Lauren Weatherly is the Partner School Program Director for the Boulder Journey School Teacher Education Program. In this role, she develops and supports administrative relationships with various schools in the Denver/Boulder Metro Area, and also provides coaching and support to Student and Mentor Teachers. She also designs and teaches coursework on behalf of the University of Colorado Denver, organized with an emphasis on weaving together theory and practice through the daily life of teaching. Lauren has been a passionate advocate for quality in Early Childhood Education over her career, working as a Teacher, Teacher Educator, Pedagogical Specialist, Administrator, and Community Organizer and in many different settings, including Boulder Journey School for the past fifteen years. She has presented at numerous conferences, including: National Association for the Education of Young Children Conference(NAEYC), North American Reggio Emilia Alliance Conference (NAREA), Early Childhood STEM Conference(ECSTEM), Rocky Mountain Early Childhood Conference (RMECC), and the Boulder Journey School Summer Conference. ln 2017, she began doctoral study at Lesley University. Her research focuses on understanding how to prepare progressive, critical, Reggio-inspired early childhood educators, empowered to pursue the diverse social justice issues facing our nation’s children, families, and educators today.