Alexandra Daro is a research scientist at the Buffett Institute. As co-principal investigator of the Preschool Development Grant statewide Needs Assessment, her role largely focuses on efforts related to understanding gaps and barriers for families accessing and for child care providers delivering quality, equitable early care and education in Nebraska. She also works on the Nebraska Child Care Market Rate Survey, learning what licensed child care providers across the state charge for care. This work is directly tied to the Department of Health and Human Services' child care subsidy program, which supports equitable access to quality early care and education for families with lower incomes. Daro, who joined the Institute in 2015 as a graduate assistant and was named a research specialist in 2020, has her master’s degree and Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Research interests

• Early literacy development
• Preschool expulsion and suspension
• Equitable access to early learning.