Human Development Center

Maria Blanco, M.Ed.

Director, Early Childhood Initiatives

Maria Blanco has worked an Assistant Professor in the Human Development Center’s Early Childhood Initiatives since 2006. She is currently Director of the Inclusive Practices in Early Childhood program (IPEC) and Director of the Early Head Start-Childcare Partnership. Maria was appointed by the Governor to serve on the Early Childhood Education Commission. She also serves on the Louisiana Early Childhood Advisory Council and the New Orleans Early Education Network Steering Committee.

Katie Rambeau, M.Ed.

Program Manager

As a fierce advocate for inclusion and family-centered practice, Katie Rambeau, M.Ed. has worked to empower families and promote inclusive education throughout her career. Her work’s focus is educating teachers in early childhood classrooms to effectively support students with disabilities form birth to age 5. Katie’s role as Program Manager is to expand professional development and technical assistance to families, early learning centers and schools to support children with disabilities.