Chrishana M. Lloyd, PhD, is a nationally recognized expert on the study and implementation of interventions to support early childhood professionals in environments such as home- and community-based child care settings and Head Start. She has more than 20 years of experience in the social science and education fields and considerable experience with applied community-based research and technical assistance using a racial equity lens. Dr. Lloyd has served as the primary investigator (PI) and/or lead implementation researcher on both federally and privately funded research projects. A common theme throughout her career is the integration of research and policy to inform and support the application of equitable and high-quality educational and human service practices.

Dr. Lloyd’s current work includes leading the evaluation of multiple technical assistance approaches that support home-based child care professionals across a range of settings; leading stakeholder engagement processes for the federally funded Measuring Implementation Quality in MIECHV-Funded Evidence-Based Home Visiting Programs Project; serving as a senior researcher on a collaborative project between the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Child Trends on Black Family, Infant, and Toddler Equity; and supporting a growing body of work linking early care and education, housing instability, and homelessness.

Dr. Lloyd is co-leader of the federally funded Study of Coaching Practices in Early Care and Education Settings (SCOPE) project, which is designed to move the early care and education field toward consensus on the core features of coaching and how these features are defined. She is also co-PI for the South Ward Promise Neighborhood Evaluation. This evaluation is a Department of Education-funded initiative designed to change the life trajectories of children and families living in the South Ward neighborhood of Newark, New Jersey by improving their access to high-quality education and systems of care. Dr. Lloyd serves as the co-director of research for the National Early Care and Education Workforce Center, an ACF-funded initiative to support the early childhood workforce by identifying effective policies and strategies through research and evaluation, translating lessons from research for practice, and supporting innovations in states and communities through technical assistance.

Recently, Dr. Lloyd led the development of an extensive landscape scan and white paper exploring the ways in which racism affects the compensation of the early care and education workforce. She also previously led the implementation research and technical assistance effort for Head Start’s Classroom-based Approaches and Resources for Emotion and Social skill promotion Project (CARES), a large-scale, federally funded, randomized trial of evidence-based strategies to improve the social and emotional development of children in Head Start classrooms across the country. In her role as a senior program officer at the Nicholson Foundation, Dr. Lloyd worked closely with early childhood professionals, policymakers, and researchers to bring interventions to scale in New Jersey that focus on environments serving families and young children—all with an eye toward equity and strengthening quality.

In addition to her research and foundation experience, Dr. Lloyd has led or served on federal and state-level early childhood-focused workgroups and has consulted with many education and social service agencies, including the Bank Street Education Center and the National Association of Social Workers. She has also authored numerous reports, articles, and technical assistance resources on early childhood interventions and supports for implementation, and actively uses innovative research methods like eco mapping and audio and video taping strategies to support and understand the work of professionals who work with families and young children.