Don Stedman, PhD

Council Chair

Developmental Psychology and Special Education
Vice Chair, NC Early Childhood Foundation
Founding Chair, New Voices Foundation
Dean Emeritus and Professor of Education, UNC-CH
Former VP Research/ Public Services, UNC System Former Associate Director, FPG Child Development Inst.
Chapel Hill, NC

Marvin McKinney, PhD

Council Vice Chair

Early Childhood Education, Michigan State University
Senior Advisor, WK Kellogg Foundation
Former FPG Research Fellow and 
Member FPG Executive Leadership Board
East Lansing, Michigan

Lynnette Aytch, PsyD

Council Member

Leadership in Early Childhood Education
Director of the Leadership Development Institute,
Zero to Three, Washington, DC
Former Director of Organizational Development at the North Carolina Partnership for Children 

Washington, DC

Subhash Batra, PhD

Council Member

Mechanical Engineering and Management
Charles A. Cannon Professor Emeritus of Textile Management, North Carolina State University
Graduate of the Sloan School of Management, MIT, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, MIT, and Delhi University, Delhi, India.
Chapel Hill, NC

Elizabeth Benefield, MA

Council Member

Program Manager, Social Entrepreneurship and  
Innovation, Institute for Non-Profit Education, Research and Engagement, NC State University
Former Director of Development, School of Social Work, UNC Chapel Hill 
Co-Founder of Triangle Family Services, Inc. 
Raleigh, NC

Dina Castro, PhD

Council Member

Early Childhood Education, Special Education and MPH Public Health 
Velma E. Smith Endowed Chair of Early Childhood Education
University of North Texas, Denton 
Formerly Senior Research Scientist, FPG
Denton, TX

Kathryn Summers Clark, PhD

Council Member

Child Development
Professor of Human Environmental Sciences
Child Development Program Coordinator, Meredith College
Child Life Program, McGovern Children’s Hospital, Duke University Medical Center
Board member, Frankie Lemon School and Foundation
Former Chair of the NC Birth-K Higher Education Consortium

Raleigh, NC

Sandra Wilcox Conway, MEd, MBA

Council Member

Co-Founder, Women’s Impact Fund
Director, Public School Friends, 
Advisor to Janam (Kenya) Peacebuilding Foundation and Consultant on Community-based Nonprofit Programs, Corporate and Philanthropic
Charlotte and Chapel Hill, NC

Olson Huff, MD

Council Member

Pediatrics
Former Director, Ruth and Billy Graham Child Development Center, 
Former Chair, NC Partnership for Children and 
Founding Chair, NC Early Childhood Foundation,
Member FPG Executive Leadership Board
Black Mountain, NC

James J. Peacock, PhD

Council Member

Anthropology and International Studies
Kenan Professor Emeritus and Chair of Anthropology and 
Emeritus Chair and Director of International Studies at UNC Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC

Craig Ramey, PhD

Council Member

Developmental Psychology
Professor and Distinguished Research Scholar of Human Development, Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute
Professor of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Human Development, Virginia Tech
Professor of Pediatrics, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
Principal Investigator, the Abecedarian Studies of the FPG Institute, UNC Chapel Hill
Roanoke, VA

Jack Richman, MSW, PhD

Council Member

Social Work
Johnson-Howard-Adair Distinguished Professor of Social Work
Dean Emeritus and now Associate Dean for Global Engagement and International Programs
UNC Chapel Hill School of Social Work
Chapel Hill, NC

Joseph Sparling, PhD

Council Member

Educational Psychology
Senior Scientist Emeritus, the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, UNC Chapel Hill and
Honorary Professorial Fellow, Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne – Australia
Developer (with Craig Ramey) of the Abecedarian Approach of the FPG Institute, UNC Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC

Lucila Vargas, PhD

Council Member

Latinx Media Studies and Communication for Social Justice

Professor Emerita, UNC-CH School of Media and Journalism

Research and publications on:

   Culturally appropriate self-help for Latina teens

   Migrancy, identity and popular culture

   Teacher diversity

   Social uses of radio by ethnic minorities

Chapel Hill, NC

Mary Young, MD Pediatrics, and DrPH Public Health

Council Member

Senior Advisor, Center on the Developing Child 
Harvard University
Senior Advisor, University of Chicago Institute for New Economic Thinking
Senior Fellow and Director of Early Child Development, The China Development Research Foundation, Beijing, China
Bethesda, MD