Diane Trister Dodge
In this Early Learning Nation Studio conversation, Chris Riback interviews Diane Trister Dodge, the founder of Teaching Strategies and one of the most influential figures in American early childhood education. Dodge traces her path from wanting simply 'to become the best teacher possible' to accidentally becoming a publisher: she trained Head Start teachers in 1966 Mississippi, made her own materials on a mimeograph machine, and self-published a filmstrip about classroom arrangement when no publisher would take it. That first effort grew into The Creative Curriculum and the Teaching Strategies GOLD assessment system, tools that shaped early learning nationwide. She reflects on what high-quality classrooms look like, the persistent inequities facing at-risk children and early childhood teachers, and her current work giving back through the Dodge Family Fund.
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Diane Trister Dodge
Diane Trister Dodge is an early childhood educator, author, and entrepreneur who founded Teaching Strategies and created The Creative Curriculum. What began as a homemade filmstrip and a self-published guide run out of her basement in 1978 grew, over 24 years, into the largest early childhood education publisher in the United States, with materials now reaching more than 15 million children, including roughly 90 percent of Head Start programs. She built her work around a single conviction - that children learn in the context of relationships - and after retiring in 2012 she and her husband Lowell channeled the proceeds into scholarships and programs for children in poverty.
Mike Derezin
Mike Derezin is a technology executive and lifelong entrepreneur who became CEO of Teaching Strategies, an early-childhood education company, in May 2025. He spent nearly a decade at LinkedIn, where he helped launch and scale LinkedIn Sales Solutions (Sales Navigator) and later ran LinkedIn Learning Solutions, growing it into one of the largest professional-development platforms in the world. Before LinkedIn he founded companies including Porvenir and VoxPop, advised Fortune 500 firms as a Bain & Company consultant, and taught elementary-school computer classes in Oakland and Santiago, Chile.
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What shipped, and whenThe Creative Curriculum
Play-based, research-grounded curriculum for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and early elementary children. Used widely in Head Start and state Pre-K programs.
GOLD
An observation-based, formative assessment system aligned to 38 research-based objectives for development and learning, from birth through third grade.
ReadyRosie
A family engagement platform with thousands of short videos and resources in English and Spanish to extend learning at home.
Coaching to Fidelity
Professional development and coaching tools that help administrators support teachers in implementing curriculum with fidelity.
Tadpoles
Childcare center management software for daily reporting, attendance, billing, and family communication.