Early Childhood Education Certificate of Completion - Faculty

Christine Chaille, PhD, is a professor and Chair of Curriculum and Instruction at Portland State University. She has been involved in promoting quality early childhood and elementary education through her teaching and research, and as past President of the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators. Dr. Chaille is author of Constructivist Across the Curriculum in Early Childhood Education: Big Ideas as Inspiration, and co-author of The Young Child As Scientist: A Constructivist Approach to Early Childhood Science Education, now in its third edition. She is currently writing a book on integrated math and science in the early childhood curriculum.

Ashley Lindberg, MS, has worked with preschool-aged children and their families for over 10 years in community, therapeutic, and Special Education settings. Currently, she is an Early Childhood Positive Behavior Intervention and Support Specialist with MECP, and an adjunct faculty member at PSU. She also lectures around the state about working with young children with challenging behaviors. Her background includes a BS in education from the University of Oregon and an MS in Special Education from PSU.

Kimberly Long, MS, CCC-SLP, is a speech-language pathologist who has served individuals with communication disorders from birth to 99 years of age. Ms. Long is currently working for Multnomah Early Childhood Program as an evaluation specialist for ages birth to 5. She received a BS in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Texas at Austin and an MS from UT Dallas Callier Center for Communication Disorders.

Frank Mahler, MS, has been an early childhood educator since 1989, was a Head Start and Early Head Start teacher for 13 years, and is currently working with one- and two-year old toddlers at the Helen Gordon Child Development Center at Portland State University, where he recently earned his Master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in early childhood education. He presents his work and shares his ideas about young children at professional development conferences and as a consultant to other early childhood programs, including collaborating on the creation of a child development curriculum for training the caregivers of orphaned and otherwise vulnerable children worldwide for the nonprofit agency Hands to Hearts International. He also teaches graduate level courses in early childhood education at Portland State University.

Diane Ponder, MSW, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has served children and families in Oregon for over 30 years. She received a BA in social work from San Francisco State University, and an MSW from Portland State University. Ms. Ponder has worked as a clinician, clinical supervisor, program director, and mental health consultant, in addition to serving in program, policy, and systems development roles at the County and State levels.  Her early childhood experience has also included directing early childhood psychiatric day treatment programs; authoring Oregon’s statewide early childhood comprehensive systems plan; and working as an infant and toddler specialist for children ages 0-3. She is a former National Governor’s Association Early Childhood Leadership Forum fellow, a founding and current board member of the Oregon Infant Mental Health Association, and a registered Circle of Security parent trainer.

Shiela Rector, MS, is an energetic teacher with over 20 years experience. She has taught children with a range of special needs in Oregon. Ms. Rector currently works with ESL students K-5 and is a doctoral student at Portland State.

Jamie Steinfeld, MA, received her Master’s of Arts in Elementary Education from Columbia University. Her teaching background reaches from Paraguay to New York City to Oregon. Her diverse experience in elementary education brings rich insight into the online classroom. Ms. Steinfeld’s expertise includes developmental reading and writing, classroom management, curriculum development, and inquiry-based mathematics.

Susan Lei Lani Stewart, PhD, taught preschool in inclusive programs and earned her PhD in early intervention/early childhood special education from the University of Oregon. As an assistant professor at Salem College in North Carolina, she served as Director of the Birth through Kindergarten blended teacher licensure program. In 2002 she joined the Hilton/Early Head Start Training Program as the Director of Curriculum and Training to support community teams across the nation to include young children with disabilities in Early Head Start programs. Dr. Stewart currently works for the SpecialQuest Group providing participatory webinars for Head Start Technical Assistance providers through the National Center on Quality Teaching and Learning.

Trudy Thierry, MS, has worked in the field of ECE for over 25 years as a teacher, coordinator, child care business owner, director, and Oregon Registry Master Trainer. She currently manages the Nike Tykes Center in the Nike Child Development Program, and is an adjunct instructor for Portland State University's Early Childhood Education Specialization Master's program.