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Dr. Marlene Zepeda
is the recipient of
the Distinguished
Faculty Alumna
Award. Marlene is
the third child born
to Fred and Martina
Zepeda. Dr. Zepeda’s
mother was a Mexican
immigrant who came
to the United Stated
during World War II
and her father was
born in the Arizona
territory, it is
believed, around
1904. Growing up in
East Los Angeles,
Dr. Zepeda attended
Catholic elementary
and high school
before beginning as
a freshman at
California State
University, Los
Angeles in 1968.
Dr. Zepeda was a
volunteer for the
Educational
Participation in
Communities and was
placed in a Head
Start classroom.
This experience
changed her life
trajectory as it
initiated her love
affair with early
childhood education
and child
development.
Dr. Zepeda graduated
from California
State University,
Los Angeles with a
Bachelor of Arts
degree in Child
Development in 1972
and then earned an
elementary teaching
credential in 1973.
Hired by the Los
Angeles Unified
School District, Dr.
Zepeda first worked
as a preschool
teacher then moved
on to teach
kindergarten and
first grade. In 1978
Dr. Zepeda received
a Master of Arts
degree from UCLA.
While at UCLA she
was encouraged by
her professors and
student colleagues
to pursue a
doctorate. Dr.
Zepeda completed her
dissertation in
1984. The title of
her dissertation
was, “Prenatal,
perinatal and
postnatal correlates
of mother-infant
interaction in
Mexican origin
women.”
Dr. Zepeda worked
for the San Fernando
Valley Child
Guidance clinic and
soon moved to
California State
University,
Bakersfield where
she began as an
assistant professor
with a joint
appointment in
Education and Child
Development. Dr.
Zepeda began her
career at Cal State
L.A. in 1990 in the
Interdisciplinary
Child Development
program which became
the Department of
Child and Family
Studies.
Throughout her
tenure at Cal State
L.A., Dr. Zepeda has
sustained her
scholarly focus on
Spanish speaking
children and
families and early
childhood education.
Dr. Zepeda has
participated in a
number of activities
in California to
promote the
education and
training of early
childhood personnel.
Dr. Zepeda has been
a member of the
County of Los
Angeles Child Care
Planning Committee
and has served on a
number of important
advisory committees.
Dr. Zepeda is the
first author of
“Bridging Cultures
in Early Care and
Education”, a 2006
publication from
Erlbaum. Dr. Zepeda
consults widely
about issues
relevant to
child-care,
preschool education
and the development
of young Latino
children.
Dr. Zepeda has been
honored for her
contributions to
workforce
development for
early care education
in Los Angeles by
the Los Angeles
County Office of
Child Care’s Policy
Council as well as
East Los Angeles
College. She is a
past recipient of
Cal State L.A.’s
Distinguished Woman
Award.
Dr. Zepeda is
married to Jay
McConnell and has
two daughters
Mariana and
Cristina. In her
free time, Dr.
Zepeda and her
husband enjoy fly
fishing in the
rivers of Montana,
Idaho and New
Mexico.
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