Tawnie King, Ed.D.

Tawnie has been working in Early Childhood Education for the past 17 years. Her experiences as a Preschool Teacher (including Infant and Toddler), Education Coordinator, Assistant Director, and Child Development Specialist, were all instrumental in allowing her to develop and recognize the importance of relationships and what it means to advocate on behalf of preschool teachers, children, and families. These experiences were also beneficial in honing her leadership skills to lead and guide others in meeting their personal and professional goals within ECE field.

Tawnie currently works as a Program Specialist in the Educational Services Division, Early Learning Unit, at the Orange County Department of Education. In this role, she is responsible for creating, planning, organizing, and facilitating professional learning opportunities that support the needs of preschool teachers and administrators across Orange County. She also serves as the California Preschool Instructional Network (CPIN) Region 9 Lead, providing numerous trainings on the Preschool Learning Foundations and the Preschool Curriculum Frameworks. These trainings not only prepare early childhood educators for the why, the what, and the how of what we do for children, but they also serve to support quality improvement, curriculum implementation, and enhance teacher-child interactions. She continues to hone her own professional development skills by attending conferences and trainings to remain current on early childhood education practices.

Tawnie holds a B.A. from SDSU in Communication, an M.A. in Education from CSULB with a specialization in Early Childhood and a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership from CSULB.

Tawnie is currently a member of professional organizations such as the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the Orange County Association for the Education of Young Children, and Golden Key International Honor Society for academic excellence in undergraduate studies and Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society for academic excellence in graduate studies. She is also a lifetime member o​f Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She enjoys traveling, shopping, and is passionate about creative writing. One unique thing about Tawnie is that she has an identical twin sister who is her best friend!