Rebecca Cortes

Rebecca C. Cortes is a research scientist at Cultivate Learning in the College of Education at the University of Washington. She has a strong interest in empowering adult learners to engage in best practices that promote optimal child development and school readiness. Among her passions is her current job as the lead developer and instructor of the UW Certificate in Practice-Based Coaching, a hybrid in-person/online certificate program that provides a job-embedded, professional development experience for coaches in Washington State.

Cortes also is a codeveloper of the evidence-based PATHS® Preschool curriculum and lead author of the Migrant and Seasonal Head Start edition of PATHS® Preschool, both of which aim to enhance the social, emotional and academic competence of young children. Her work as a PATHS® curriculum developer and trainer for over 17 years has led to her strong interest in and support of mindfulness as an essential professional development practice for early childhood educators.

Specialties: The emotional development of children birth to 5. The role of parents in the developmental integration of emotion and cognition in young children. Supporting parenting skills in Latino families.