8/31/2011 – Cynthia Juniper Joins Ray Marshall Center as Research Associate

The Ray Marshall Center welcomes Cynthia Juniper as its new research associate. Juniper joined the Center in July 2011 and is working on the Statewide Early Childhood Education Needs Assessment Project that started in June. The project is the first in forty years to provide a comprehensive review and evaluation of child care needs and capacity in the state of Texas and provide recommendations for meeting identified gaps in programs, services, and quality. The project is a collaborative effort between the Ray Marshall Center, the Hobby Center for the Study of Texas, and the Texas Early Learning Council.

Juniper has extensive leadership experiences in operating social services and education programs. Before joining the Ray Marshall Center, Juniper served on the Senior Leadership Team with Community Action of Hays, Caldwell and Blanco Counties where she oversaw a number of local social service programs, including: Head Start, Early Head Start, Rural AIDS Services, Energy Assistance, Homelessness Prevention, and two area Senior Centers. The Head Start and Early Head Start programs were the focus of much of her work with Community Action. The program operated eleven child development centers in three counties, including collaborations with public school Pre-K programs and Parenting Education Programs (PEP). Juniper served as a trainer and consultant for a number of Head Start programs throughout the region.

Prior to Community Action, Juniper taught undergraduate sociology at Texas Woman’s University and Texas State University in San Marcos, served as the director of two rape crisis programs, coordinated a family violence shelter and outreach program, worked on a Recovery from Rape research project with the Urban Institute and a number of Head Start demonstration projects. She is a published poet and the author of Principles of Recovery from Abuse; a recovery guide for sexual assault survivors. Juniper received her BS in Sociology and Psychology from the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse, and her Masters in Sociology from the Texas Woman’s University.