Christy Tirrell-Corbin, PhD, is a Dean’s Impact Professor, Founding Executive Director of the Center for Early Childhood Education and Intervention (CECEI), and Director of the Early Childhood General/Special Education Program at the University of Maryland College of Education, College Park, Maryland. A scholar of early childhood education and intervention, she leads research, evaluation, and professional learning initiatives that strengthen early childhood systems, advance inclusive educational practices, and improve outcomes for young children and families. She also serves as Co-Director of the Trauma Sensitive Pedagogy Project, a collaborative initiative advancing research, policy, and practice to support trauma-informed learning environments.
Dr. Tirrell-Corbin's commitment to this work began early in her career while working in foster care and adoption in New York City. Witnessing the profound effects of trauma, adversity, and mental health challenges on children and families inspired a lifelong dedication to understanding how early experiences shape development, learning, and well-being. Since then, she has secured more than $20 million in external funding as a Principal Investigator from organizations including the Maryland State Department of Education, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Bainum Family Foundation, and the Council of Chief State School Officers. Her work has centered on developing innovative approaches to inclusive PreK service delivery, strengthening the early childhood workforce, and building statewide capacity for high-quality, inclusive early childhood education.
Her research has informed policy and practice in PreK inclusion, infant and early childhood mental health, trauma-informed pedagogy, and early childhood workforce credentialing. Through peer-reviewed scholarship, evaluation research, and partnerships with state agencies and community organizations, Dr. Tirrell-Corbin translates research into practical strategies that strengthen early childhood systems and expand equitable opportunities for young children and families. An award-winning faculty member, she remains committed to ensuring that every young child and family has access to high-quality, inclusive early learning experiences.
Sample Publications
Journal Articles
Ferrara, A., Panlilio, C. and Tirrell-Corbin, C. (in press). How do school professionals define early childhood trauma? Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma.
Jones Harden, B., Brett, B., Gross, J., Weiland, C., Berne, J., Klein, E and Tirrell-Corbin, C. (2023). Benefits of pre-kindergarten for children in Baltimore, MD. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 64, 1-12.
Tirrell-Corbin, C., Klika, J. B. & Schelbe, L. (2022). Using research-practice-policy partnerships to mitigate the effects of childhood trauma on educator burnout. Child Abuse & Neglect 105941.
Simons, C., Jones Harden, B., Lee, K. and Tirrell-Corbin, C. (2022). Early childhood teachers’ early adversity and current wellbeing as predictors of their engaged support for early learning. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 61(4), 158-169.
Klein, E.L, Tirrell-Corbin, C., & Lieber, J. (2019). Implementing a culturally responsive early childhood general/special education teacher preparation program through collaboration and continuous improvement. In I. Jones and M. Lin (Eds.), Critical issues in early childhood teacher education. Vol. 1. Charlotte, NC: IAP Press.
Evaluation reports
Jones Harden, B., Tirrell-Corbin, C., Scott, J.K., Simons, C., & Jimenez Parra, L. (2022). Quality Improvement Network Staff and Teacher Well Being Survey. College Park, MD: University of Maryland, Center for Early Childhood Education, and Intervention.
Tirrell-Corbin, C., Jones Harden, B., Jimenez Parra, L., Martoccio, T., & Denis, K. (2021). Evaluation of Maryland’s Infant Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Program. College Park, MD: University of Maryland, Center for Early Childhood Education, and Intervention.
Tirrell-Corbin, C., Martoccio, T. L., Duncan, A., Hancock, G. R., & Denis, K. (2020). Implementation Evaluation of Maryland’s Young Readers Program. College Park, MD: University of Maryland, Center for Early Childhood Education, and Intervention.
Tirrell-Corbin, C. & Gross, J. T. (2020). Evaluation of the Efficacy of Maryland’s Early Childhood Family Engagement Initiative (Phase II). College Park: University of Maryland, Center for Early Childhood Education and Intervention.
Tirrell-Corbin, C., Gross, J. T., & Renzi, D. T. (2019). Evaluation of the CCSSO Early Learning Networked Improvement Community. College Park: University of Maryland, Center for Early Childhood Education and Intervention.
Klein, E., Jones Harden, B., Tirrell-Corbin, C., Gross, J., and Brett, B., (2018). Evaluation of Maryland’s Preschool Development Expansion Grant Program. College Park: University of Maryland, Center for Early Childhood Education and Intervention.
Book Chapters
Tirrell-Corbin, C. (2019). Responding to childhood trauma at the Macro- and Microsystem levels: The necessity for trauma-sensitive pedagogy. Invited chapter in C.M. Panlilio (Ed.), Trauma-informed schools: How maltreatment prevention, detection, and intervention can be integrated into the school setting. New York, NY: Springer
Panlilio, C. & Tirrell-Corbin, C. Trauma Sensitive Pedagogy. In Svaricek, R., (Ed.) (2018). ICET 61st World Assembly: Re-Thinking Teacher Professional Education: Using Research Findings for Better Learning. Czech Republic: Brno.
