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Walter S. Gilliam, Ph.D.

Walter S. Gilliam, Ph.D.

Executive Director

Areas of Expertise

  • Child development
  • Head Start
  • Mental health
  • Preschool expulsion and suspension
  • Workforce compensation
  • Workforce well-being

Biography

Walter S. Gilliam, executive director of the Buffett Early Childhood Institute, holds the Richard D. Holland Presidential Chair in Early Childhood Development and a primary academic appointment at the Munroe-Meyer Institute at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He came to the Institute from Yale University, where he was the Elizabeth Mears & House Jameson Professor of Child Psychiatry and Psychology at the Yale Child Study Center and director of Yale’s Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy.

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Media Coverage

Preschool Pushout. (2026, May 12). Lives in the Balance podcast. 
 
Washington leaders intensify focus on high cost of childcare. (2026, May 6). Gray Television.
 
Debate on suspensions starting at preK shows a deeper problem. Schools need help. (2026, April 14). Nebraska Public Media. 
 
In Lincoln, lawmakers fight to maintain child care aid as parents and providers struggle. (2026, March 20). Flatwater Free Press. 
 
Nebraska has a child care crisis. Looming cuts to Medicaid will worsen it. (2026, March 4). Flatwater Free Press.
 
Staffing shortages drive childcare gap; new report finds Iowa side of metro has highest need. (2026, March 4). KMTV. 
 
America's Children Are Unwell. Are Schools Part of the Problem? (2025, Nov. 24). New York Times.
 
A Win for (Some) Teachers and Coaches in the New Tax Law (2025, Sept. 4). Wall Street Journal. 
 
Two mothers and Trump’s Head Start rule: Child care shortages meet anti-immigrant politics (2025, Sept. 15). Chalkbeat. 
 
Child care advocates hope new Nebraska GOP-focused poll spurs more support, public resources (2025, July 26). Nebraska Examiner. 
 
New Brief Recommends Extending Tax Breaks to Early Childhood Educators (2025, May 1). Early Learning Nation. 
 
Twin 3-Year-Olds Have Been Kicked Out of 2 Preschools. Their Parents Say They Just Needed a ‘Chance’ (2025, April 17). People. 
 
Head Start is turning 60. The federal child care program may not make it to 61 (2025, April 1). Hechinger Report.
 
Nebraska child care advocates on defense as providers struggle and legislative fixes languish (2025, March 28). Flatwater Free Press.
 
Preschools Struggle with California Law that Limits Expelling Children (2023, Dec. 4). Los Angeles Times.
 
Wisconsin Preschool Expulsions, Teachers’ Mental Health Linked. (2023, Aug. 17). Green Bay Press Gazette.
 
Why Child-Care Prices Are Rising at Nearly Twice the Overall Inflation Rate (2023, Aug. 17). Wall Street Journal. 
 
Midlands Voices: Nebraska can’t afford to lose its early childhood teachers (2023, July 23). Omaha World-Herald. 
 
Study Documents COVID Fatality Rates of Teachers, Child Care Workers. (2022, June 6). Chalkbeat. 

 

Featured Publications

Summary and Recommendations from the Early Childhood Education Workforce Well-Being Research-to-Policy Convening. [Brief]. Gilliam, W.S., Cobanoglu, A. (2026, March). Buffett Early Childhood Institute. 

Improving Child Care Worker Retention through Tax Reform by Including Early Childhood Educators in the Educator Expense Deduction. [Report]. Gilliam, W.S., Cobanoglu, A. (2025, March). Buffett Early Childhood Institute. 

Prevalence of chronic diseases, depression, and stress among US childcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Elharake, J.A., Shafiq M., Cobanoglu, A., Malik, A. A., Klotz, M., Humphries, J. E., Gilliam, W. S. (2022). Preventing Chronic Disease [CDC]. 19, 220132,e61.

COVID-19 transmission in US child care programs. (2021). Gilliam, W. S., Malik, A. A., Shafiq, M., Klotz, M., Reyes, C., Humphries, Omer, S. B. Pediatrics. 147(1), e2020031971. 

Early childhood mental health consultation: Results of a statewide random-controlled evaluation. Gilliam, W. S., Maupin, A. N., & Reyes, C. R. (2016). Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 55, 754-761.

Featured Presentations 

Connecticut Office of Early Childhood Roundtable Discussion on Universal Pre-K [Event]. (2025, April 8). Connecticut Office of Early Childhood. 

The Science of Infant Bonding and the Need for Supportive Policies [Virtual event]. (2023, May 11). Bipartisan Policy Center.

Is Kindergarten Ready for Kindergarteners [Panel discussion]. (2021, September 19). ASU+GSV Summit, San Diego CA. 

Virtual Press Conference: COVID-19 Transmission in U.S. Child Care Programs [Virtual event]. (2020, October 14). Yale University and Child Care Aware of America. 

Experts