses early childhood care and education programs, school readiness and developmental assessment of young children.
“In his years on the board, he has proven to be an invaluable asset to our organization and his contributions to early childhood education have paved the way for positive changes in the field” said Lynette M. Fraga, Ph.D., executive director at CCAoA. “We look forward to his continued contributions and benefiting from his exceptional leadership throughout his tenure as President of the CCAoA Board.”
In 2008, Dr. Gilliam was the co-recipient of the Grawemeyer Award in Education for the most influential work in the field of education and was awarded the Priscilla Canny Research Award from Connecticut Voices for Children for the researcher who has most benefited children through state government. He has authored or coauthored numerous publications on young child development and early education and intervention, including the books A Vision for Universal Preschool Education (2006) and The Pre-K Debates: Current Controversies and Issues (2011). His work frequently has been covered in major national and international news outlets for print (e.g., New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, LA Times), radio (e.g., NPR), and television (e.g., CNN Headline News, NBC TODAY Show, CBS Early Show, ABC Good Morning America, ABC World News Tonight, FOX News). Dr. Gilliam actively provides consultation to state and federal decision-makers in the United States other countries and is frequently called to provide U.S. Congressional testimony and briefings on issues related to early care and education.
More than 11 million children under the age of five are in some form of child care in the United States. For 30 years, CCAoA has been the leading voice for quality, affordable child care in the United States. CCAoA continues to pursue a vision of the future in which every family in the United States has access to a high quality and affordable child care system. As the nation’s leading voice for child care, CCAoA is comprised of 125,000 online advocates from across the country and in nearly every zip code.
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About Child Care Aware® of America
Child Care Aware® of America is our nation’s leading voice for child care. We work with state and local Child Care Resource and Referral agencies (CCR&Rs) and other community partners to ensure that all families have access to quality, affordable child care. To achieve our mission, we lead projects that increase the quality and availability of child care, offer comprehensive training to child care professionals, undertake research, and advocate for child care policies that improve the lives of children and families. To learn more, visit usa.childcareaware.org. Follow us on Twitter @USAChildcare and on Facebook at facebook.com/usachildcare.