OpEds
Panlilio, C. & Tirrell-Corbin, C. (2021, March). Our Research Shows Educators are Experiencing Trauma During the Pandemic. Here’s How We Reduce the Burden. EdSurge.
Tirrell-Corbin, C., Panlilio, C., & Klika, J. B. (2021, February). The Epidemic Behind the Mask: COVID-related Education Inequities. The Hill.
Select Grant Awards
2023-2024 Maryland Early EdCorp. Funding Agency: Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Early Childhood. Project Director/Principal Investigator. This 18-month project provides a “doorway” for a diverse population, with an emphasis on underrepresented groups, to enter the early childhood, child care, and special education workforce pipeline to support the development and learning of children ages 3-5.
2022-2023 Trauma Informed Research, Policy, and Practice Partnerships in Low-Resourced Communities, Funding Agency: Bainum Family Foundation. Project Director/Principal Investigator. Funding to support Community Asset Mapping as a precursor to a Community Needs Assessment that will serve as the foundation for a school-based Trauma-Informed Research, Practice, Policy Partnership in a high poverty community serving families who have emigrated from Central and South America.
2022-2024 Implementation and Impact Evaluation of Maryland’s Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Support Services (IECMHSS)Program. Funding Agency: Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Early Childhood. Project Director/Principal Investigator (Co-PI: Brenda Jones Harden). Two phase evaluation of IECMHSS focused on implementation and impact (with a Randomized Control Trial design).
2021 External Evaluation of the Efficacy of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC) Project: Study and Report. Funding Agency: Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Early Childhood. Project Director/Principal Investigator (Co-PI: Brenda Jones Harden). A legislatively mandated evaluation of IECMH to inform the public about the goals of the project, assess the news for new services, report on progress the project has made, and consider ways to integrate the project with other services.
2020-2021 Trauma Informed Pedagogy: Phase V. Funding Agency: Bainum Family Foundation. Principal Investigator/Co-Project Director Funding to support continued implementation of TSP and to build a sustainable infrastructure for a national group of Trauma Experts to support the reintegration of children into schools post COVID-19.
2020-2023 Early Childhood Project-Based Curricula Development and Implementation Project: Continued Implementation of Children Study Their World and Development and implementation of Children Explore Their World. Funding Agency: Health and Human Services/Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Early Childhood. A multi-phased project with the dual focus of: (1) expanding the implementation of Children Study Their World: A Curriculum for Four-Year-Old Children and (2) developing and implementing Children Explore Their World: A Curriculum for Three-Year-Old Children.
2020 Implementation Evaluation of the Governor’s Young Readers Program. Funding Agency: State of Maryland, Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention. Project Director/Principal Investigator (Co-PI: Gregory Hancock). A mixed-methods, implementation evaluation of the Young Reader’s Program examining the perceived strengths and benefits of book distribution in collaboration with the Imagination Library.
2019-2020 Sharpening the Focus on Fully Inclusive Early Education Experiences. Funding Agency: IDEA State Discretionary Grant Proposal/ Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Special Education/Early Childhood Intervention. Project Director/Principal Investigator. A study of the inclusive educational opportunities for preschool age children with disabilities throughout the state of Maryland.
2019-2020 Implementation of Children Study their World Curriculum 2019-2020. Funding Agency: Health and Human Services/Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Early Childhood. Project Director/Principal Investigator. This funding will support the implementation of the CECEI Children Study Their World curriculum in 200 additional classrooms, to include coaching, technical assistance and web-based professional development resources in the form of podcasts, apps and digital media.
2019-2020 Trauma Informed Pedagogy for Young Children: A Curriculum for Early Childhood Educators: Phase IV. Funding Agency: Bainum Family Foundation. Principal Investigator/Co-Project Director for the implementation of an Improvement Science Driven, Trauma Sensitive Pedagogy project with administrators, specialists and teachers in a professional development school within a high poverty community.
2018-2020 External Evaluation of the Efficacy of Maryland’s Early Childhood Family Engagement Initiative (Phase II). Funding Agency: Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Early Childhood. Project Director/Principal Investigator. The evaluation will inform the public about the extent to which the implementation of family engagement strategies in the State has improved the quality of family engagement among parents and family members.
2018-2019 Evaluation of the CCSSO Early Learning Networked Improvement Community. Funding Agency: Council of Chief State School Officers. Project Director/Principal Investigator. External evaluation of the Early Learning Networked Improvement Community project, which examines strategic goals, cross and within state engagement and processes to focused on the provision of high-quality early childhood instruction.
EDHD 220 Exploring Early Childhood General and Special Education
EDHD 424 Culture, School & Community: Contexts for Learning (PreK-3rd)
EDHD 441 Data Driven Decision Making in EC/ECSE
EDHD442 Interventions for Children with Behavioral Challenges
EDHD443 Interventions for Children with Social Communication Challenges