Adjunct Assistant Professor
Dr. Ola J. Friday is the inaugural Executive Director of The Early Educator Investment Collaborative, a national pooled fund focused on transforming the early childhood education workforce through systems change. She leads the Collaborative’s efforts to ensure early educators can reach their full potential as professionals, and that all children, especially those historically underserved, benefit from high-quality early learning experiences.
As the daughter of immigrant educators, Dr. Friday developed a deep appreciation for the power of education to change lives. She began her career in the classroom, but quickly recognized that the most pressing barriers educators face are structural. This insight led her to pursue leadership roles focused on early childhood policy and implementation.
Previously in her career, she led the statewide implementation of New York’s Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS). Most recently, she oversaw professional development and higher education access for more than 65,000 early educators in Massachusetts, including the development of a new competency-based credentialing system.
Dr. Friday holds a doctorate in Education Leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, a Master of Public Policy from the Goldman School at the University of California, Berkeley, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Tufts University. She is a proud alumna of the NYC Urban Fellows Program and the Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Fellowship.