Community, Love, and Connection in Early Care and Education

Meghan L. Green, EdD, is an Assistant Professor of Raciolinguistic Justice in Early Childhood Teacher Education at Erikson Institute. She previously served as Lead Researcher on the Illinois Governor's Office in Early Childhood Development project, focusing on racial equity within the Early Learning Council. With 20 years of experience in early childhood education, Green has worked as a Pre-K to 4th-grade teacher, university field-based liaison/instructor, and anti-bias and anti-racist training facilitator. She holds an EdD in Curriculum and Instruction from East Texas A&M University. Her scholarly work has been published in journals such as the Journal of Childhood Studies, Young Children, the Early Childhood Education Journal, and Equity & Excellence in Education.

Lilly Padia, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Raciolinguistic Justice in Early Childhood Teacher Education at Erikson Institute. With more than 10 years of experience as a public school special education teacher, university instructor, academic advisor, and instructional coach, Padia's work focuses on issues of language, race, and disability in education. She centers partnerships with families and teachers in her research. She earned her Ph.D. from New York University and has published in journals such as Race, Ethnicity and Education, Language, Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, and Theory Into Practice.

Mariana Souto-Manning, PhD, is the President of Erikson Institute. She has previously served as a Professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, and held academic appointments at the University of Iceland and King's College London. Dedicated to justice in early childhood education, Souto-Manning's research focuses on the experiences of intersectionally marginalized children, teachers, and communities of Color. She has authored or co-authored 12 books, numerous book chapters, and over 100 peer-reviewed articles. Her research has earned several awards, including the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Innovations in Research on Diversity in Teacher Education Award. In 2023, she was named an AERA Fellow in recognition of her contributions to education research.