Dr. Stephanie Daniel, Ed.D.
Dr. Stephanie Daniel, Ed.D, is the Department Chair of Early Childhood Education at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College in Richmond, Virginia. Her journey in early childhood education spans over 30 years, beginning as a part-time student and childcare worker at the very institution where she now leads the program. Dr. Daniel’s path from student to educator and administrator has been fueled by her passion for working with young children and preparing the next generation of early childhood educators. Today, she oversees a fully online program designed to meet the needs of working professionals, advising students, supervising adjunct instructors, and ensuring high-quality instruction.
With extensive experience in curriculum development, program management, and professional development, Dr. Daniel has contributed to early childhood education across multiple sectors, including higher education, state government, and nonprofit organizations. Her career includes roles such as program director at Bryant & Stratton College, training and education consultant for the Virginia Department of Social Services, and professional development specialist with Capital Area Partnership Uplifting People, Inc. She is committed to providing practical, flexible, and credential-focused programs that prepare educators to succeed in diverse early childhood settings.
Dr. Daniel holds a Doctorate in Early Childhood Education from Northcentral University, a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Administration from Strayer University, and a Bachelor’s degree from Virginia Commonwealth University. Her work has earned her multiple recognitions, including Instructor of the Year (2023) and Staff of the Year through PTK (2024), as well as a nomination for faculty leader in teaching and learning among Virginia community colleges. As an author and advocate for high-quality early childhood education, Dr. Daniel emphasizes building relationships, supporting educators, and fostering community impact through excellence in teaching and leadership.
• Peer Reviewer Course
• Applying the QM Rubric
• Designing Hybrid-Flexible (HyFlex) Courses to Support Multimodal Learning Environments
• Virginia Commonwealth University- Bachelor's
• Strayer University- Master's
• Northcentral University- Ed.D.
• Instructor of the Year 2023
• Staff of the Year 2024 (PTK Honor Society)
• Nominated for Faculty Leader in Teaching and Learning (Virginia Community Colleges)
• PTK
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my love for people and my love for working with young children and making a difference in their lives. I'm passionate about building community, because I feel like early childhood education is one of those career paths where the community needs it. Nurses and doctors, they can't go to work without quality childhood programs. That's what really gets me up in the morning, making sure that we have those quality programs, and those quality programs start with individuals who are taking college courses to prepare them for the work that they're going to be doing with young children and their families.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received is to believe in yourself and don't give up when things are tough, because they will be. One of my mentors who actually had this same position told me when she retired that when you believe in yourself, you find people who also believe in what you're doing and what you believe in, and that makes your job a whole lot easier. She told me to think about the staff that you want to work with you, because they have to believe in the benefits of what we do every day for our students and how that trickles down into the lives of the young children and their families. It all starts with believing in me, and if I believe in me, I can sow into other people so that they then believe in themselves.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
What I would say is trust the process. It is not always easy, and don't think that you have to do things by yourself, because that's one of the things that I've learned a lot with my students. Some of them are afraid to ask for help. Sometimes professors intimidate them, and so it just goes back to building those relationships, so don't be afraid to ask for that help and trust the process. The process will get you to that, not so much the end product, but it will take you along your journey, and you can see the success as you are going and growing.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think the biggest challenge in early childhood education as a whole is compensation. You have students who love the field and love what they do, but even though when you think about early childhood education, it is one of the most important career paths that you can take, because we are the ones laying that foundation for our doctors and our lawyers, we are the ones who are undercompensated. That is a big challenge for the field as a whole, and even in my role, trying to educate students on the fact that if you're going in this field, you can't go in this field thinking that you're going to make a lot of money, because that's not what this field is all about at the moment. I do believe at some point we're going to get there, but we're just not there yet. You really have to have that passion for what you're doing in young children's lives on a daily basis.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values most important to me are respect, integrity, honesty, being transparent, and just building relationships. That communication is so important. I tell my students all the time, you don't have to tell me your whole life story, but you gotta be able to communicate with me, because if I don't know that you need help and support, I can't provide it. I am real big on building those relationships, and that's what early childhood is all about.