Dana E. Friedman, Ed. D.

President
The Early Years Institute

Dana Friedman is a nationally-recognized researcher and policy analyst for children, family and women's issues. She has worked for several national organizations and served as a consultant to major corporations, government agencies and foundations.

She started her career as a lobbyist for the Day Care Council of America and the Coalition for Children and Youth and went on to become a Senior Research Associate at The Conference Board where she created the Work and Family Information Center in 1983. She co-founded and co-led the Families and Work Institute in 1989 and left to become the Senior Vice President at Bright Horizons Family Solutions where she led the firm's work/life consulting practice.

Currently, she is the president and founder of The Early Years Institute, which began as a research project called Early Care and Education-Long Island (ECELI) in April 2002 and in 2008 its mission was expanded from children in childcare to include all settings where young children spend time. She also founded the Long Island Nature Collaborative for Kids (LINCK) as a way to reconnect children and nature.

Dana is published widely and is the author of several publications including "The Juggling Act," a monthly column in Working Mother from 1990-1997. She has written articles for Harvard Business Review, Journal of Philanthropy, and Across the Board. She was selected as one of the "25 Most Influential Working Mothers" in 1998, the inaugural year of the award given by Working Mother magazine. She is currently on the boards of the New York State Early Care and Learning Council and the Women's Fund of Long Island. She is a member of The Conference Board's Work/ Life Leadership Council and the Port Washington Child Care Partnership. She also serves on the New York State Early Childhood Advisory Council.

She received her bachelor's degree in child development from Cornell, her master's degree in social policy from the University of Maryland and holds a doctorate in organizational behavior from Harvard University. She currently lives in Port Washington, N.Y. with her husband and counts as her strongest credentials her three daughters.