Lauren Starnes

Dr. Lauren Starnes is an author and Chief Academic Officer for Goddard Schools (Goddard Systems Inc). Having completed doctoral programs in both child development and educational leadership, Lauren has lead numerous organizations. She served as the Vice President of Education and Executive Director of Professional Development for Primrose School Franchising Company for four years prior to her positioning in her current role leading the Education team at Goddard. She formerly lead the education department of a large corporate early childhood education company where she oversaw hundreds of preschools across the US and authored the company’s proprietary early childhood curriculum which is still in use today. Lauren has worked at every level of early childhood education. While she began her formal career teaching at the university level, she has prior experience teaching within preschools, serving as a support professional for children with autism spectrum disorders, and coach for fellow preschool teachers. She has worked as a school principal for multiple different preschools and elementary school programs, has consulted for different early childhood education and educational product companies, lead the Education Department for a large corporate childcare company, and remains actively involved as a voice for early childhood education in various professional associations. Lauren is well published in a variety of journals and released her first book, Big Conversations with Little Children, in 2022. When not working, Lauren enjoys spending time traveling and cheering on her two sons in sports.