Stacia M. Stribling is an Assistant Professor in the George Mason University Graduate School of Education’s Transformative Teaching Master’s Program. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from Mary Washington College and her Master’s Degree from the IET Program at George Mason University. In 2010 Stacia completed her PhD in Early Childhood Education with a minor in Literacy at George Mason University. Her dissertation explored the use of critical literacy practices with kindergarten and second-grade students. Her current research interests include early childhood education, critical literacy, teacher professional development, culturally responsive pedagogy, and multiculturalism. Prior to moving to the world of academia, Stacia spent eight years as a first- and second-grade teacher in Fauquier County, three years as a member of the Language Arts Council for Fauquier County Public Schools, and three years as the lead mentor teacher for Grace Miller Elementary School. One of her passions is advocating for teacher research as an essential component of teacher professional development; she is a Consulting Editor for Voices of Practitioners, a teacher research journal published by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), and is the past Secretary/Treasurer of the Teacher as Researcher Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). Stacia has been involved with numerous grants, most recently a project that explores the use of equity audits and culturally responsive teaching using a core group of teachers from the same school setting in order to help facilitate socially just change. She has presented her research at national and international conferences and has published numerous journal articles and book chapters. In addition to her education background, Stacia holds a degree in music performance. In her spare time, she and her husband own and operate a “pick-ur-own” orchard in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and raise two beautiful children adopted through foster care.