About me
Derrick Toups lives in New Orleans where he serves as Deputy Director, Center for Early Childhood Advancement at Agenda for Children. At Agenda, Derrick annually oversees more than $45 million of public funding, contracts, and capacity building initiatives as part of implementing the city's historic early childhood millage, and he previously oversaw professional development for 12 parishes in Southeast Louisiana. Over the past decade, Derrick has taught two, three, and four year olds as well as third graders and adult learners in addition to being an early childhood center director. A lifelong educator, Derrick is currently adjunct faculty at Tulane University and multiple Louisiana community colleges.
Derrick serves as a Community Partner of the Early Childhood Education Institute at Louisiana State University (LSU); on the Editorial Board of SPARK!, a research-to-practice journal for educators; and as a Peer Reviewer for the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Accreditation of Early Childhood Higher Education Programs. Derrick previously served on the New Orleans Early Education Network Steering Committee, the Louisiana Early Childhood Association (LAECA) Board of Directors, the Louisiana Association for the Education of Young Children (LAAEYC) Advisory Council, and the Louisiana Early Learning and Development Standards Review Committee.
Derrick holds a B.A. in English and International Development from Tulane University, an M.Ed. in Elementary Education from the University of Notre Dame, a Certificate in Early Childhood Education from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and a Certificate in Early Education Leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Derrick is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Early Childhood Education at Louisiana State University (LSU).
Derrick is the recipient of the 2022 Phil Acord Award from the Southern Early Childhood Association (SECA) and the 2020 Mildred Souther Award from the Louisiana Early Childhood Association (LAECA). He is most proud to serve in the role of dad to Evangeline.
