Barb Volpe, M.Ed., is the Director of Professional Learning at the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership. She oversees the development and implementation of leadership academies for early childhood center- and home- based administrators. Barb is a state and national trainer in areas of early childhood program leadership and administration. Barb obtained her M.Ed. from National Louis University (NLU) in early childhood administration and her B.S. in child and family development from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale (SIU-C). Building on past experience as a statewide assessor for the Illinois QRIS system, she supports statewide Quality Specialists and Infant Toddler Specialists in their technical assistance work through training on quality assessment tools and coaching practices. Prior to her work at the McCormick Center, Barb worked as an infant/toddler and preschool teacher, site director, and education coordinator for both community-based and Head Start programs. She has written articles on topics in leadership and management of early childhood programs and taught for several years as adjunct faculty at a local community college. Barb’s passion is to support center- and home-based administrators to continuously grow professionally and improve the essential care and education services they provide for young children and their families.