Sharon Lynn Kagan

Sharon Lynn Kagan is the Virginia and Leonard Marx Professor of Early Childhood and Family Policy, Co-Director of the National Center for Children and Families at Teachers College, Columbia University, and Professor Adjunct at Yale University's Child Study Center. Scholar, pioneer, leader, and advocate, Dr. Kagan has helped shape early childhood practice and policies in the United States and in countries throughout the world. Author of 225 articles and 13 books, her research focuses on the institutions that impact child and family life. Acknowledged for her scholarship, Dr. Kagan was made a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) in 2010, and she was inducted into the National Academy of Education in 2012. In addition to her research, Dr. Kagan works to improve the design and quality of early childhood policies and practices. To do so, she consults with the White House, numerous federal and state agencies, elected and appointed policy makers including governors, members of congress and legislatures, and foundations, and corporations. In addition to domestic work, Dr. Kagan works with foreign governments, research institutions, UNICEF, the World Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank to analyze, plan, and establish early learning policies in over 75 countries around the world. Recipient of international and national honorary doctorates, she is a member of 40 national boards and panels, and is a Past President of both the National Association for the Education of Young Children and Family Support America. Dr. Kagan is the only woman in the history of American Education to receive its three most prestigious awards: the 2004 Distinguished Service Award from the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), the 2005 James Bryant Conant Award for Lifetime Service to Education from the Education Commission of the States (ECS), and the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education.