Research Associate, SRI Education
Rachel Acereto supports research and technical assistance projects focused on young children with disabilities. She has research experience related to maternal mental health, attachment, relational trauma and parent–child relationships. She also has direct-service experience in early childhood programs, including in Head Start/Early Head Start programs and in nonprofit family service agencies.
At SRI, Acereto supports several activity teams for the Center for IDEA Early Childhood Data Systems (DaSy Center). She provides administrative and coordination support for technical assistance products and services (topic cohorts, learning communities, learning modules and other products), writes the staff newsletter, and coordinates support for the DaSy web and communications team. Acereto has also coordinated key informant interviews for the Inclusion in California Early Learning and Care study and created recruitment materials and supported interviews for the Maine Early Childhood Consultation Partnership (ECCP®) pilot evaluation. She previously assisted researchers with youth and caregiver interviews for the Diagnostic Interview for Adolescents and Adults with Intellectual Disabilities (DIA-AID) study.
Before joining SRI, Acereto presented her master’s thesis research at the 2017 Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting; the 2018 World Association for Infant Mental Health Congress; and the 2019 International Attachment Conference. In her direct-service experience within the infant mental health and early childhood/early childhood special education fields, Acereto was an infant-toddler teacher and family enrichment coordinator at a nonprofit organization supporting low-income, underserved families of children from birth to age 5.
Acereto holds a BA in psychology and MA in infant mental health from Mills College.
Key projects
- The Center for Early Childhood IDEA Data Systems (DaSy)
- Inclusion in California Early Learning and Care Study (Child Care Policy and Research Project)
- Diagnostic Interview for Adolescents and Adults with Intellectual Disability (DIA-AID)
- Maine Early Childhood Consultation Partnership® Pilot Evaluation