No Single Story: Amplifying the Voices of Asian American and Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander Early Educators

This book brings together a diverse group of Asian American and Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander early childhood educators who share their stories about how their intersecting identities and lived experiences has impacted and influenced their work in early education. Each contributor brings to life their rich cultural heritage through stories of family and place. They discuss their struggles and challenges with racism and marginalization yet each talks of hope and change. Each essay is unique and personal, but with the primary focus of improving the lives of children.

Obviously, no one book can represent all the lived experiences or lessons from the field. However, the goal of this book is to give insight to a cross-section of the experiences of AANHPI early education and care professionals, to provide mirrors and windows to the education field in hope of pursuing more fair, just and inclusive communities.

The Book Editors and NAEYC see this book as an opportunity to break down barriers between and outside the Asian American and Native Hawai‘ian, Pacific Islander communities to build a bridge of understanding, to open a dialogue, to improve both policy and practice, and to advance diversity and equity.

Debbie LeeKeenan is Co-Director of Anti-Bias Leaders ECE, lecturer and author. She has been in the field for over 50 years, a former preschool, special education, and public school teacher. She was director of the Eliot-Pearson Children's School at Tufts University, member of the early childhood faculty at Tufts University, Lesley University and the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. Debbie is producer of two award winning anti-bias education films. Her work has been published in numerous journals and books, including Young Children, Exchange and Theory into Practice, From Survive to Thrive: A Director's Guide for Leading an Early Childhood Program and Leading Anti-bias Early Childhood Programs: A Guide to Change, for Change. Debbie is Chinese-American, the child of immigrant working-class parents and is part of a mixed -race family.

Iris Chin Ponte, Ph.D. is director and classroom teacher at the Henry Frost Children's Program in Belmont, MA. She is an adjunct faculty member in the Graduate School of Education at Lesley University. Recognized as an Exchange Emerging Leader in 2015, Iris is a former Fulbright Scholar, with expertise in cross-cultural issues in education in the United States, the United Kingdom, Taiwan, China, Japan, and Newfoundland. She has published in the areas of children and technology, behavior management, children's play, outdoor environmental design, early education program leadership and birth parent reunions and heritage trips for adoptees in China. Dr. Ponte has received professional recognition from the Children's Defense Fund, CBS, and the American Educational Research Association and was awarded the Thomas J. Watson IBM Fellowship.

Caryn Park is nearing her 30th year as an educator and has taught in early childhood and higher education classrooms, mentored and coached pre-service and in-service educators, and served as an anti-bias/anti-racist education consultant and workshop facilitator for schools and parents. Her primary areas of interest include qualitative research methods and teacher inquiry, supporting immigrant and multilingual learners, teacher identity and pedagogical development, and social emotional learning for students and educators. Her interest in social emotional learning and mental health in particular has led her most recently to pursue licensure in marriage and family therapy. Caryn is an immigrant from South Korea, mom of two young adult children, and lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

Sandy Baba, PhD, is a researcher and practitioner specializing in early care education and family service development. Her work includes leadership of statewide and national quality rating and improvement initiatives and the development of a culturally responsive family engagement framework for low-income Asian American immigrant families, recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Dr. Baba's current work is AI-focused, examining the responsible application of artificial intelligence in human services and workforce development. Her scholarly and applied pursuits emphasize human-centered coaching and mentoring approaches that support social service practitioners, with particular attention to mental health support, reflective practice, and professional resilience. In 2008, she founded the NAEYC AANHPI Interest Forum with colleagues to advance the global early childhood workforce. She currently serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors for The Council for Professional Recognition.