Eunho Cha (She/her)

Welcome! I am a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of California, Irvine, School of Education.

I earned my Ph.D. in Social Policy from Columbia School of Social Work in 2025.

I am a social and education policy scholar who studies how early childhood and safety-net policies shape the well-being of parents and children. I am particularly interested in the compensatory role of early childhood education policies for socioeconomically disadvantaged children—how these policies influence the environments in which young children grow up and their lasting effects across the life course.

As part of a NICHD-funded project, a core line of my current work uses quasi-experimental methods to examine how state pre-kindergarten initiatives influence child and parental outcomes.

More broadly, I aim for my research to inform smart and equitable policy investments in early care and education that allow all children to thrive. I welcome opportunities for collaboration with colleagues, students, policymakers, and practitioners who share an interest in promoting equity through early childhood policy.

I am on the academic job market starting Fall 2026.

Email: eunho.cha@uci.edu