Moderator 

Dr. Ursula Thomas is an accomplished higher education leader, scholar, and consultant whose work spans teacher education, diversity, equity, and leadership development. She has written and presented extensively, authoring seven books and over forty-seven publications, including her most recent work, Navigating Black Joy for Black Women Leaders in Higher Education: Spaces for Authentic Freedom (Forthcoming September 2026).

Dr. Thomas’s expertise includes program development, accreditation leadership, and strategic partnerships that advance equity and access in education. She has led national and international accreditation reviews for organizations such as the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), and the American Council on Education (ACE). She is currently the affiliate chair and president-elect for the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators.

A recognized leader and Cole Fellow Awardee, Dr. Thomas is deeply committed to community engagement, philanthropic service, and educational innovation. Her research interests include early childhood education, culturally relevant pedagogy, gender and diversity in curriculum, and social justice leadership.

Panelists

Dr. Meghan L. Green is an Assistant Professor of Raciolinguistic Justice in Early Childhood Teacher Education at the Erikson Institute. As an arts-based qualitative researcher, she uses multiple modes of creative representation to reflect on her positionality and to craft her story as a cis Black queer woman engaging in critically informed research methodologies within this time and space. Her scholarship centers endarkened feminist epistemology within early childhood settings, specifically highlighting the diverse lived experiences of Black early childhood educators through arts-based qualitative inquiry methods including, autoethnography, endarkened narrative inquiry, photovoice, and poetic inquiry. Her scholarly works have been published in journals such as the International Journal of Qualitative Methods, Early Childhood Education Journal, and Equity & Excellence in Education.

Kimberly Garrett, Ed.D has been an educator for over 35 years. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education at Chicago State University. Dr. Garrett’s research agenda includes teacher identity development, MotherScholarship and culturally relevant pedagogy, with a focus on designing culturally sustaining curriculum and pathways. Dr. Kim has a passion for mentoring preservice and novice teachers through clinical supervision, and informally through student-created learning communities.

Dr. Xin Li is an Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education and Specialization Lead in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Houston. Before entering higher education, she worked as a preschool teacher and center director, experiences that continue to shape her passion for supporting young children, families, and educators. Her research focuses on early childhood development, teacher preparation and workforce sustainability, AI in early childhood education, and community partnerships that connect schools and families. Dr. Li’s work has been published in journals including Early Education and Development and Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, and she regularly presents at conferences including NAECTE, AERA, and AACTE. She especially enjoys mentoring future educators, building community-centered projects, and creating learning spaces where curiosity, reflection, and joy can thrive.

Dr. Karyn Allee is an Associate Professor at Mercer University, where her scholarship and teaching center on play-based and joyful learning in early childhood education. With 30 years of experience as an educator, she brings both research rigor and practitioner wisdom to her work. Dr. Allee leads the Collaboratory for Critical and Transformative Elementary Education, a research initiative exploring how play functions as an equity issue in public school settings, and the Joyful Learning Collaborative, a public-facing arm of this work. Her work spans multiple methodological approaches and has informed policy-focused scholarship, grant-funded projects, and community partnerships with schools and districts. She has been published in multiple peer-reviewed journals and serves as Associate Editor at the Early Childhood Education Journal. Dr. Allee is committed to bridging the gap between research and practice, advocating for environments where all young children have access to meaningful, joyful learning experiences.