Center Director & Senior Staff

• Jack P. Shonkoff, M.D., Director
• Gillian A. Najarian, Deputy Director
• Jerry F. Boren, Director of Finance and Administration
• Al Race, Director of Communications and Strategic Relations

Staff

• Darrelle Beaudry, Executive Assistant to the Director
• Sarah Byrd, Project Coordinator
• James Cairns, Project Director for the Global Children’s Initiative
• Millicent Lawton, Writer/Editor
• Kent Neumann, Financial Assistant
• Mike Pastore, Communications Project Manager
• Kate Rosenburg, Assistant Director of Finance and Administration
• Holly Schindler, Project Director, National Forum on Early Childhood Program Evaluation
• Joanne Sears, Operations Manager and Events Coordinator
• Martine Séverin, Project Manager
• Rebecca Stoltz, Senior Project Manager
• Tassy Warren, Senior Project Manager

Researchers

• Visiting Scholars & Senior Research Associates >>
• Research Assistants >>

Center Director

Jack P. Shonkoff, M.D., is the Julius B. Richmond FAMRI Professor of Child Health and Development at the Harvard School of Public Health and the Harvard Graduate School of Education; Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and Children’s Hospital Boston; and Founding Director of the university-wide Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. He also chairs the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, a multi-university collaboration comprising leading scholars in neuroscience, psychology, pediatrics, and economics, whose mission is to bring credible science to bear on policy affecting young children.

Under the auspices of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Shonkoff served as Chair of the Board on Children, Youth, and Families and chaired a blue-ribbon committee that produced the landmark report, From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development. He also served as a member of the Panel on Child Care Policy, the Committee on the Assessment of Family Violence Interventions, and the Roundtable on Head Start Research.

Dr. Shonkoff has received multiple honors, including elected membership to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, elected membership to the American Pediatric Society, designated National Associate of the National Academies, the C. Anderson Aldrich Award in Child Development from the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Award for Distinguished Contributions to Public Policy for Children from the Society for Research in Child Development.
 
Dr. Shonkoff has served on numerous professional networks and public interest advisory boards, including the core scientific group of the MacArthur Research Network on Early Experience and Brain Development, the Governing Council of the Society for Research in Child Development, and the Executive Committee of the Section on Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He has authored more than 150 publications, including nine books; co-edited two editions of the widely heralded Handbook of Early Childhood Intervention; and served on the editorial board of several scholarly journals, including Child Development.

Dr. Shonkoff completed his undergraduate studies at Cornell University, medical education at New York University School of Medicine, pediatric training at Bronx Municipal Hospital Center and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and fellowship in developmental pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital in Boston. He has been a visiting professor or delivered named lectureships at more than 30 universities in the United States, Australia, Canada, China, Israel, Japan, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Prior to assuming his current position, he was the Samuel F. and Rose B. Gingold Professor of Human Development and Social Policy and Dean of The Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University.

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Senior Staff

Gillian A. Najarian is Deputy Director of the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University and was among the Center’s founding staff members in July 2006. She works in close partnership with the Director on all strategic planning in the service of advancing the Center’s core mission. She has primary responsibility for developing the Center’s overall implementation plan as well as managing multiple strategic relationships, both within and external to the University. In addition, she also serves as Executive Director of the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. She currently sits on the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley’s Healthy Child Development Impact Council, the Advisory Council for Room to Grow, and the Planning Committee to develop a training strategy in early life adversity and experience-based brain development for the Norlien Foundation.

Previously, as Associate Dean at The Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University, Gillian worked with faculty and research staff on media and communications issues related to public dissemination of their work in the context of overall branding and marketing for the school. Early in her tenure at The Heller School, she directed a complete reorganization of all student affairs, including admissions, financial aid, counseling, and career and academic services. Before joining Brandeis, she worked at the Fletcher School for Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Prior to her career in higher education administration, she worked as an ESL teacher and foreign program officer in Boston, France, and Japan. She earned a B.A. in French Language and Literature and International Relations from Connecticut College, and an Ed.M. in Higher Education Administration, Planning and Social Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

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Jerry F. Boren, who was among the Center’s founding staff members in July 2006, serves as Director of Finance and Administration. He has primary responsibility for consolidated budget planning and forecasting as well as the development of budgets and cost proposals for submission to prospective sponsors. Previously, he served as Senior Administrative Officer for The Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. In this role, he was responsible for supervising the financial and central administrative services of the school. Prior to assuming school-wide responsibilities, he served as Associate Director of the Schneider Institute for Health Policy at The Heller School, where his role focused on financial and administrative services. Before joining Brandeis, he taught sociology at Merrimack College, worked as a management consultant, and served as research director for the Center on Corporate Community Relations at Boston College. He earned an M.A. in social ethics from Andover Newton Theological School and a Ph.D. in sociology from Boston College.

