Meg Pienkowski, Ph.D.
Senior Program Director, Early Childhood 

Long dedicated to supporting young children and their families, Meg has over thirty years of professional experience focused on early education and care.  A former preschool teacher, preschool director, and elementary school teacher, Meg left the classroom to pursue her doctorate and focus on systems-level early childhood efforts after witnessing the huge disparities in school readiness evidenced by her incoming kindergarten students from diverse backgrounds. 

While completing her doctorate at VCU, Meg held a W.K. Kellogg fellowship in Richmond’s Office of Community Wealth Building and wrote a comprehensive report on the state of early childhood in Richmond. She went on to work at Smart Beginnings Greater Richmond (now Thrive Birth to Five) as the Vice President of Community Partnerships and Programs before joining the Robins team in 2022. While passionate about all things early childhood, Meg is particularly interested in systems change, holistic early childhood development, and supporting the entire ecosystem of early care and education.

Married to a recently retired public high school teacher, Meg is the mother of three grown sons and one large dog. She loves children, comfy clothes, and pretty much any outdoor activity. She dislikes mean people, driving in traffic, and saying “good-bye” to people she loves. Meg earned her undergraduate degree from Georgetown University, her master’s in Developmental Education from U.C. Berkeley, and her Ph.D. from VCU’s School of Education.