David Jacobson, First 10 Director
David Jacobson is the director of EDC’s First 10 initiative, which brings together schools, early childhood programs, and community agencies in local partnerships to improve outcomes for children ages birth through 10 and their families. Through a national network of First 10 partnerships, Jacobson has built a community of practice to share lessons learned and best practices. Jacobson brings deep experience in early childhood education, school improvement, applied research, strategic planning, and a commitment to addressing inequality to his work leading First 10.
Jacobson is the author of All Children Learn and Thrive: Building First 10 Schools and Communities, a 2019 report funded by the Heising-Simons Foundation, which presents findings on coordinated efforts to improve teaching, learning, and care during the first decade of children’s lives. He is also a nationally recognized expert in education reform and serves as a consultant and adviser on the First 10 model.
A widely published author, Jacobson has advanced the knowledge of community-school partnerships, bipartisan education priorities, building state P–3 systems, and professional learning communities.
Jacobson holds a BA in History and an MA in Philosophy from Brown University and a PhD in Sociology from the University of Chicago.
Louisa Anastasopoulos, Senior Team Facilitator and Continuous Improvement Lead
Louisa Anastasopoulos is a senior researcher and evaluator, expert trainer, and specialist in early childhood technical assistance (TA). The co-author of EDC’s acclaimed Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation (ELLCO) Pre-K Tool, she co-designed and is lead instructor for the ELLCO Pre-K Training of Trainers Institute. She brings extensive expertise in quantitative and qualitative research, including survey design and administration, focus groups, and data analysis.
As a senior training and TA associate for EDC’s First 10 initiative, Anastasopoulos collaborates with states and communities to implement the First 10 model to establish high-quality, cohesive educational, parenting, and community supports. Recently, she led the evaluation of Arriving Ready, an initiative to improve equity, learning, and teaching.
Anastasopoulos has co-authored articles on language and literacy, family math, and virtual play groups. She has led family outreach and knowledge management efforts for the Young Mathematicians in Worcester project.
Anastasopoulos holds an MPP with a focus on education from Georgetown University and a BA in Government and Spanish from Colby College. She received her project manager PMD Pro Certification from APMG International.
LaVonda Humphries, Project Coordinator
LaVonda Humphries is a highly experienced operations and executive support services professional. She brings extensive expertise in C-Suite executive assistance, digital marketing, visual storytelling, internal communications, event management, and human resources.
Humphries advances the goals of multiple EDC initiatives that focus on behavioral health promotion. These include EDC’s 988 Crisis Line Communications project and the Strategic Prevention Technical Assistance Center. Her support includes data analysis, tracking, calendar management, virtual presentations, research, and fiscal assistance.
A certified career coach, Humphries led her own small business focused on career counseling prior to joining EDC. Previously, she held executive assistant positions in the health care, nonprofit, and public administration sectors. She is a member of the American Society of Administrative Professionals.
Humphries attended the University of Maryland Global Campus.
Briana Joseph, Senior Team Facilitator
Briana Joseph, EDC senior training and technical assistance (TTA) associate, brings 10 years of experience in advancing educational improvement. She specializes in building leadership capacity in schools and systems to improve outcomes for children in marginalized and underrepresented communities. She is an expert in designing and delivering high-quality professional development, developing and implementing outstanding curriculum, providing transformative coaching, and facilitating the use of multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS).
As a senior TTA associate for EDC’s First 10 initiative, Joseph collaborates with states and communities to implement the First 10 model to establish high-quality, cohesive educational, parenting, and community supports.
Before joining EDC, Joseph held positions as a K–12 academic success navigator, professional development specialist, and MTSS resource facilitator. Earlier in her career, she worked directly with students and families as a pre-K, grade 3, and varying exceptionalities educator. She still maintains her certification as a pre-K–3 teacher.
Joseph holds an MA in Teaching Exceptional Student Education and a BA in Relational Communications from the University of South Florida. She is fluent in English and Spanish.
Maria Katradis, Senior Team Facilitator
Maria Katradis is an experienced education and public health researcher with extensive expertise in training and technical assistance (TTA), child safety, youth development, adult learning, teacher education, and quality improvement. She is interested in improving programming and outcomes for youth from diverse backgrounds.
As a senior TTA associate for EDC’s First 10 initiative, Katradis collaborates with states and communities to implement the First 10 model to establish high-quality, cohesive educational, parenting, and community supports.
Katradis is the co-chair of EDC’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee. An experienced presenter, she has facilitated EDC’s Understanding and Mitigating Implicit Bias trainings. She has co-authored an article and a chapter.
Katradis is fluent in Modern Greek and English and proficient in Turkish. She holds a PhD in Education from George Mason University, an MA in International Education, and a BA in Hellenic Studies and Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies from New York University.
Leana Nordstrom, Communications Lead
Leana Nordstrom, project director, is an expert in communications, event management, product management, and fostering peer-to-peer professional learning. She leads the design of publications, infographics, videos, websites, and events that advance efforts to improve the quality and equity of education, with a special focus on STEM education and early learning.
Nordstrom heads up communications and network-building for EDC’s Oceans of Data Institute, First 10, and CADRE (Community for Advancing Discovery Research in Education), creating content and managing social media, newsletters, and websites. Before EDC, Nordstrom worked at Public Interest GRFX and served in the Peace Corps.
Nordstrom holds a BA in Environmental Studies from Bates College and received her PMD Pro Certification as a project manager from APMG International. She is proficient in German and fluent in English.
Taylor Passmore, Senior Team Facilitator
Taylor Passmore, an early childhood expert, creates equitable early education systems equipped to serve every child and family. She brings over a decade of experience developing policy, professional development, and training and technical assistance (TTA) systems for educators. She specializes in shaping school, city, and state education systems to nurture early social and emotional learning, empower children with disabilities, utilize positive behavior intervention and support strategies, and partner with communities.
As a senior TTA associate for EDC’s First 10 initiative, Passmore collaborates with states and communities to implement the First 10 model to establish high-quality, cohesive educational, parenting, and community supports.
As senior director of Early Childhood Mental Health and Wellness at the NYC Department of Education, Passmore supported over 100,000 children in NYC’s 3K and PreK for All program. Previously, she was a Head Start teacher, early interventionist, district and charter school leader, and education consultant.
Passmore holds an MSEd in Birth–2nd Grade Education with a Special Education Extension from Hunter College and a BA in International Relations from the University of Washington.