Casey is a DPhil student in Oxford’s Department of Education at St. Antony’s College. Her research examines how public policy can support high-quality early learning environments, focusing on U.S. state laws mandating play-based early childhood education. Previously, she served as Senior Director of Early Childhood Policy at the Center for American Progress, where she led the think tank’s early childhood policy agenda and authored research on early care and education access. She began her career teaching kindergarten in California and Missouri before moving into federal education policy. She served on the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor, drafting and negotiating legislation on universal preschool and affordable child care.
She holds a master’s in education policy and management from Harvard, where she was awarded the Saul Zaentz Fellowship, and a bachelor’s in communication and political science from the University of Pennsylvania.
