Jefra Rees brings in over two decades of professional experience and a broad knowledge and skill set pertaining to child development, family systems, early education, and working with children and families in stressful contexts. As a direct service provider within the realms of early childhood intervention, addiction recovery, and early childhood education, she has witnessed the successes and limitations of both home-based and community-based programs. Coming from a foundation of therapeutic play and social-emotional learning, her goal is to build on that knowledge base to improve the long-term educational outcomes of young children. As an active member of the UN NGO Committee on the Family, her other passions include: unstructured and risky play, early literacy, and children’s accessibility to culturally meaningful books. Jefra holds a Master of Education in Early Childhood Special Education and a Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Sciences, both from the University of Texas at Austin.