Carrie Germeroth, Ph.D, a former early childhood consultant at Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL), is assistant director of research at the Marsico Institute for Early Learning and Literacy at the University of Denver (DU), where she conducts research and publishes widely in the areas of social emotional development and early childhood classroom quality. A member of the Colorado Department of Education's School Readiness assessment subcommittee, she also served as project manager on the development of Colorado's Early Learning and Development Guidelines as well as the Pre-Kindergarten Standards for the State of North Dakota.