Adria Taha-Resnick
Adria Taha-Resnick has taught young children, developed and led nationally recognized childcare programs, and helped shape policy, legislation and training at local, state and national levels. But what she loves most is working with teachers.
As a lecturer in CI’s cutting-edge Early Childhood Studies program since 2012, Taha-Resnick shares her experience as an educator, administrator, researcher and policymaker with future educators.
“It’s wonderful to be teaching the next generation of teachers and being a part of their professional development,” she said. “My education and knowledge has a ripple effect when I teach others who will in turn directly and positively affect children on a daily basis.”
Taha-Resnick has been positively affecting children for over 20 years, in roles as a childcare leader, director, instructor, and consultant. Her career spans work with the Conejo Valley Unified School District to Bright Horizons Family Solutions, which provides early childhood education programs for more than 750 childcare centers and 850 employers worldwide, including Camp Amgen.
She also remains an active voice in the county and state dialogue on the importance of early childhood education, through roles as professional development chair for the California Association for the Education of Young Children and vice chair of the Local Planning Council of Ventura County.
In each of her courses, Taha-Resnick merges the best of theory and practice. In Administration in Early Childhood Programs, for example, students create a digital early childhood program, researching and preparing everything from employee handbooks to playgrounds. In Introduction to Early Childhood Programs, students explore career options for serving young children, spending time in various childhood settings. In Teaching and Learning Programs, students do service-learning by observing and assessing programs for children throughout the county.
“Through many years of working in early childhood, I have come to realize the importance of the education profession as a whole, and more importantly, the contribution a high-quality educator can make,” Taha-Resnick said. “Research has shown that investing in early childhood programs has numerous positive, long-term and far-reaching effects, proving the workforce must be prepared accordingly. CI offers a comprehensive program that prepares our future early childhood educators.”