Ashley R. Watts, EdD, is a scholar-practitioner, educator-preparation professional and consultant whose work bridges research, policy and practice in early childhood and out-of-school-time systems. She serves as a lecturer in early childhood education in the Department of Urban Education at the University of Houston-Downtown, where she prepares future educators through an equity-centered, systems-building approach.
Dr. Watts has held leadership roles across research, policy and practice, including serving as co-principal investigator on the RISER Network Research Practice Partnership, which centers the well-being and community cultural wealth of Black family child care educators. She also leads the Belonging Leadership Team for the Center for Coaching Strategies’ Workforce Leadership and Sustainability Initiative and facilitates the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children Inclusion, Equity and Social Justice Community of Practice.
Dr. Watts holds an EdD in educational leadership from Marymount University, an MPA from Texas Southern University and a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Stephen F. Austin State University. Her background in home-based child care, center leadership and classroom fieldwork informs her work on the PreK-Grade 3 continuum and culturally sustaining, Afrofuturist pedagogy.
