Overview
Leslie Fox is the Director for Early Childhood Intervention, Mental Health, and Inclusion programs at WestEd. She is responsible for project development and oversight of cross-sector early childhood policies and practices intended to improve learning, health, and developmental outcomes for infants, toddlers and preschoolers. She is a nationally recognized expert in program evaluation and systems alignment, evidence-based practices to improve learning and developmental outcomes, and implementation science.
Fox leads and develops projects that influence and support the development of national, state, and local early childhood policies, programs, and practices that positively affect development, learning, and outcomes for young children, youth, and their families, with an emphasis on those serving infants, toddlers, and preschool children with developmental delays and disabilities.
Fox joined WestEd after working at the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs, where she provided monitoring and technical assistance to state agencies implementing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Fox has led and supported early childhood research studies on inclusive communities, executive functions, Part C home visiting curricula, and autism spectrum disorders. She has more than 25 years of experience in implementing and evaluating evidence-based and promising practices in home, school, early learning, and childcare environments specifically serving traditionally hard to reach and underserved rural communities and military families. Since 1999, Fox has held academic appointments teaching, supervising, and mentoring undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students pursuing careers in education, criminal justice, and developmental psychology.
Education
- PhD in education, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- MS in human development and early childhood disorders, University of Texas at Dallas
- BA in psychology, University of Southern Mississippi
Select Publications
Kirby, A. V., Baranek, G. T., & Fox, L. (2016). Longitudinal factors that predict social outcomes for adults with autism spectrum. OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health, 36(2), 55–64. https://doi.org/10.1177/1539449216650182
Odom, S., Fluery, V., Fox, L., Hedges, S., Pierce, N., & Sreckovic, M. (2015). Autism spectrum disorder: Educational issues. In C. McDougle (Ed.), Autism spectrum disorders: A primer for physicians (387–412). Oxford University Press.
Garwood, J., Brunsting, N., & Fox, L. (2014). Improving reading comprehension and fluency outcomes for adolescents with emotional-behavioral disorders: Recent research synthesized. Remedial & Special Education.
Bailey, D., Rasp, M., & Fox, L. (2012). What is the future of family outcomes and family-centered services? Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 31, 216–233.
