Walter S. Gilliam is the Director of The Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy and an Assistant Professor of Child Psychiatry and Psychology at the Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine. He is a fellow at the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER), and the National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families (Zero to Three). Dr. Gilliam's research involves early childhood education and intervention policy analysis (specifically how policies translate into effective services), ways to improve the quality of prekindergarten and child care services, and the impact of early childhood education programs on children's school readiness. His scholarly writing addresses early childhood care and education programs, school readiness, and developmental assessment of young children. Dr. Gilliam has led national analyses of state-funded prekindergarten policies and mandates, how prekindergarten programs are being implemented across the range of policy contexts, and the effectiveness of these programs at improving school readiness and educational achievement, as well as experimental and quasi-experimental studies on methods to improve early education quality. Dr. Gilliam actively provides consultation to state and federal decision-makers. His work has been covered in major national and international news outlets for print (e.g., The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, USA Today, etc.), radio (e.g., National Public Radio), and television (e.g., NBC Today Show, CBS The Early Show, ABC World News, CNN, FOX, etc.).
