Early Childhood Policy Fellowship

2023-24 Fellows

Meet the 13 leaders from across the United States who are working toward creating high-quality, equitable early childhood systems.

Andi Bales Molnar

Andi Bales Molnar is the Professional Learning System Specialist for Oregon’s Department of Early Learning and Care. In this role, she partners throughout the early learning sector to support equitable access to workforce development, increase access to early learning for families, and system development for program quality improvement. She has over 20 years of experience in early learning programs and grant management, Head Start Collaboration and educational technical assistance, and subsidized child care. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Child Development and Curriculum from California State University, Chico, and a master’s degree in Leadership in Human Services from Pacific Oaks College.

Andi Bales Molnar

Denise Bermudez

Denise Bermudez is the Director of PHLpreK for the Office of Children and Families at The City of Philadelphia. In her role as PHLpreK Director, she oversees the operations and strategic planning of the PHLpreK program, The City of Philadelphia’s free high-quality pre-K program that is funded by the Philadelphia Beverage Tax. In some previous roles, she was an Early Childhood Director and an Operations Manager for out-of-school time programming at two Latino non-profit organizations in Philadelphia. She holds a master’s degree in Organization Development and Leadership with an emphasis on Adult Learning from Saint Joseph’s University and a bachelor’s degree in Elementary and Early Childhood Education from Temple University.

Denise Bermudez

Lauren Brown

Lauren Brown serves as the Director of Family Services for the District of Columbia Public School’s Early Childhood Education Division. Lauren has served on this team for 11 years, first joining as a specialist, then as a manager, and now as the director for the last three years. The Family Services team provides parent programming in addition to supporting children and families to develop goals and address critical needs. She has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Loyola Marymount University and a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Southern California.

Lauren Brown

Suzette Espinoza-Cruz

Suzette Espinoza-Cruz is a Senior Early Education Programs Specialist in the Early Learning and Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) at the City of Seattle Department of Education and Early Learning (DEEL). She has 20+ years of experience supporting diverse early learning and child care workers across the city. Previously, she worked as an Early Learning Policy Specialist, taught pre-K, worked as an ECE mentor teacher, and co-led the worthy wages campaign for child care workers in San Francisco, California. Suzette has served as a member of several state and local policy advisory boards and currently volunteers as a legislative leader with Save the Children Action Network and is a member of the King County Child and Youth Advisory Board. She completed a P-3 Executive Leadership Certificate from the University of Washington and has a Bachelor of Arts in Consumer and Family Science (Child Development) from San Francisco State University.

Suzette Espinoza Cruz

Aruna Gilbert

Aruna Gilbert is the Chief Program and Policy Officer at the Early Learning Coalition of Palm Beach County in Florida. She supports the administration of federal, state, and local funding to provide subsidized child care and resources and referrals for over 700 early learning sites. Aruna holds a master’s degree in Social Work from Barry University and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the State University of New York at Cortland.

Aruna Gilbert

Kassandra Gonzales

Kassandra Gonzales, MA, LPCC, IMH-E, is a program coordinator for the New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Departments (NM ECECD), Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC) Initiative. Her early childhood experience began as an early childhood educator for seven years, moving into the behavioral and mental health field where she started as a treatment coordinator for Treatment Foster Children, before becoming a Behavioral Management Specialist (BMS). Prior to joining NM ECECD, she was an experiential play therapist and clinical supervisor for a BMS program for six years. Kassandra holds a Bachelor of Science in Family Studies and a Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling from the University of New Mexico. She has recently received a graduate certificate in Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC) from Georgetown University.

Kassandra Gonzales

Lara Kyriakou

Lara Kyriakou is the Associate Director of Early Childhood Policy & Advocacy at The Education Trust–New York, where she focuses on advancing policies that support infants and toddlers during the first critical years of life across New York State. Prior to joining Ed Trust–NY, Lara worked at the South Bronx Rising Together initiative at Children’s Aid Society. Lara has also worked in research settings at New York University and The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and as a home visitor and an early childhood child care teacher in Philadelphia. Lara holds a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania in Interdisciplinary Studies in Human Development and a bachelor’s degree from Pace University in Psychology with a minor in Women and Gender Studies.

