Lydia Carlis, Ph.D., is Senior Advisor of Programs & Strategy for AppleTree Institute for Education Innovation in Washington, DC, where from 2010-2015 she led the development, implementation, evaluation and continuous improvement of AppleTree’s comprehensive preschool instructional model, Every Child Ready (ECR: a 2010 federal Investing in Innovation project). Every Child Ready is currently used in 12 public charter, Head Start, and community based organizations serving more than 1800 District of Columbia and New York children from birth through five. Lydia holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from Howard University, master’s degree in bilingual special education from The George Washington University, and a doctor of philosophy in degree special education learning disabilities from University of Maryland - College Park. Lydia’s doctoral work focused on identifying teacher and peer variables that impact student achievement in preschool settings implementing a Response to Intervention model.