Aisha Ray is a Professor Emerita of Child Development at Erikson Institute and a Distinguished Fellow at the BUILD Initiative. She has participated in the fields of child development and early education for 50 years. Beginning as a Head Start teacher, she has taught learners from preschool to graduate school; supported the development of community-based programs serving culturally, racially and linguistically diverse children, families and practitioners; and led professional development efforts for the early childhood workforce serving infants through elementary school learners. Her areas of research and writing include diversity, policy and professional development systems in early childhood; multigenerational Black family childrearing; and the role of fathers in child rearing in low-income Black communities. At BUILD she helps to lead the Equity Leaders Action Network, a national fellowship program to develop state early childhood systems leadership committed to racial and economic equity; and works with states, like Illinois to build coherent and equitable early childhood systems across health, education and child welfare. Recently, Dr. Ray stepped down from the position of Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty at Erikson Institute. Currently, she is a senior advisor to the president of the National Black Child Development Institute; and regularly consults with numerous individuals, organizations and foundations. In addition, she has a long history of community activism and is currently working with others on issues related to Black community life — issues related to Black child development.

Dr. Ray has earned the following academic degrees: Ph.D. in developmental psychology, the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor; M.A. in developmental psychology, the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor; M.Ed., Loyola University of Chicago and Erikson Institute, Chicago; and B.A. in history, Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa.