Infant/Toddler Specialist, West Ed
Ms. Espinosa majored in Child Development & Family Studies at Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo and received her B.A. from San Jose State University and M.A. Early Childhood Special Education from Santa Clara University. She has been working for the past thirty years with children, families and teachers of young children. She has worked as a preschool teacher for Migrant Head Start, Head Start and a Community College Lab Programs.
Ms. Espinosa was instrumental in developing the first infant/toddler program for Gilroy Unified School District teen parent program. She worked for ten years as the coordinator/instructor for the center, taught the ROP Child Development class and co-facilitated the Nurturing and Parenting Program.
Consuelo has been involved in various community, county and state organizations as an advocate for teen parents and their children. She has served as the California Alliance Concerned with School Age Parents (CACSAP) Regional Coordinator for five years and is currently on the Cal SAFE State Advisory Board.
Consuelo has been with WestEd, The Program for Infant Toddler Care (PITC) since 1999 as a Regional Coordinator for the Partners for Quality (PQ). PITC PQ is California’s Regional Support Network, which provides on-site training and technical assistance to California’s infant/toddler centers as well as family child care and licensed exempt providers caring for children birth to three years of age. In 2008, with her colleague, Edilma Serna, they received the WestEd Community Award for their work with caregivers at a residential home for young children in Managua, Nicaragua. Most recently she has become the Area Manager for Northern California PITC PQ.
She is committed to empowering caregivers, teachers of young children and their families, and accessing resources so that they can lead healthy and successful lives.