635 Dupont Street, Unit B

Philadelphia, PA 19128 Phone 215.983.0447

E-mail dl53d196@westpost.net
Debra L. Lawrence
Education
Doctor of Philosophy, in Early Childhood Education (anticipated graduation Septe
mber, 2010 ) ABD
Walden University Minneapolis, MN
Master of Arts, Early Childhood Education, December, 2004
University of Colorado at Denver, School of Education
Denver, Colorado
Bachelor of Science , Social Research, Social Structure, Social Change, December
, 2003
Minor, Children's Issues in Education
Empire State College
Saratoga, New York
National Association of School Leadership, May, 2010
Certified Instructor ECE and Elementary School Module
Certified Play Instructor, May 2010
Professional experience Southeast Regional Key, Philadelphia, PA
June 2006 - Present
A Unit of Caring People Alliance
Director of the Southeast Regional Key - one of six regional entities in Pennsyl
vania responsible for the execution of Pennsylvania's child care quality rating
and improvement system Keystone STARS.
*Responsible for the implementation of a child care continuous quality improveme
nt system in five counties (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelph
ia)
*Responsible for the implementation of a high quality professional development,
technical assistance, and onsite support system
*Supervise 4 managers and 32 employees
*Create and maintain a team atmosphere that effectively meets annual enrollment
and movement targets
*Develop strategies to successfully enroll and retain 1800 early childhood progr
ams
*Responsible for budgeting and oversight of a 13 million annual budget
*Responsible for constructing and strengthening a comprehensive early childhood
system
*Develop collaborative relationships with critical partners and stakeholders to
integrate cross systems
*Develop and monitor policies and procedures that ensure compliance with funder
regulations
Child Care Connections, Colorado Springs, CO
June 1996 - June 2006
Executive Director, Child Care Resource and Referral Agency
*Successfully managed a child care resource and referral agency responsible for
five counties in the state of Colorado
*Conducted comprehensive annual needs assessment to determine strengths and weak
nesses and created programs to meet identified needs in areas including child ca
re capacity, quality child care availability, health care access, parent educati
on programs, and subsidized child care needs.
*Conducted annual assessment to determine the market rate for child care in the
service delivery area
*Designed and implemented a professional development series that improved the sk
ills of early childhood professionals
*Worked collaboratively with partners and stakeholders to design and strengthen
a quality early childhood system
*Provided comprehensive training programs including CDA, Expanding Quality in In
fant and Toddler settings, Ounce Scale, DC-03, and Deveraux Early Childhood Asse
ssments
*Implemented a successful mental health early intervention program for children
at risk of expulsion from child care
*Established a successful quality improvement initiative involving coaching and
mentoring of child care professionals
*Provided high quality child care referrals to families in the Pikes Peak Region
Director, Child Care Centers
Sept '1982 - June '1996
*Responsible for the day to day operation of a child care center licensed for 10
0+ children and families
*Supervised and trained 30 child care professionals
*Developed high quality early childhood programming resulting in achievement of
NAEYC Accreditation
*Established and maintained quality relationships that resulted in parent loyalt
y and
Director, Advantage Child Development Center, Colorado Springs, Colorado 1994
- 1996
Director, Children's World Learning Center, Denver, Colorado 1986 - 1994
Director, La Petite Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado 1982 - 1985
Teaching Experience

