TECEC Staff

Kara Johnson, President and CEO,  kjohnson@tecec.org

Kara Johnson joined the Texas Early Childhood Education Coalition (TECEC) more than seven years ago and now serves as its President and Chief Executive Officer. Her leadership has contributed to TECEC being regarded as a premiere child advocacy organization both in Texas and at the national level.  She is one of the authors of Edition 2 of The Texas Plan, a ten-year public policy agenda dedicated to early childhood education and development in Texas. 

Prior to working for the Texas Early Childhood Education Coalition, Kara interned with the Center for Public Policy Priorities to conduct extensive research on poverty in Texas, leading to the publication of  “Tough Choices.” Between 1999 and 2001, Kara worked as a Campus Manager for Communities In Schools in Dallas where she worked directly with school administrators, counselors, school psychologists, and teachers in order to meet the needs of children and families.  
 
She received her B.A. in Psychology from the University of North Texas and her Masters Degree from the University of Texas School of Social Work with a focus in Administration and Planning. In addition, she received her Diversity Certification from the University of North Texas.

Katie Jackson, Public Policy and Research Intern

Katie Jackson joined the Texas Early Childhood Education Coalition (TECEC) as an intern in November of 2009.  With TECEC, Katie conducts state-level research related to high quality early childhood education and contributes to the writing and editing of publications for policymakers, community leaders, and other stakeholders. Katie is currently pursuing a doctorate degree in Education Policy at the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to this, she worked as an early childhood education teacher for 4 years, two of which were in Austin.  Katie received her Masters of Education from Boston College in Early Childhood Education with a focus on urban education and teaching English-language learners, and her Bachelors in Philosophy from the University of Missouri, Kansas City.

Lauren Scarbo-Trotter, Policy Intern

Lauren Scarbo-Trotter joined the Texas Early Childhood Education Coalition (TECEC) as an intern in the spring of 2011. She is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in Family and Child Studies at Texas State University - San Marcos. Her interests focus on public policy, administration and early childhood education. Lauren received her BS in Family and Child Development in 2009 from Texas State University - San Marcos. Prior to joining TECEC, Lauren worked as a research assistant on an early childhood education project focusing on low-income pre-kindergarten children and their families.

Hali Pickard, Policy Intern

Hali Pickard joined the Texas Early Childhood Education Coalition (TECEC) as an intern in the fall of 2011. She is currently pursuing a Master's degree in early childhood education from the College of Education at The University of Texas at Austin. Her interests focus on providing high quality early education to low-income chldren and families. Hali received her BA in Psychology with a minor in Education from The University of California, Santa Barbara. Prior to moving to Texas, Hali worked as a Head Start teacher in South San Francisco, CA through Teach for America.