We are thrilled to share that the Early Educator Investment Collaborative (The Collaborative) announced Dr. Ola J. Friday as its inaugural Director. Dr. Friday will lead The Collaborative’s efforts to help early educators achieve their full potential as professionals and to ensure that all children are prepared for success in school and life.

As a child of immigrant educators, Dr. Friday was raised with an appreciation for the power of education to change lives. Initially drawn to the classroom, the urge to impact systemic issues compelled her to pursue work at the early childhood education policy level. Dr. Friday led the implementation of New York State’s quality rating and improvement system while she was a Project Coordinator at the New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute. Most recently, as the Associate Commissioner of Workforce Development at the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care, she led statewide efforts to support the professional development and higher education access of over 65,000 educators, including the development of a new competency-based credentialing system.

Dr. Friday holds a doctorate in Education Leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, a Master of Public Policy from the Goldman School at UC Berkeley, a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Tufts University, and a diploma from Stuyvesant High School. She is a New Yorker, an avid traveler, a lover of Spanish, and the proud aunt of three nephews, Brian, Seth, and Elias.

Dr. Friday joins The Collaborative’s work to eliminate the opportunity gap among children and ensure that every child makes lasting gains in cognitive, social, and emotional development through their early care and education experience.

Learn more about The Collaborative's current efforts to link early educator professional competencies with professional compensation—and transform preparation of early educators so that all young children have equal access to high-quality learning experiences grounded in the science of child development.

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