Dr. Stein conducts research on policies and practices that support access to high-quality early care and education (ECE) programming and promotes positive outcomes for children, their families, and the essential early childhood workforce.

She has over a decade of experience engaging in and advancing research-practice/policy partnerships (RP3s) with Head Start and systems leaders – including with Educare Chicago and the Educare Network of schools – that generate, translate, and apply relevant evidence and data; drive quality improvement and innovation; and support the transformation of ECE programs, systems, and policies at scale. Dr. Stein is the organizational lead on an OPRE-funded research project on Financing for ECE Quality and Access for All, which seeks to better understand the landscape of Head Start’s use of multiple funding sources and how that varies within different state conditions. She was previously a co-principal investigator on a study examining access to school-based pre-k in relation to later student outcomes under varying policy contexts. Prior to Start Early, she was a Head Start teacher; coached early interventionists and families; and was a post-doctoral fellow in Early Childhood Special Education Policy & Leadership which ignited her passion to work at the intersection of research, policy and practice. She holds a Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from Iowa State University.