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Al Race is Director of Communications and Strategic Relations for the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. His responsibilities include leading the development and execution of a comprehensive communications and public engagement strategy for the Center and its initiatives, including the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child and the National Forum on Early Childhood Program Evaluation. He also oversees and coordinates the Center’s strategic partnerships with the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the FrameWorks Institute. He has worked with scientists, researchers, and business leaders on improving the presentation of the science of early childhood to policymakers and the general public, and leads the Center’s Visual Communications and Child Development initiative in partnership with the Envisioning Science program at Harvard University.

Previously, he worked for 16 years in educational publishing, developing award-winning publications focused on education and learning in a variety of settings. As Executive Editor for CCI/Crosby Publishing, he worked with non-profit, academic, and corporate partners to lead the strategy, development, and execution of print, electronic, and web-based publications designed to meet communications goals and audience needs. He has also served as fundraising and communications chairs as a member of the Board of Directors for the Alliance for a Media Literate America. He received his B.A., cum laude, in English Literature from Middlebury College.

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Staff

Darrelle Beaudry, the Executive Assistant to the Director, joined the Center in March 2007, following 10 years assisting the then-Dean of Harvard Law School. She manages the Center Director’s calendar, scheduling events, meetings, and other commitments, in addition to providing administrative and organizational support. Darrelle has a degree in early childhood education from Wheelock College and is currently pursuing further studies in humanities at the Harvard Extension School.
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Sarah Byrd joined the Center on the Developing Child in September 2009. In her role as Project Coordinator, she provides support for a broad range of projects related to the science, practice, and policy dimensions of the Center’s work. She received her B.A. in English and American Literature and Language from Harvard University.
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James Cairns joined the Center in November 2008 as Project Director for the Global Children’s Initiative. Prior to joining the Center, Jim served as the Director of Programs at the World Conference of Religions for Peace, coordinating global program strategy and overseeing programs in conflict transformation, peace building, child rights, sustainable development and HIV/AIDS in the organization’s International Secretariat. He previously served as Director of the Advocacy and Action for Children Program, managing the organization’s involvement in all issues related to child and family welfare, particularly the impact of HIV/AIDS on children. He holds master’s degrees in international relations and theology from Yale University and a bachelor’s degree in government from Harvard University.
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Millicent Lawton joined the Center in February 2009 as Writer/Editor. She manages a variety of communications projects, including writing and editing feature articles and reports to funders, copyediting and proofreading print publications, and serving as a production manager and a media liaison. Previously, she worked for more than four years as an editor in the Center for Science Education at Education Development Center, Inc., (EDC) in Newton, Mass., and for more than a dozen years as a newspaper and magazine journalist in Washington, D.C., and Boston, covering education issues, politics, and public policy. She received her B.A. in history from Harvard University.
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Kent Neumann joined the Center in August 2008 as Financial Assistant. He is in charge of making payments to individuals, vendors, and sub-contractors who work with the Center.  He also assists with the yearly budget and tracks spending. Kent received his B.A. in communications from the University of New Hampshire.
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Mike Pastore serves as Communications Project Manager, having joined the Center in April 2008. He provides project-level management for a variety of Center activities focused on communications, including print, web, e-mail, and visual media. Recently, he managed the reorganization and redesign of the web presence of the Center and its underlying initiatives. Mike holds a B.S. in journalism from Boston University and is completing his master’s degree in information technology at Harvard Extension School, with a concentration in digital media.
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Kate Rosenburg joined the Center in 2007 as the Assistant Director of Finance and Administration. She works closely with the Director of Finance and Administration in ensuring that the Center’s financial systems are working smoothly. She is also responsible for the Center’s human resource needs and oversees the Center’s administrative and operational requirements. Prior to coming to the Center, Kate worked for 12 years in the office of Harvard Real Estate Services as its contract manager.
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Holly Schindler joined the Center on the Developing Child in April 2007 after completing her Ph.D. in Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology at Boston College. Her work at the Center is situated within the National Forum on Early Childhood Program Evaluation and includes serving as project director of the Forum’s meta-analytic database on early childhood program evaluations from the prenatal period to age 5.
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Joanne Sears is the Operations Manager and Events Coordinator and joined the Center in July 2006. She works Center-wide, coordinating logistics for a variety of events, both national and local. She also provides general office management and administrative support, particularly to the deputy director.
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Martine Séverin has been a Project Manager at the Center since May 2007. Martine manages the Global Children’s Initiative, the National Forum on Early Childhood Program Evaluation, the Center’s student engagement portfolio, and its lecture series.
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Rebecca Stoltz joined the Center on the Developing Child in May 2007. As a Senior Project Manager, she currently manages the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, the Child Mental Health Network, and the development of a community-based laboratory in Massachusetts. She earned a B.A. in child development from Tufts University and an M.P.H. in maternal and child health from Boston University School of Public Health.
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Tassy Warren joined the Center on the Developing Child in May 2007. In her role as a Senior Project Manager, she manages the Tulsa Children's Project, the Center’s state policy work, and the Interdisciplinary Research Seminar on Disparities. Tassy received her B.A. from the University of Virginia and her Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
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