Welcome to ERSI
The Environment Rating Scales (ERS) are research-based tools to assess global process quality in early childhood programs. The ERS are widely used throughout the U.S. and abroad to optimize the quality of early learning environments for young children. The Environment Rating Scales Institute (ERSI) is the only agency certified by the scale authors to provide in-person training on the ERS. Our team members have decades of experience in the field of early childhood education and specifically with the ERS. We provide a wide range of training options, including introductory sessions, reliability testing, and in-depth courses. We have a highly personalized approach to helping our clients use the scales reliably for assessment purposes and to guide continuous quality improvement efforts.
Our Team
Debby Cryer, PhD
ERSI Officer
Debby Cryer, Ph.D. is primarily retired now, but remains an active member of ERSI. She is co-author of the Environment Rating Scales and
numerous other resource materials to help in program improvement efforts, such as the All About ECERS and ITERS books. Debby provides the author-interpretations of the scales and consulting in the use of the scales for ERSI. She always combined her interests as an early childhood practitioner with those of a researcher, translating research findings into practice for early childhood program staff, parents, and policy makers.
Cathy Riley, M.S.
ERSI Officer
Director of Training and Evaluation
Cathy Riley, has over 30 years experience in using the Environment Rating Scales as a lead trainer. She has served as a reliability anchor and data collector with federal and state research and evaluation projects using early childhood assessment instruments and child outcome measurements, including the NC Rated License Project, in which she established systems for reliability for the state’s QRIS. Cathy is a co-author of the All About Preschoolers, All About the ECERS-R/ECERS-3, ITERS-R/ITERS-3 and the soon to be All About FCCERS-3.
Tracy Link, M.Ed.
ERSI Officer
Director of Training and Evaluation
Tracy has 28 years of experience in the field of early childhood as a classroom teacher, research associate, and lead trainer on the Environment Rating Scales at the FPG Child Development Institute. She has been a managing partner of ERSI since 2011. Tracy has developed training materials for the ERS, served as a clinical instructor at UNC Chapel Hill's School of Education, and presented on the ERS at national and international conferences. She is a co-author of the ERS resource books: All about the ECERS-3, All About the ITERS-3, and All About Preschoolers. Tracy is a part of the new author team of the ECERS-4, scheduled for publication in late 2026.
Vanessa McCullough, MS, CCC-SLP
Training Coordinator & Trainer
Vanessa McCullough is a certified pediatric speech-language pathologist. She has more than 15 years experience working with a variety of early childhood programs with an emphasis on early speech and language development. She has extensive experience using the Environment Rating Scales, including her work at FPG Child Development Institute, and serving as a reliability anchor and trainer. She has conducted research aimed at identifying and creating developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs. Vanessa is coauthor of All About the ITERS-3 and All About Preschoolers.
Lisa Waller
Trainer
Lisa has 29 years of experience using the ERS as reliability anchor, lead trainer, technical assistance advisor, as well as research associate and teacher at the FPG Child Development Institute. She has field-tested ERS tools, developed training and resource materials and notes for interpreting the ERS. Lisa served as a QRIS reliability anchor for the state of NC. She is co-author of the curriculum, All About Preschoolers.
Keisha Neal
Trainer
Keisha Neal graduated from North Carolina Central University with a degree in Family and Consumer Sciences with a specialization in Child Development. Keisha has over 25 years working in the early childhood field; including 9 years teaching at Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at UNC CHapel Hill and over 18 years training on the Environment Rating Scales (both Revised & 3rd editions). Keisha is one of the co-authors of the ERS resource book: All About Preschoolers, An Environment-Based Curriculum.
Rogers Pender
Trainer
Rogers Pender has a BA in History from UNC Chapel Hill, with a Birth through Kindergarten certification from UNC Charlotte. With over 30 years in the early care and education field, she has experience as a preschool teacher, trainer for the High Scope Foundation, and as an assessor for North Carolina’s quality rating and improvement system. Rogers has been a trainer for ERSI since 2011.
AUTHOR PARTNERSHIP
ERSI is proud to partner with the original authors of the Environment Rating Scales: Thelma Harms, Debby Cryer, Dick Clifford, and Noreen Yazejian. To learn more about the authors, please visit The Scales.