Teri N. Talan

Director of Policy Initiatives, McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership

Teri N. Talan is director of policy initiatives for the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership and professor of early childhood education at National Louis University in Wheeling, Illinois. She represents the McCormick Center in public policy forums and promotes action by state and national policymakers on early childhood education and program administration issues. She is also the editor of the Center’s quarterly Research Notes.

Previously, Dr. Talan was the executive director of an NAEYC-accredited early childhood program. She holds a law degree from Northwestern University as well as an EdD in adult and continuing education and an MEd in early childhood leadership and advocacy from National Louis University. Dr. Talan’s research interests are in the areas of early childhood leadership, workforce development, systems integration, and program quality evaluation. She is coauthor of the Business Administration Scale for Family Child Care (BAS), Escala de Evaluación de la Administración de Negocios (Spanish BAS), and the report, Who’s Caring for the Kids? The Status of the Early Childhood Workforce in Illinois.