Ellen Roche

Ellen leads media, fundraising, and racial equity efforts at the Trust and studies infant and toddler development at University of Maryland. Having served as executive director of the Trust from 2018 to 2022, she now co-leads the Trust with Toscha Blalock & Chrisanne Gayl. Prior to joining Trust for Learning, Ellen taught English and music to children from Pre-K to high school and developed issue-based storytelling campaigns as a consultant. While earning her Master’s of Education at Harvard University, she studied the history of progressive education models in the U.S. and antiracist pedagogy. At the Trust, she works closely with our board and philanthropic funders to steward the organization’s development and aims to incorporate antiracism and inclusion in all areas of our work. Through our media efforts, Ellen amplifies the voices of colleagues around the country as they work toward ideal learning environments for all young children from birth – age eight.

As a developing scientist, she is focused on bringing antiracist practice into academic research and led the development of Trust for Learning’s evidence brief in early 2022. She spent two years working in the Early Learning Project lab at Georgetown University, and is now examining the relationship between adversity, language and socio-emotional development in preschoolers while working toward her PhD in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science. Learn more about her current research in University of Maryland’s LEAD lab here.