Lara Kyriakou

Nakilia McCray

Nakilia McCray is a Regional Program Specialist with the Administration of Children and Families, Office of Child Care. She oversees Child Care Development Funds for State Lead Agencies, encouraging both compliance and collaboration. Prior to this role, she spent almost two decades with Georgia’s Lead Agency, Georgia’s Department of Early Care and Learning, as well as working in lead management roles with a nationally recognized employer-sponsored child care provider. Nakilia’s goal is to consistently drive program improvement. She is committed to nurturing children’s growth and dedicated to shaping policies for a better future. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and Early Childhood Education from Appalachian State University.

Nakilia McCray

Ana Nieto

Ana Nieto is the Coordinator of Prenatal to School Entry Partnership Alignment and Grant Development at Somerville Public Schools, where she supports cross-sector early childhood initiatives. She has served the early childhood field for over 15 years as an Early Childhood Senior Program Specialist at the LEGO Foundation, Early Childhood Director at the Ministry of Education in Colombia, and working on different research groups at Harvard, Yale, New York University, and Los Andes universities. Dr. Nieto is a psychologist and anthropologist from Los Andes University and holds a master’s degree and doctorate in education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Ana Nieto

Binal Patel

Binal Patel is the Chief Program Officer at Neighborhood Villages (NV), overseeing program implementation, evaluation, and refinement of the breadth of NV’s direct service programs. In her role, she partners closely with the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care, Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD), City of Boston, and other state-level leaders to create systems change solutions to meet the needs of the early education workforce and the families they serve. Her previous experience includes serving as Co-Founder and Director of The Family Cooperative (TFC), an early childhood center in Watertown, MA, and 10 years of experience as an ECE educator. She graduated with a master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from New York University, and a bachelor’s degree in International Studies–Economics from the University of California, San Diego.

Binal Patel

Gabriela Rojas

Gabriela Rojas is a Program Manager for Early Care and Education at First 5 Alameda County, where she supports county-wide initiatives supporting Family Child Care providers and Family Friends and Neighbors. Previously, she worked as an infant toddler teacher, site supervisor, and program director, supervising multiple programs that serve children 0-5 in a range of settings, including a parent cooperative, university, and non-profit organizations. Gabriela has worked in the field of early care and education for over 15 years. She received her undergraduate degrees in Legal and Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley and her master’s in Early Childhood Education with an emphasis in Trauma Studies from Pacific Oaks College.

Gabriela Rojas

Payal Seth

Payal Seth is the Vice President of Second Generation Programming at Jeremiah Program (JP). At JP, she sets the strategy and designs programming for nine geographies, including but not limited to running early childhood centers across three states. Prior to joining JP, Payal was the Vice President of Special Services at Achievement First, where she oversaw programs for special education, mental health, bilingual, and multilingual education. Payal has taught and supported children of various ages and developmental stages in Detroit, the Bronx, Chicago, and Newark. Payal earned a master’s degree in Early Childhood Education and Special Education from Lehman College and a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Psychology from the University of Michigan.

Payal Seth

Tierah M. West

Tierah M. West, MPH, currently serves as the Associate Director of Early Childhood Data Systems in the Virginia Department of Education’s Division of Early Childhood Care & Education. In this role, Tierah sets and executes the state’s data strategy around early childhood care and education by building data capacity, enabling and strengthening the use of data for decision-making, and addressing gaps in data enterprises. She also provides strategic leadership focused on the coordination of the many data and technology systems in Virginia’s ever-evolving birth-to-five space. Tierah is a two-time graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, earning both a BS in Sociology and a Master of Public Health degree from the university.

Tierah M. West