Carin Michelle Leiva is a Montclair State University (MSU) alumni with a Bachelor’s in Sociology and a double minor in Leadership Development through Civic Engagement and Journalism.
She tutored low-income young children and interned at a public school with professional development workshops for bilingual parents. She went on to get her Masters in Nonprofit Leadership at Fordham University while holding multiple hats as a Toddler Teacher. Then, she joined MSU’s 3-year IECMH Fellowship program while teaching Child Development Associate (CDA) classes and community educational workshops as a Family Engagement Specialist.
Carin is now a proud IECD Ph.D. student at Fielding Graduate University and is endorsed by the New Jersey Association for Infant Mental Health as an Infant Family Specialist. She passionately advocates and empowers educators to raise their voices as a National Association for the Education of Young Children member. She did a full circle returning to her stomping grounds at MSU as she proudly consults at the Center for Autism and Early Childhood Mental Health since January 2023 as a Bilingual Parent-Infant Relational Health Specialist.