As Executive Director of Child Care Aware® of America (CCAoA), Lynette M. Fraga, Ph.D., is a passionate practitioner, advocate, and leader in the field of child care and early learning, working to advance the accessibility of quality child care experiences for all children.
Dr. Fraga has over 25 years of experience as an educator, program director, and executive leader working on behalf of children and families. Dr. Fraga serves in an advisory capacity on a number of national panels and committees including the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Early Childhood (COEC), the Institute of Medicine Early Care and Education Collaborative, Healthy Kids Healthy Futures Steering Committee, NAEYC’s Power to the Profession Task Force, and the Early Care and Education Innovation Collaborative (ECE IC). In addition she serves on the boards of Generations United, whose mission is the improve the lives of children and youth and older people through intergenerational collaboration, policies and programs, and All Our Kin, an organization that trains, supports, and sustains community child care providers to ensure that children and families have the foundation they need to succeed in school and in life. Dr. Fraga is also Chair of the Children’s Leadership Council (CLC), a coalition of 55 leading national organizations working together to improve the health, education, and well-being of children and youth.
Dr. Fraga began her career in early childhood as a teacher in infant, toddler and preschool classrooms, and subsequently worked in the military child care system as a Center Director; Training, and Curriculum Specialist; and School-Age Coordinator. She has since held positions at the local, state, and national level within the nonprofit, corporate, and higher education sectors. Prior to CCAoA, Dr. Fraga served as Vice President of Early Care and Special Populations for Care.com where she led development of public–private partnerships to support the corporation’s services for children with special needs and a lifespan of care options for military-connected families. During her 11 years at ZERO TO THREE (ZTT), a national nonprofit working to promote the healthy development of babies and toddlers, Dr. Fraga was the Chief Program Officer and led the development of and oversaw all programmatic activities. An expert on the social and emotional needs of infants and toddlers, she spearheaded Military Family Projects as its Director and held several leadership roles within the Early Head Start National Resource Center at ZTT.
Dr. Fraga holds a doctoral degree in Family Studies from Kansas State University, a master’s degree in Human Relations from the University of Oklahoma, and holds a bachelor’s degree in Special Education from the University of Arizona.
