Gesell Staff

Dr. Peg Oliveira is the Director of the Gesell Program in Early Childhood at the Yale Child Study Center. She is a faculty member and Associate Research Scientist at Yale University. She is a developmental psychologist and advocate whose work focuses on advocating for child centered approaches to teaching and parenting young children. She is particularly interested in how to encourage more play at school and at home. Dr. Oliveira consults regularly with schools and districts to educate teachers and parents on developmentally appropriate practice and play based learning. 

For fifteen years prior to coming to Yale, Peg was a Senior Policy Fellow with CT Voices for Children as well as a consultant to other child advocacy organizations. Peg was a consultant to the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood to define the state’s original core knowledge and competencies for early childhood educators. 

Peg is a member of the Goddard School’s Education Advisory Board. Previously she served on the Board of Directors of the Becket Chimney Corners YMCA, and was the founding director of 108 Monkeys, a nonprofit yoga service organization.

Click here to access Peg's CV

What do you enjoyed most about working at Gesell?

"The inspiration I get from my conversations with teachers and parents. From the grown ups I work with I have learned a great deal about how to connect with kids, how to imagine their intentions, understand their motivations, and empathize with their impeccable choices.”

How have you seen Gesell’s theory of child development at work in your own life?

“When my daughter was finishing Kindergarten we were told that, unlike her peers, she was not falling in love with reading. It was suggested that some literacy supports might be useful over the summer break. So... as a family we went swimming, crab catching, sea shell gathering, mountain climbing and camping! At some point during these excursions, I found her one rainy afternoon holed up in a blanket fort. She was reading The Trumpet of the Swan, a book I had read to her numerous times before. Dr. Arnold Gesell encouraged us to see each child as a unique being, and to allow them to find their own path & pace through the rituals of child development. Keeping this in mind allowed me to get out of the way, to put my own anxieties on the shelf and allow my daughter the space to find the deep connection she now has with story.”

Jade Greene is the Education Programs Administrator for the Gesell Program in Early Childhood. With over ten years of teaching experience in early childhood, her passion for play-based learning pours into classrooms as she supports and mentors teachers in how to build play in their rooms. Jade has a Bachelor's Degree and has spent time in Finland and Sweden learning about Forest schools and the importance of nature, play, and freedom in classrooms which create spaces for children to feel safe, learn and thrive. She has worked with Gesell since 2021.