January 16, 2008
Betsy Starr
Research Associate
Elizabeth Starr, M.Ed., has been a Research Associate at the National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST) since 2007. Her work centers on strengthening the out-of-school time (OST) workforce, enhancing program quality, and supporting system-building efforts at the local, state, and national levels.
Ms. Starr has contributed to a wide range of research and technical assistance initiatives during her tenure at NIOST. She is currently leading efforts to develop OST Apprenticeship Pathways in partnership with For Kids Only, a project funded by the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care. Her recent work includes contributions to the National Center on Afterschool and Summer Enrichment (NCASE), a former technical assistance center launched by the U.S. Office of Child Care and the Power of Us Youth Fields Workforce Study funded by the Wallace Foundation and led by AIR. She also co-edited The Heartbeat of the Youth Development Field: Professional Journeys of Growth, Connection, and Transformation, part of the Current Issues in Out-of-School Time series.
Ms. Starr has supported the U.S. Department of Education’s 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) program through state monitoring and technical assistance and was part of the Wallace Foundation’s Next Generation Afterschool System Building Initiative. She and her NIOST colleagues led the development of the Core Knowledge and Competencies for Afterschool and Youth Development Professionals, adopted by the National Afterschool Association in 2011 and revised in 2021.
Before joining NIOST, Ms. Starr contributed to early childhood research at the Wellesley Centers for Women, including the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. She enjoyed her work as a child and family advocate at a residential program for survivors of domestic violence in Massachusetts and as a mental health counselor for children and teens in Vermont schools and clinics. She still enjoys any time spent with youth – especially her own teenagers.
Ms. Starr holds a Master of Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and an A.B. in Psychology from Bowdoin College.
