Sharon Lynn Kagan
Co-director of the National Center for Children and Families
Associate Dean for Policy, Teachers College
Columbia University, New York
Adjunct Professor, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut

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, and associate dean for policy at Teachers College, Columbia University and also serves as professor adjunct at Yale University's Child Study Center. Kagan, recognized nationally and internationally for her unique ability to produce and convert first-rate scholarship to the construction of child and family policy, is a frequent consultant to the White House, U.S. Congress, the National Governors' Association, the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services, numerous states, foundations, corporations, and professional associations, and serves on over 40 national boards or panels, including those sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences.

Augmenting her scholarship and policy work with practice in the field, Kagan has been a Head Start teacher and director, a fellow in the U.S. Senate, an administrator in the public schools, and director of the New York City Mayor's Office of Early Childhood Education.

Kagan received a B.A. in English from the University of Michigan, an M.A. in liberal arts from Johns Hopkins University and an Ed.D. in curriculum and teaching from Teachers College. She is from Detroit, MI.

In addition to leading six major research projects, Kagan is currently working with UNICEF and fourteen developing countries to develop early learning standards, and is chairing the United States National Task Force on Early Childhood Accountability. Known for her analytic ability coupled with keen policy know-how, Kagan is the past president of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the largest organization for young children on the planet, and past co-chair of the National Education Goals Panel on Goal One, having led that group to define what is widely accepted as the national definition of school readiness. Previously, Kagan was the chair of the Family Support America's board of directors, and a member of President Clinton's education transition team, National Commissions on Head Start and Chapter 1, and the NAEYC governing board.

Kagan is a prolific author, having written over 200 publications including the authorship or editorship of 12 volumes and the guest editorship of numerous journals. In her writings, Kagan has introduced path-breaking concepts to the field that have guided inventive policy and practice throughout the U.S. and other nations. Specifically, she has investigated issues including the development of an early childhood system, strategies for collaboration and service integration, mechanisms to enhance the quality, quantity, and financing of early childhood and other social programs. Her analytic and evaluative work has been supported by research grants from ten leading national foundations, along with the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services.

Kagan has received numerous awards, among them an honorary doctoral degree from Wheelock College, a Distinguished Alumna Award from Teachers College, Columbia University, the 2004 Distinguished Service in American Education Award from the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), and most recently the internationally prestigious James Bryant Conant Award.