Martha Buell is professor at the Department of Human Development and Family Studies and director of the Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood at the University of Delaware. Her area of interest is teacher development and early childhood education, especially in the areas of language and literacy development. She teaches classes in early childhood curriculum, and her research focuses on factors that influence the professional development of early childhood teachers and child care providers. She has worked on several projects examining the quality of child care, and how teacher education contributes to that quality. She is particularly interested in factors that affect the quality of early care and education for infants and toddlers. Her concern in large part has developed out of her work with the Early Head Start program that is operated out of the University of Delaware that serves both New Castle and Kent counties in Delaware. This program is designed to enhance the development of infants and toddlers and help parents do the best job they can of raising their very young children. Dr. Buell holds a B.A. in Anthropology from Vanderbilt University, an M.A. in Education from Tulane University, and a Ph.D. in Philosophy, Human Development and Family Studies with a specialization in Early Childhood Education.