Gabriele Fain

Gabriele Fain is a principal researcher at AIR, and director of the early childhood development and education practice area. She has worked on a range of research, evaluation, and technical assistance projects for local, state, and federal agencies. Her areas of expertise include early childhood education, early childhood mental health, and family support services. Currently, Fain is serving as a technical assistance specialist on Project LAUNCH, a federal grant program designed to promote young child wellness. In addition, she is currently directing a three-year evaluation of Hawaii’s Race to the Top grant.

Previously, Fain was the project director of the Evaluation of Preschool for All (PFA) in San Mateo and San Francisco Counties, a three-year process evaluation of PFA implementation. She has served as a senior team member for several other California-based early childhood projects, including the Evaluation of the School Readiness Initiative for First 5 LA and Evaluation of the Stretch to Kindergarten Program, for the Heising Simons Foundation. She also participated in the Statewide Evaluation of First 5 California, for which her responsibilities included helping county First 5 commissions and funded programs implement new state data collection and reporting requirements.

Fain served as the associate project director for the Quality Improvement Program Evaluation, a three-year evaluation of 11 major quality improvement programs funded by the California Department of Education, Child Development Division. Her experience includes a number of Head Start studies, including serving as a trainer and data collection coordinator for the Head Start Impact Study. Prior to joining AIR, Fain worked as an elementary school teacher.