As Director Emerita, Marcy leads ECHOES, a project connecting early care and education today with its history and activism for a more equitable system. Marcy began her professional life as an infant/toddler and preschool teacher in the 1970s, and by participating in a teacher-led compensation movement that culminated in the nationwide Worthy Wage Campaign of the 1990s. Marcy is internationally known for her groundbreaking workforce research and her unwavering efforts to ensure dignity for educators, children, and families participating in the ECE system. Prior to founding CSCCE in 1999 and leading the organization for two decades, Marcy founded the Washington-based Center for the Child Care Workforce (CCW), an organization she began in 1977 as the Child Care Employee Project. She earned a master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from UC Berkeley and a Ph.D. in Developmental Studies from the UCLA Graduate School of Education. Marcy loves gardening, hiking, swimming, knitting, baking, reading historical fiction, and most recently, spending time with her granddaughter.
Publications by Marcy Whitebook
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…
May 3, 2021 • Blog • By Peggy Haack, Rosemarie Vardell and Marcy Whitebook
Who were the Worthy Wagers? Where did they come from? Maybe your mother or grandmother was one. Worthy Wagers know stories of how a movement began. Don’t you wish you…
Anna Evans Murray: Visionary Leadership in Public Kindergartens and Teacher Training
March 17, 2021 • Brief • By Marcy Whitebook and Rachel E. Williams
Part of Profiles in Early Education Leadership, a series spotlighting the contributions of teacher leaders, especially Black women, to the history of early childhood education in the…
Haydee B. Campbell: Expanding Education for Black Children and Opportunities for Black Women
February 25, 2021 • Brief • By Rachel E. Williams and Marcy Whitebook
Part of Profiles in Early Education Leadership, a series spotlighting the contributions of teacher leaders, especially Black women, to the history of early childhood education in the…
Early Childhood Workforce Index 2020
February 23, 2021 • Report • By Caitlin McLean, Lea J.E. Austin, Marcy Whitebook and Krista Olson
The latest edition of our biennial report provides a data-rich look at state-based policies and conditions for the early care and education workforce.
Early Care and Education Is in Crisis: Biden Can Intervene
January 21, 2021 • Blog • By Lea J.E. Austin, Marcy Whitebook and Ashley Williams
President Joe Biden’s plan for a 21st-century caregiving and education workforce is ambitious, particularly as it applies to its early care and education component (Biden For President, 2021). As…