Amber Morabito

Overview

Amber Morabito has deep content knowledge in infant/toddler development and care, has expertise in infant/toddler program implementation, is an experienced and skilled trainer and coach, has an understanding of early childhood quality improvement efforts, and possesses strong interpersonal and intrapersonal skills and abilities that support the expansion of the PITC Curriculum at local, state, and national levels. Morabito also provides leadership in her role as a co-facilitator of the steering committee for the Early Childhood Community of Practice (EC CoP) at WestEd aimed at establishing a cross-division community that focuses on early childhood (i.e., 0 to 8 years old) education, research, services, systems, polices, and practice.  

In her role, Morabito has excelled at project leadership, team and project management, communication, and marketing of the PITC Curriculum. Morabito leads, mentors, and supervises a team that delivers PITC Curriculum implementation training and coaching nationally. Morabito develops proposals and strategies to expand this important work. Since the release of the PITC Curriculum, it has sold over 2,000 copies in English and Spanish. Morabito has partnered with 35 early childhood programs (both family and center-based childcare) resulting in over 1,000 participants in 15 states who have engaged with the PITC Curriculum implementation training.  

Prior to joining WestEd, Morabito held a variety of positions in early childhood education and psychology, including at the university and community college levels, and as an early childhood educator working directly with children and their families and as an assistant program director, administrator, consultant, supervisor, and mentor. Additionally, Morabito’s focus and experience have included the training and coaching of early care and education staff in center-based childcare and family childcare programs. These diverse experiences provide Morabito with a holistic view and understanding of the complexities of the human experience. 

Education

• PhD in psychology, Capella University  
• MA in developmental psychology, San Francisco State University 
• BA in psychology, San Francisco State University 

Select Publications

Mangione, P. L., Lally, J. L., Harkins, D. M., & Morabito, A. O. (with Paxton, A. R. J. (2021). The PITC curriculum. WestEd.  

Morabito, A. O. (2016). Differences among temperament identification, racial affiliation, and gender as they relate to perceived social competence of children in kindergarten. ProQuest.  

Morabito, A. O. (2006). The relationship between parenting self-esteem and depression: Voice as a mediator: Factors that influence social competence in children and academic success. San Francisco State, CA. 

Honors, Awards, and Affiliations

Early Childhood Community of Practice Steering Committee Co-Facilitator at WestEd