Dr. Shantel Meek

Shantel Meek, PhD (she/her)
Professor of Practice and Executive Director
The Children's Equity Project | Arizona State University

Shantel Meek is a professor of practice and the founding executive director of the Children's Equity Project (CEP), a child research and policy center housed at Arizona State University. Prior to founding the CEP, Dr. Meek served in the Obama Administration as a Senior Policy Advisor for Early Childhood Development at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and as a Senior Policy Advisor for Education in the Domestic Policy Council at the White House. During her time in the Obama Administration, Dr. Meek advised senior officials at HHS and the White House on a wide array of policy issues, including Head Start, child care, public Pre-K expansion, and promoting equity and reducing disparities across the early care and education system. She has published pieces in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Hechinger Report, and the 74. Dr. Meek holds a B.A. in Psychology and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Family and Human Development from Arizona State University. She is the granddaughter of Mexican immigrants, and her personal experiences as a Mexican American and first-generation college graduate from a small border town inform her work and contribute to her drive to improve the learning conditions of children from historically marginalized communities. Today, she lives in Phoenix with her husband and two children, both of whom are growing up bilingual.

Additional Resources Authored

Head Start Research and Policy

• Access and Inclusion for Children with Disabilities in Head Start: A Review of the Research and a Policy Comparison Between Head Start Standards and States
• Harsh Punishment and Exclusionary Discipline in the Early Years: Data, Research, and a Policy Comparison Between Head Start and States
• Lowering the Bar: An Analysis of How Replacing Head Start Standards with State Child Care Licensing Weakens Early Learning Across the United States
• Preserving Access and Opportunity in Head Start for Dual Language Learners: A Review of the Science, Legislative Mandates, and Regulatory Requirements
• Advancing Equity Through Head Start's Program Information Report
• The Next Generation of Head Start: Expanding Access, Improving Quality, Advancing Equity
• Building a Universal Preschool System Around Head Start: Guiding an Equitable Pandemic Recovery
• Head Start’s Footprint: Children's Learning and Education
• Head Start’s Footprint: A Focus on Rural Communities, Children with Disabilities and Vital Health Services