Thelma Harms, Director of Curriculum Development Emerita, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Director, Environment Rating Scales, Inc. Dr. Harms is recognized internationally for her work on assessing care and educational programs for children and as lead co-author of the four Environment Rating Scales (ECERS, ITERS, FCCERS, and SACERS). Much of her consultation through the Environment Rating Scales Institute (ERSI) has focused on preparing professionals in the use of the scales for research, technical assistance, training, and program assessment in Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) and similar quality enhancement projects in the United States and abroad.
Debby Cryer, Scientist Emerita, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Director, Environment Rating Scales, Inc. Dr. Cryer was a principal investigator for the national study on Cost, Quality and Child Outcomes in Child Care Centers, continued those interests in the European Child Care and Education Study, and is the lead co-author of a curriculum called “All About Preschoolers.” She regularly provides consultation on establishing quality rating and improvement systems and provides training on the scales internationally. She is lead author on All About ECERS-R and All About ITERS-R.
Richard M. Clifford, Senior Scientist Emeritus, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Clifford was a principal investigator on the National Center for Early Development and Learning study of state-funded pre-kindergarten programs and Co-Director of the companion SWEEP study, served as Director of the NC Division of Child Development, and was one of the principal investigators on the Cost, Quality and Child Outcomes in Child Care Centers study. Dr. Clifford is a past president of NAEYC.
Noreen Yazejian, Senior Research Scientist and Lead, Research and Evaluation Division, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Yazejian’s early childhood research and program evaluation studies have focused on professional development, models of programming birth to 5, home visiting, quality rating and improvement systems, early childhood language and literacy, and the use of data for continuous quality improvement. Her research has been published in Child Development, Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Early Education and Development, Social Policy Report, and NHSA Dialog.
