Kelly Maxwell Joins Child Trends as a Senior Program Area Director

MAY 22, 2013

BETHESDA, MD – May 8, 2013 – Kelly Maxwell will join Child Trends as a senior program area director in the organization’s early childhood area, starting July 1.

Maxwell is a nationally known expert on early childhood research and policy, with a particular focus in the areas of school readiness and evaluations of early childhood initiatives.

Maxwell currently serves as the associate director at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute and as a research associate professor in the School Psychology Program, both at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has led national and state research studies on such issues as Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS), school readiness assessments, and early childhood teacher preparation. Maxwell helped Georgia’s early childhood leaders study the quality of pre-k, child care centers, and family child care homes. She has worked with Rhode Island to evaluate the quality of its early childhood system and pilot-test its QRIS. In North Carolina, she leads a team that provides support for the Early Childhood Advisory Council and the state’s Early Learning Challenge grant.

“Kelly Maxwell brings to Child Trends an exceptional portfolio of early care and education research expertise that further strengthens our capabilities in this area,” said Child Trends President Carol Emig. “Her knowledge and experience will advance our role in providing policymakers and providers the information they need to improve the quality of care for our nation’s youngest and most vulnerable children.”

Maxwell holds a bachelor of science degree in psychology from Illinois State University and earned a doctorate in school psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She will be based in Chapel Hill.

Child Trends, based in Bethesda, Md., is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center that provides valuable information and insights on the well‐being of children and youth. For more than 30 years, policymakers, funders, educators and service providers in the U.S. and around the world have relied on our data and analyses to improve policies and programs serving children and youth. Our work is supported by foundations; federal, state and local government agencies; and by nonprofit organizations.