Katari Coleman, an early childhood education thought leader and expert, leads innovative efforts to advance all children’s school readiness and success. She has expertise in child development, out-of-school time (OST) care, early childhood and OST workforce development, family engagement, parent education, Adverse Childhood Experiences, strategic planning, and systems change.

Katari is a highly experienced trainer and instructional designer who brings a deep understanding of learning sciences, adult learning, product development, and traditional and virtual training. She is the quality commitment and implementation director and a leadership team member for the Institute for Home Visiting Workforce Development and Jackie Walorski Center for Evidence-Based Case Management. She also serves as the lead content developer for OST credential work for Massachusetts. For over seven years, she co-led EDC’s National Center on Afterschool and Summer Enrichment.

Katari is a board member of the National Workforce Registry Alliance, a private, nonprofit, voluntary organization of state early childhood and afterschool workforce registry and professional development leaders. Prior to joining EDC, she held key leadership roles in the early childhood education and OST fields, including developing a parent literacy curriculum for Transformation Nashville and leading an eight-site federal grant that trained early childhood professionals throughout Tennessee. She has served as an associate professor and adjunct faculty at several higher education institutions.

Katari holds a PhD in Cultural and Educational Policy Studies from Loyola University and an MEd in Early Childhood Education from Erikson Institute.