Christina Stephens

• Early childhood development and education
• Equitable access to early care and education
• Early childhood education policy 

Christina Stephens Ph.D., is an Assistant Research Professor at the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) at Rutgers University. Her research investigates the early childhood education (ECE) experiences of children and families, with a focus on policies and factors that shape equitable access to child care and high-quality educational opportunities. Her work also explores aspects of programs, classrooms, and the teacher workforce that support young children's development. Dr. Stephens’s work aims to inform decision-making, policies, and practices across multiple levels of ECE systems to benefit children and families.

Her current and recent projects have included national-, state-, and community-level research, which has involved partnerships with various child care agencies. Dr. Stephens is part of the Rutgers Child Care Research Collaborative and has conducted research on the ECE landscape in New Jersey from supply and demand perspectives. She is also a 2026 National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellow, where her work focuses on supporting dual language learners in preschool. 

Prior to joining NIEER, Dr. Stephens was an Institute of Education Sciences Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Virginia. In this role, she conducted research on children’s assets and education experiences that support early development using data from the Fairfax PreK to Third Grade Study, and supported projects engaged in partnerships with state and community agencies that administer Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) subsidies. Additionally, Dr. Stephens has worked with the National Research Center on Hispanic Children and Families to conduct national analyses of policies, ECE supply characteristics, and household factors that shape children’s access to high-quality educational opportunities; and worked on a multi-state study of CCDF policy implementation in local communities.

• Ph.D. Human Development and Family Studies, University of North Carolina Greensboro 
• M.S. Human Development and Family Studies, University of Rhode Island
• B.A. Psychology, The Catholic University of America