Dr. Jill Bella, EdD, is director of professional learning at the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership and assistant professor of early childhood education at National Louis University (NLU). In these roles, she oversees professional learning, conducts research, and consults for local and state initiatives on the Early Childhood Work Environment Survey (ECWES), the Program Administration Scale (PAS), the Business Administration for Family Child Care (BAS), and leadership topics in early care and education. Jill is a national reliability anchor for the PAS and BAS. She holds a doctorate in adult and continuing education from NLU, and both a master’s degree in special education/early intervention and a bachelor’s degree in child development from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Prior to joining the Center, she worked at several child care centers and Akron Children’s Hospital as an early intervention specialist and training associate. Jill’s interests include organizational climate, advocacy for the early childhood workforce, systems thinking, and early childhood leadership.
Jill is coauthor of A Great Place to Work: Creating a Healthy Organizational Climate, Inspiring Peak Performance, Zoom: The Impact of Early Childhood Leadership Training on Role Perceptions, Job Performance, and Career Decisions, and several Trainer’s Guides.
