Erin Ellis has achieved her Bachelor of Arts in Humanities and Sciences from the University of Colorado Denver in 2009 and her Masters of Science in Teaching and Learning from Colorado State University Global Campus in 2012. She is currently employed by Denver Public Schools in the Early Education Department in Colorado as Administration & Head Start Support. This work also includes being a Preschool CLASS Assessment Observer for the District’s Head Start classrooms and collaborating with families on the Parent Policy Council. Before joining the Early Education Department, she experienced the joy of being a Preschool paraprofessional for eight years in an Aurora, CO Head Start program and within school district mixed age classrooms of three to five year olds.

Erin has been in the field of Early Care & Education since 2001 and her areas of passion in the field are teaching, family and community engagement, supporting multilingual learners, advocacy, and always demonstrating to families that she believes they are their children’s first teachers. Furthermore, she has obtained her Colorado Coach and Trainer Credentials from the Colorado Department of Early Childhood and her next career goal is to become an Early Childhood trainer for the essential professionals so that she can further collaborate in the field by teaching adult learners and sharing her passion for the field with them. In June 2024, she also completed the Preschool through Third Grade Leadership Certificate Program at the University of Colorado Denver’s National P-3 Center. Additionally, she is proud to be bilingual in English and Spanish so that she can communicate further with children, families and Early Childhood professionals.

Erin has gained extensive Early Childhood knowledge and networking abilities by also being a Board member and Secretary for the Colorado Association for the Education of Young Children since 2021 and the Colorado Head Start Association since 2023.

Erin is the proud aunt of two wonderful nieces who are eight and two years old and enjoys spending as much time as possible with them while supporting all of their activities and interests. She is dedicating all of her work on the NAEYC Affiliate Advisory Council to the honor and memory of her beloved grandmother, Lucy Ellis who was a Special Education Paraprofessional. Her grandmother is her inspiration to make a daily positive impact in her educational career. Lucy always told Erin that she can achieve any goal that she has set for herself as long as she demonstrates hard work and dedication despite her physical challenges, which Erin and Lucy always overcame together. She is honored to be a member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children Affiliate Advisory Council from June 2024-May 2027.