Travis Wright

Dr. Travis Wright is the founder/director of the BASES Project, a school and community-based intervention for homeless preschool students, their families, and teachers. Dr. Wright is a nationally recognized expert on resilience and emotionally responsive teaching, especially for children developing in the midst of adversity. Previously, he worked as a school-based mental health counselor, public school teacher, and early childhood educator in Washington, D.D. and Boston Public Schools.

Education

• CAS (Certificate of Advanced Study) School Adjustment and Mental Health Counseling, Harvard University, 2006
• EDD Human Development and Psychology, Harvard University, 2006
• M Ed Human Development and Psychology, Harvard University, 2002
• BA College Scholars, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, 1998

Select Awards and Honors

• Community Engaged Scholarship Award, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education, 2017
• The Beiber Invited Lecture on Education, Bank Street College, 2016
• The Mithoff Family Invited Lecture on Early Childhood Education, University of Texas, Austin, 2014
• UW-Madison Wisconsin Idea Baldwin Award, Ineva Reilly Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment, 2014
• AERA Early Childhood Education and Child Development Research 6/2012 Early Career Award, American Educational Research Association-Early Childhood Education and Child Development Research SIG, 2012

Select Publications

• Wright, T., Ochrach, C., Blaydes, M., & Fetter, A. (In Press). Pursuing the promise of preschool: An exploratory investigation of the perceptions of parents experiencing homelessness. Early Childhood Education Journal
• Wright, T., Nankin, I., Boonstra, K., & Blair, E. L. (2019). Changing through relationships and reflection: An exploratory investigation of pre-service teachers’ perceptions of young children experiencing homelessness. Early Childhood Education Journal, 47(3), 297-308.
• Wright, T., (2018). Beauty in the struggle: Poetry found in the lives of mothers experiencing homelessness. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 49(4), 462-468.
• Wright, T., (2018). Contesting hegemony: Re-imagining masculinities for early childhood education. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 19(2), 117-130.
• Wright, T., (2016). On coming out in practicum: An autoethnography of (non) disclosure. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 37(3), 189-202.
• Wright, T., (2014). Too scared to learn: Teaching young children who have experienced trauma.. Young Children, 69(5), 88-93.
• Wright, T., (2013). “I keep me safe.” Risk and resilience in children with messy lives. Phi Delta Kappan, 95(2), 39-43.
• Wright, T., (2011). Countering the politics of class, race, gender, and geography in early childhood education. Educational Policy, 25(1), 240-261.
• Wright, T., (2010). Learning to laugh: A portrait of risk and resilience in early childhood. Harvard Educational Review, 80(4), 444-463.
• Wright, T., (2007). On Jorge becoming a boy: A counselor’s perspective. Harvard Educational Review, 75(2), 164-186.