Alicia Tuesta has worked in the field of early childhood education since 1982. She serves as Senior Program Associate for WestEd’s Center for Child & Family Studies, where she leads product development and Spanish translation of the Program for Infant/Toddler Care (PITC) materials.
As former Director of PITC training, Tuesta led a wide range of events to support the efforts of educators, program leaders, and care teachers to develop and implement infant/toddler program policies that assure high-quality standards of care.
Tuesta has managed state and federal projects, and has collaborated with representatives of departments of education, health, and social services from several states and countries to share materials and advice, and to develop infant/toddler training systems. In addition, she has led the team involved in Spanish translations of PITC products since 2002.
Prior to joining WestEd in 2001, Tuesta was a Program Coordinator for the Orfalea Family Children’s Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She was influential in the 1991 expansion of the Center to include a high-quality infant/toddler program. In addition, she taught early childhood education courses in higher education institutions.
Tuesta received a BA in psychology from the University of Madrid in Spain and an MEd with an emphasis on early childhood education from the University of California, Santa Barbara.