Early childhood education expert Dr. Lauren Starnes has completed doctoral studies in both child development and educational leadership.

She currently holds the position of Chief Academic Officer of Goddard Schools, where she is responsible for the development, implementation, and evaluation of the curriculum, educational programming, assessment, and accreditation achievement for the nearly 600 Goddard Schools across the US. Previously, she was the vice president of early childhood education for Primrose School Franchising Company, where she supported curriculum development, implementation, and evaluation. She also served as the company’s executive director of professional development, leading and facilitating instructor-led and eLearning professional development for all stakeholders in the over 420 Primrose Schools. Prior to that she led the early childhood education department for a private education company, authoring their proprietary early childhood curriculum and leading professional development creation and delivery.

Lauren has worked at every level of early childhood education. While she began her formal career teaching at the university level, she has prior experience teaching within preschools, consulting and serving as a support professional for children with autism, and serving as an embedded instructional coach for preschool teachers. She has worked as a school principal for multiple schools and remains actively involved as a voice for early childhood education in various professional associations.

When not working, Lauren enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, and cheering on her two sons in sports. She lives in Marietta, Georgia, near Atlanta.