Overview
Cathy Tsao has worked in the areas of early childhood education and infant/family practice for over 30 years with a focus on centering children’s attachment needs in the design and implementation of early education programs and professional development systems. As lead for the San Francisco Quality Connections project, Tsao is currently helping to build an ecosystem to provide and sustain high-quality care for children participating in Early Learning San Francisco, the city’s subsidized child care system.
The work developed by Tsao is grounded in two foundational pillars: attachment theory and principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. For example, Tsao created Family Child Care Pathways, an integrated, yearlong, unit-bearing series designed specifically for the family child care context and offered in participants’ home languages. The Family Child Care Pathways team has also conceptualized, designed, written, and delivered annual infant/toddler conferences for multilingual, multicultural audiences.
Tsao has extensive experience in direct service early childhood education and undergraduate/graduate instruction. Before joining WestEd, she was the Executive Director of the Megan E. Daly Infant Development Program and Applied Developmental Psychology minor in the UCLA Department of Psychology. She also served as the Director of Early Childhood Programs at the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Child Development.
At WestEd, Tsao has helped states such as California and Ohio develop their infant/toddler and preschool early learning guidelines and curriculum frameworks. She is deeply committed to early childhood program and educator development, particularly with regard to the care of infants, toddlers, and families.
Education
- PhD in education/applied developmental psychology, University of California, Los Angeles
Select Publications
Tsao, C., & Howes, C. (2015). Assessment of caregiver-child interactions and relationships in infant/toddler classrooms. In O. Saracho (Ed.), Contemporary perspectives on educational assessment and evaluation in early childhood education (pp.147–168). Information Age Publishing.
Howes, C., & Tsao, C. (2012). Effective professional development in early childhood education: Improving teacher practice and child outcomes. In C. Howes, B. K. Hamre, & R. C. Pianta (Eds.), Effective early childhood professional development: Improving teacher practice and child outcomes. Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
Jung, Y., Tsao, C., & Vu, J. (2011). What do state quality rating systems say about early childhood education competencies and professional development? In C. Howes & R. C. Pianta (Eds.), Foundations for teaching excellence: Connecting early childhood quality rating, professional development, and competency systems in states (pp. 95–116). Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
