Maria Casas

Maria Casas is a Research Assistant working with the Developmental Relationships Project. She is a current M.Ed candidate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Name: Maria C. Casas
Preferred Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Where I call home: Boston, MA – though a part of me will always live in Colombia.

Biography:

Maria Casas is an early childhood specialist, educator, and consultant with over a decade of experience supporting children, families, and educators in various settings. Her experience spans leading classrooms, designing curricula, teacher training, community programming, and parent coaching. Her work centers on advocating for young children and supporting the relationships that shape their development—prioritizing emotional education, language, and social development—and using connection, creativity, and imagination to strengthen the bonds between children and the adults in their lives to help them thrive. Maria currently serves as the Child Development Specialist for MAKA Media, where she evaluates and curates children’s content through a developmental lens. She is also the founder of Read Con Ritmo, an initiative that promotes bilingual literacy and storytelling within Hispanic communities, and is pursuing her M.Ed. in Human Development and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education with a concentration in Early Childhood. In her free time, Maria can be found dancing, spending time in nature, and enjoying adventures with family and friends.

✨ What is a simple but meaningful interaction that made an impact on you?

During my last two years as a teacher at a newly built private school, the children in my classroom formed an especially close bond—likely from experiencing something brand new together, like starting in a brand new school. What began as a simple personal ritual of greeting each child at the door with “I’m so happy you’re here today!” or “Welcome back! We missed you!” quickly became part of our organic classroom culture. Soon, I began noticing my preschoolers waiting excitedly for one another at the door, repeating those same words—completely unprompted, yet full of genuine joy, excitement, and love, without ever being explicitly taught or told to do so. It’s been a powerful reminder ever since that those small moments of connection truly matter—and that children are always paying attention. They don’t just notice; they mirror exactly what they see.

💭 A developmental relationship that impacted my life:

My stepdad, whom I proudly call my dad, has been a friend, a cheerleader, and one of my biggest supporters in my adult life, teaching me the importance of unconditional love and, most of all, believing in myself.

🌱 Developmental interactions are…
“Life-changing.”

LinkedIn:
www.linkedin.com/in/mc-casas