About Us
Our Team
We are a collaborative team of early childhood educators, designers and researchers. Through co-design, we strive to empower educators, families, and children to innovate and shape resources that authentically reflect their experiences and meet their needs.
Digital Promise Researchers
Ximena Dominguez, Ph.D., serves as Executive Director of the Center for Learning Sciences Research at Digital Promise. Across research and development efforts, she and her team aim to improve learning opportunities for young learners. Her work involves co-designing and evaluating early STEM teaching and learning innovations in partnership with educators in public early childhood programs, families, curriculum developers, and edtech designers.
In addition to studying how young children’s interests, cultural assets, and everyday experiences can be leveraged to meaningfully promote STEM learning across home and school, she and her partners explore when and how STEM domains can be feasibly and meaningfully integrated with each other and with other learning disciplines to promote learning broadly. Across these efforts, she explores the affordances of technology and media for supporting early STEM teaching and learning—documenting how digital tools can be designed to strengthen (not replace) the hands-on, socially rich, and collaborative learning that is key early in childhood.
In addition to leading grants from federal agencies and philanthropic organizations, Xime currently leads Digital Promise’s strategic effort on multilingual learners. She also serves as ad hoc reviewer for multiple early childhood journals and recently served as a member of the NASEM consensus studies, Science and Engineering in Preschool Through Elementary Grades and Scaling and Sustaining Pre-K-12 STEM Education Innovations. She earned an M.S.Ed. in education from the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. in applied developmental psychology from the University of Miami.
Danae Kamdar engages in research and co-design initiatives focused on promoting meaningful STEM learning across early childhood settings. Her work centers the cultural assets and lived experiences of families and early childhood educators to ensure resources developed bridge learning across home and school settings. As a former educator and classroom coach, she brings a practitioner’s lens to designing impactful and inclusive STEM learning experiences.
With extensive experience in community-engaged research, Danae has partnered with preschool programs and school districts across the country to develop technology-integrated curricula, child assessments, and professional learning that is grounded in the strengths and needs of communities. She also supports Digital Promise's strategic efforts around multilingual learners and is involved in multiple evaluations of emerging technologies.
Tiffany Leones, M.Ed., is an early childhood researcher interested in investigating ways to spark young children’s STEM interest through playful and meaningful hands-on exploration and developmentally appropriate technology use. Drawing on her experience as a former preschool educator, she collaborates with educators, families, and developers to co-design culturally rich early STEM innovations across school and home. Tiffany supports the creation of research databases and quantitative analysis.
Xin Wei, Ph.D., specializes in advanced statistical modeling, measurement, and research design to study and improve learning outcomes across PK-12. She has led quantitative analysis in large-scale, federally funded projects investigating how edtech and accessibility tools support learners, including multilingual learners and students with disabilities.
KellyAnn Tsai supports the Center for Learning Sciences Research communication efforts. She works closely with the early education team to help expand the understanding and reach of their work in early STEM learning. For the HUB, KellyAnn coordinates the project's multiple communication efforts (brand, resource communication review, publications, etc.).
Corinne Colgan leads Digital Promise's video team, producing short form content that takes complex ideas in education and makes them easy to understand. She visits schools and creates videos about students, teachers, and what's happening in the classroom. For the HUB, Corrine oversees the capture of classroom video and contributes to the production of video library content.
Preschool Educators
Preschool teachers from this Head Start center in Virginia will partner with families, researchers and technology developers to share insights and expertise from their experience in the classroom.
Preschool teachers from this public preschool program in California will partner with families, researchers and technology developers to share insights and expertise from their experience in the classroom.
Preschool teachers from this Head Start center in Massachusettes will partner with families, researchers and technology developers to share insights and expertise from their experience in the classroom.
Curious Media Designers
Phil Balisciano is an accomplished Interactive Producer with over 18 years of experience at Curious Media, where he has produced hundreds of apps, games, and websites, with a strong focus on educational content. Holding a Bachelor’s of Technology in Digital Multimedia from Andrews University, Phil has led projects for renowned clients such as PBS Kids, Disney, Hasbro, Pinna, and Noggin.
Madison Miller is a Graphic Designer with a BFA from Boise State University who specializes in creating immersive websites, games, and digital tools for educational settings. With expertise in research-driven design, she develops interactive tools and visualizations that transform complex concepts into intuitive, playful experiences for young learners and educators.
Project Advisors
Phil Vahey has been leading learning science research and development projects for over 20 years. He has led projects funded by the National Science Foundation, the US Department of Education, philanthropic foundations, and commercial clients. He was the Director of Applied Learning Sciences for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and before that he was the Director of Strategic Research and Innovation at SRI Education.
Daryl Greenfield, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychology & Pediatrics and Cooper Fellow at the University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL. He works at the intersection of research, policy, and practice using science, technology, and engineering (STE) as the foundational focus for improving multiple areas of learning and development and 21st Century Thinking Skills for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and early elementary school students.
Savitha Moorthy is the Executive Director of Tandem, Partners in Early Learning, a nonprofit organization working at the intersection of early childhood and social justice. With a background in educational research, system building, and a lifelong fascination with how young children make sense of the world, she brings two decades of experience translating big ideas into culturally responsive learning experiences.
Elica Sharifnia, Ph.D. is an early childhood researcher specializing in STEM teaching and learning for children from birth to age five. Her work focuses on developing and evaluating programs and innovations that foster inclusive, meaningful, and engaging STEM experiences in school and home settings. She has served as an Education Researcher at SRI Education and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Denver.
Publications
Leveraging Technology to Develop Supports for Educators to Promote Meaningful Science Learning in Preschool (NSF PI Meeting)
Scaling and Sustaining PreK–12 STEM Education Innovations: Systemic Challenges, Systemic Responses (NSF PI Meeting)
