Photo caption: (L to R): Kathryn Wheeler, Kathy Schleyer, Ellen Gannett, Nancy Marshall, and Georgia Hall during Nancy Marshall's retirement celebration.In the fall of 2022, WCW celebrated the retirement of Senior Research Scientist Nancy Marshall, Ed.D., and Senior Strategist Ellen Gannett, M.Ed., both of whom worked at the Centers for more than 35 years each.
Marshall led the Work, Families, and Children Research Group (WFC) at WCW and co-directed the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (1989-2005), one of the most comprehensive scientific studies of early child care and its relation to child development. The study provided definitive evidence that non-maternal child care does not damage a child's attachment to their mother, and that child care/early childhood education programs have a positive effect on children's cognitive development and school readiness, if they are high-quality programs. Following Marshall’s retirement, WFC will continue under the leadership of Senior Research Scientist Wendy Wagner Robeson, Ed.D.
Gannett was former director of the National Institute on Out-of-School Time at WCW, which is now led by Georgia Hall, Ph.D. Throughout her career, Gannett was an advocate for professionals in the out-of-school time field and the youth they serve. Notably, she was involved in developing the first national core competencies for afterschool and youth development professionals, which were adopted by the National Afterschool Association in 2011.
Over the last few decades, both Marshall and Gannett contributed to major shifts in the way that society understands early childhood education and youth development, ultimately shaping a better world for women and girls, families and communities. WCW honors their work and looks forward to continuing to advance social change in the fields of child care and youth development.
