Maria Estela Edward

Based in Florida, Maria Estella Edward is an accomplished speech pathologist and early education trainer. Over the course of a career spanning more than 20 years, she has worked with children with special needs and their families, and rendered instruction to ECE teachers and providers. Since 2007, she has overseen her own company, Mee Professional Development Corp., which provides early childhood education (ECE) training informed by best practices, updated information, and various special education topics. In addition, the organization partners with Training Source One to provide continuing education units for ECE personnel.

Additionally, Ms. Edward serves as an ECE professor at Palm Beach State College, where she teaches childcare training courses for the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF). Earlier in her career, Ms. Edward taught a postgraduate course on speech therapy as a professor at East Central University in the Dominican Republic.

Actively involved in the ECE field, she maintains a commitment to research and professional development. She has completed programs such as Train the Trainer from Training Source One, and she attends the annual conferences of the Council for Professional Recognition, the CDA credentialing body. Throughout her career, she has also obtained certifications such as the Advanced Childcare Director Credential and Pre-K certified Class Observer.

In addition to her own professional growth, she helps to maintain quality in the ECE profession through roles with the Council for Professional Recognition that include CDA Professional Development Specialist. In 2020, Ms. Edward also became a Home Visitor Professional Development Specialist. Furthermore, she is a member of the Early Childhood Registry of Palm Beach County. Ms. Edward graduated from Enrique Jose Varona Higher Pedagogy Institute in Cuba, where she earned an MS in speech and language pathology and audiology.