Marcy Guddemi's Page

Professional Interests

Learning Through Play
Rights of Child to well development
Ages and Stages of Development
Promoting Recess

About Me:

As President and CEO of the Gesell Institute, Dr. Guddemi is taking the lead in developing and defining the future direction of the organization. She is supporting on-going program development and promoting collaboration efforts with other local and national organizations, seeking to enhance understanding and support of children’s development. Her role also involves representing the organization in the community and in the media, participating in and leading future fundraising efforts, and overseeing Institute staff and administrative activities.

Dr. Guddemi is a widely recognized expert in early childhood education and assessment. Though she started as a high school teacher, school staff cuts in the 1970’s led her to teach in a Head Start Center, and she soon became Education Director of Ohio’s Richland/Morrow Counties Head Start programs. Seeking further training, she went on to earn a PhD in Early Childhood Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Texas. She held teaching positions at Texas State University, the University of South Carolina, and the University of South Florida before being recruited in 1991 as Vice President of Education and Training to design curricula for KinderCare Learning Centers.

The curricula that Dr. Guddemi and her team developed for KinderCare were based on up-to-date knowledge of cognitive development and brain research. They included programs for age groups from birth through 12 years, and two won national awards. While at KinderCare, Dr. Guddemi also introduced a professional development ladder system for staff training; she strengthened home-school connections by spearheading parent involvement programs; and she expanded revenues and reduced spending through careful operations oversight.

Soon after moving with KinderCare headquarters from Alabama to Oregon, Dr. Guddemi shifted her focus to assessment and began a new role as Senior Product Manager for Early Learning at CTB/McGraw-Hill in Monterey, CA in 1998. There, she developed and marketed quality early childhood assessment and training products, completing her MBA at Golden Gate University. She also served for three years as Director of Early Learning Products for Harcourt Assessment, Inc. in San Antonio, TX. In January 2006, Dr. Guddemi became Director of Assessment for the Pearson Learning Group, a leading international publisher of supplemental and assessment products and services in Parsippany, NJ. She was appointed Executive Director of the Gesell Institute in November 2007.

Dr. Guddemi is a member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), and she has been an active member and officer in the International and American Associations for the Child’s Right to Play, also serving as a representative at United Nations conferences and other child advocacy gatherings. She has given numerous professional presentations, served as a spokesperson in various media outlets, and published a variety of articles in both periodicals and books.

Currently, Dr. Guddemi lives in Hamden, CT with her husband Joseph who is an artist and an educator. Dr. Guddemi’s daughter, Gina, is an honors graduate of NYU and works in the art field at the New York City office of Sotheby’s.

My Title/Position/Status:

Executive Director

I've Been in The Field Since:

September 1, 1776

I'm Interested in Discussing

Parenting, Teaching, New Research, Best Practices

Web Site Address

www.gesellinstitute.org