National Institute for School Leadership (NISL) Facilitator in Training

2009 - Present
Adjunct Faculty, West Chester University, West Chester, PA
2006 - Present
*Foundations of Early Childhood, Graduate Course 3 credits, Fall 2008, Summer 2
009, Summer 2010
*Infant and Toddler Theory and Practice Graduate Course 3 credits, Summer 2007
& Summer 2009
*Advocacy and Leadership, Graduate Course 3 credits, Fall, 2006, Summer, 2007, W
inter, 2008, Spring, 2009, Spring 2010
*Infant and Toddler Theory and Development, Undergraduate Course 6 credits, Spri
ng, 2007 & Fall 2008
Adjunct Faculty, Arcadia University, Philadelphia, PA.
2010
*Leadership, Graduate Course 3 credits, Spring 2010, Fall 2010
*Early Childhood Program Planning, Graduate Course 3 credits, Spring 2010, Summe
r 2010
*Instructor, Pikes Peak Community College, Spring 2006, 6 credits
*Instructor, Pikes Peak Community College, Fall 2005, 3 credits
*Instructor, Pikes Peak Community College, Spring 2005, 3 credits
*Instructor, Colorado Department of Education, Infant & Toddler Theory and Pract
ice, 3 credit courses, twice annually, 1999 - 2006 Colorado Springs, Colorad
o
Selected
Presentations
*Presenter, NAEYC Professional Development Institute, June 2010
*Presenter, NAEYC Annual Conference, Washington D.C., 2009, Working collaborativ
ely with Children's Museums
*Presenter, Featured Session NAEYC Professional Development Institute, June 2009
, Putting PLAY Back into
Practice; 2 hour session, Incorporating Play into Daily Practice
*Presenter, Association of Children's Museums National Conference, April 2009, P
utting PLAY Back into Practice
*Presenter, Professional Series, Institute for Safe Families, April 2009, The Im
pact of Stress and Trauma on the
Developing Brain
*Presenter, New Jersey PD, February, 2009, The Impact of Stress and Trauma on th
e Developing Brain
*Presenter, New Jersey Reaping the Harvest, November, 2008, Working with the Chi
ldren who Challenge Us
*Presenter, NAEYC National Conference, November, 2008, Working with the Children
who Challenge Us
*Presenter, NAEYC Professional Development Institute, June 2008, Working with th
e Children who Challenge Us
*Presenter, NACCRRA Policy Symposium, March 2008, Integrating cross disciplinary
systems into R & R work
*Presenter, Philadelphia School District, August 2007, The Impact of Stress and
Trauma on the Developing Brain
*Presenter, 2007 NAEYC Professional Development Institute, Pittsburgh, PA - June
2007, Working with the Children
who Challenge Us
*Presenter, Cultivating Cross Systems Partnerships, State College, PA - April 2
007, The Impact of Stress and Trauma
on the Developing Brain
*Presenter, 2007 Delaware Valley AEYC, Philadelphia, PA, April 2007, The Impact
of Stress and Trauma on the
Developing Brain
*Presenter, 2007 NACCRRA Policy Symposium, Washington D.C., March 2007, Building
Collaborative Partnerships
*Facilitator, Partners Retreat, December, 2006, Philadelphia, PA
*Presenter, Head Start Program, Chambersburg, Pa, November 2006, The Impact of S
tress and Trauma on the
Developing Brain
*Presenter, 2006 Colorado AEYC, Denver, Colorado, April 2006Conflict, Confronta
tion, and Motivation
*Presenter, 2005 Colorado Department of Education Summer Symposium, Breckenridge
, Colorado , July 2005, Working with
the Children Who Challenge Us
*Presenter, 2005 Colorado AEYC, April, 2005, The Impact of Stress and Trauma on
the Developing Brain
*Presenter, Learning Cluster Conferences, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 2001 - 200
6 - 7 presentations each
year Colorado 2002 - 2007, 3 courses each year
Professional
Memberships
And Awards
*Recipient, Walden University Don E. Ackerman Research Fellowship in Education L
eadership
*Member, Philadelphia's Mayoral Early Childhood Advisory Board
*Member, United Way Success by Six Advisory Board
*Member, Pennsylvania Early Childhood Mental Health Advisory
*Member, Philadelphia Compaq
*Member, Pennsylvania Early Care and Education Advisory Committee 2006
*Recipient, Colorado Association for the Education of Young Children Annual Earl
y Childhood Award 2006
*Co Chair, Colorado Governor's Early Childhood and School Readiness Commission 2
004-2006
*Governing Board Member, National Association for the Education of Young Childr
en 2002 - 2006
*Chair, Public Policy Committee, National Association for the Education of Youn
g Children 2003-2005
*Chair, El Paso City and County Commission on Children and Families 1998 - 2006
*Resource Member, Licensing Advisory Committee 2004-2006
*Member, Colorado Unlicensed, Illegal Task Force 2005-2006
*Chair, District 11 Preschool Advisory Board 1999 - 2006
*Chair, Research and Development Committee, Alliance for Kids, El Paso 2005-2006
County's Early Childhood
Council
*Past President, Colorado Association for the Education of Young Children 2001 -
2003
*Past Public Policy Chair, Colorado Association for the Education of Young Child
ren 1998 - 2001
Publications
NAEYC 2009 Professional Development Institute DVD of Featured Sessions - Putting
Play BACK into Practice
References
Phillipa Campbell, Ph. D - pipcamp@aol.com
Suzanne Milbourne, Ph.D - Suzanne@udel.edu
Cathy Prudhoe, Ph.D. - cprudhoe@wcupa.edu
Jerry MacDonald, Ph.D. jmacdonald@caringpeoplealliance.org