Valora Washington

Valora Washington is a recognized authority in early childhood care and education. She has organized and developed early childhood initiatives targeting policy change in higher education and local, state, and federal government. As president, chief executive officer, and founder of The CAYL Institute, she directs leadership programs for practitioners and has co-created several educational institutions.

Valora is a former vice president of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, where she led a process to develop more than $18 million in grants supporting early education and child welfare and $86 million in grants overall. She also served as vice president at Antioch College, associate dean at American University, and a tenured faculty member at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.