Zaentz Fellowships

The Stanford Center on Early Childhood is proud to announce two new fellowships that have been graciously funded by The Zaentz Charitable Foundation.

The Zaentz Community Fellowship Program (ZCFP)

This program aims to support leadership development in early childhood champions within RAPID communities. The fellowship’s goal is to empower and support fellows in community-led research that leverages the interconnected resources and systems (e.g., family, child care, community services, cultural values) that surround young children and their families. The ZCFP particularly focuses on using parent voice to guide systems change and policy making. The fellowship will include mentorship and training sessions that will support fellows in the development of the following areas:

Developing community leadership with applied research skills and confidence and building coalitions to support systems-level change.
Interpreting, integrating, and translating local community voice RAPID data findings to inform programmatic, community organization, and local policy decision-making.
Building capacity in communities to utilize data to drive solutions-oriented community-based work in support of young children and families.
Working collaboratively to enhance community engagement and integrate parent voices in solution-focused planning.

The Community Fellowship program is not open for general applications.

For questions about the Zaentz Community Fellowship, please contact Melissa “Meli” Segovia.

The Zaentz Fellows Program (Masters)

This is a new fellowship designed to support the leadership development of graduate students interested in early childhood. The Zaentz Fellows Program provides an opportunity for students to deepen their knowledge of early childhood content, engage with the Stanford Center on Early Childhood (SCEC), as well as build connections and community with professionals from different parts of the early childhood ecosystem. Fellows will learn about current issues and challenges that are impacting young children and families today. Beyond the fellowship period, the program will serve as a sustained professional community for fellows.

Individuals seeking admission to the following Masters programs are eligible to apply for the fellowship for AY 2026-27:

Policy, Organization, and Leadership Studies (POLS)
Learning Design and Technology (LDT)
International Comparative Education (ICE)/International Education Policy Analysis (IEPA)
Education Data Science (EDS)

The Fellows for the inaugural 2025 incoming cohort have been selected. The application period for AY 2026-27 admissions will open in September 2025.

For questions about the Zaentz Fellows Program (Master’s), please contact Michelle Gatmaitan.

Meet the 2025 incoming Community Fellows

Danielle Buckner Northside Achievement Zone, Minnesota	Mathias Burner The Connecticut Project, Connecticut
Debbie Ignacio Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors, California	Summer Merrick Early Childhood Alliance, New York
Jacob Oates Groundwork, Ohio	Maria Ortiz Borden Pulse, Michigan
Caroline Pryor Delta Health Alliance, Mississippi	Megan Streng First Steps Kent, Michigan
Vesla Tonnessen Whatcom County, Washington	Lizzet Vargas Partnership for Community Action, New Mexico
Tyana Velazquez-Smith Rochester, New York

Meet the 2025 incoming Zaentz Fellows

Kwasi Adi-Dako Learning Design and Technology '26	Charlotte Barron Policy, Organization, and Leadership Studies '26
Sosi Day Learning Design and Technology '26	Miranda Xin International Education Policy Analysis '26
Ellie Yang Education Data Science '27