Director, Early Learning Strategy

Stacey Alicea joined the Newark Trust for Education in October 2020 as Director, Early Learning Strategy. She is a community psychologist with a deep commitment to bridging research and practice initiatives grounded in community participatory action, critical pedagogy, social network, continuous improvement, and systems design frameworks. Stacey is also passionate about engaging local stakeholders as partners in the development, implementation and sustainability of initiatives targeting holistic youth and family development, resource accumulation and wellness in school-based and community settings. Her work in this space includes experiences that span youth- and community-centered early childhood and school-based initiatives to community-based health and wellness programs in New York City, the Caribbean, South America and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Prior to joining the Trust, Stacey served as Associate Executive Director, Training, Strategic Learning and Evaluation at Ramapo for Children, a non-profit education organization specializing in early learning and PreK-12 technical assistance and capacity building at the intersections of school climate, restorative justice, racial equity, social-emotional learning, and trauma-informed practice.