As Executive Director, Lea leads the CSCCE research and policy agenda aimed at improving the status and well-being of early educators. She is a frequent guest on national TV programs, including PBS NewsHour, and an expert advisor to national policy discussions. Lea has nearly 20 years of experience in early childhood workforce and professional development. Focus areas include workforce development, racial equity, early childhood leadership competencies and curricula, and public policy and administration. Her interest in securing access and opportunities for early educators to leadership and decision-making roles in the field was spurred by her work with Mills College and First 5 Alameda County (California), where she developed leadership programs in higher education and community settings and implemented a professional development initiative focused on attainment of college education. Lea earned a master’s degree in Public Administration from California State University, Hayward, and a master’s degree and Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from Mills College. She loves all things baseball, especially the San Francisco Giants.
Publications by Lea J.E. Austin
Early Care and Education Programs During COVID-19: Persistent Inequities and Emerging Challenges
June 1, 2022 • Report • By Yoonjeon Kim, Elena Montoya, Lea J.E. Austin, Anna Powell and Wanzi Muruvi
This report takes a closer look at the impact of COVID-19 on early care and education (ECE) programs, staffing and disparities using data collected by the Center by the Center…
Double or Nothing? Potential TK Wages for California’s Early Educators
June 1, 2022 • Data Snapshot • By Anna Powell, Elena Montoya, Lea J.E. Austin and Yoonjeon Kim
California has proposed a broad expansion of transitional kindergarten (TK), a school-based early learning program serving four-year-olds. This improvement will make TK universally available to all four-year-olds by 2025, framed…
Still Nothing for California’s Child Care Workforce
June 1, 2022 • Blog • By Lea J.E. Austin and Elena Montoya
With the May budget revision, Governor Newsom failed once again to support the early education workforce that is the backbone of California’s economy. Despite a record budget, the people who…
May 5, 2022 • Peer-Reviewed Article • By Yoonjeon Kim, Elena Montoya, Sean Doocy, Lea J.E. Austin and Marcy Whitebook
In this article, published in the 3rd Quarter 2022 volume of Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Dr. Kim, Ms. Montoya, and co-authors highlight how the impacts of COVID-19 systematically varied between…
How to restore California’s ailing child care system: Pay the teachers
April 27, 2022 • Blog • By Lea J.E. Austin
Covid-19 brought California’s already-ailing child care system to its knees. If you work in child care or are a parent, you are intimately familiar with this reality. If you are…
“The Forgotten Ones”—The Economic Well-Being of Early Educators During COVID-19
February 16, 2022 • Brief • By Anna Powell, Raúl Chávez, Lea J.E. Austin, Elena Montoya, Yoonjeon Kim and Abby Copeman Petig
This report provides a closer look at the well-being of the early care and education (ECE) workforce in California, using data collected by the Center for the Study of Child…