Liz Bell has covered education in North Carolina for a decade for the nonprofit publication EdNC, and has copublished work in national outlets including The 74 Million, The Hechinger Report, and Early Learning Nation. In recent years, she has been the only reporter in the state focused on the early childhood beat, investigating the child care crisis, its effects on children, families, and communities, and emerging solutions. Her work is routinely cited by state policymakers and early childhood researchers.
Recent coverage includes stories on the rise of early childhood apprenticeships, a look at community colleges’ strategies to serve parenting students, and a deep dive into the needs of in-home child care providers. Bell is an alumna of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Hussman School of Journalism and Media.
During her fellowship year, Bell will study some of the first American attempts at universal child care and their lessons for the rest of the country. As some states and communities make historic early childhood investments, Bell will examine how these efforts impact not only young children and their families but also our collective understanding of education in the early years.