Jennifer Marcella is a Senior Research Associate at WestEd’s Center for Child and Family Studies. Dr. Marcella is a lead content developer for the National Center on Early Childhood Development, Teaching, and Learning, a project funded by Head Start to promote the implementation of evidence-based practices that lead to positive child outcomes in early childhood programs. She also collaborates in writing peer-reviewed journal articles on early childhood assessment tools developed by WestEd. Prior to these roles, Dr. Marcella contributed to the Early Education Effectiveness Exchange (E4), a project funded by First 5 California to improve the quality of early learning programs in California. She coordinated the development of professional development resources focusing on intentional interactions in teaching, such as how teachers scaffold children’s learning and engage families. Prior to joining WestEd, Dr. Marcella worked on research projects studying young children’s early learning experiences within their homes and child care settings. She began working in the field of early care and education as a teacher caring for infants and toddlers. Dr. Marcella received a BA in psychology and an MA and PhD in human development and psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles.