Donald Wertlieb, Ph.D.

Donald Wertlieb, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus in the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development at Tufts University, which he formerly chaired. An applied developmental scientist trained in clinical-developmental and pediatric psychology, he has spent his career studying how children and families cope with stress, from parental separation and divorce to chronic illness and lifelong disability. He is a past President of the Society of Pediatric Psychology. He serves on the Global Policy and Advocacy Advisory Group of the Early Childhood Development Action Network and on the advisory board of the Global Research on Developmental Disabilities Collaborators. Much of his recent work makes the case for including young children with developmental delays and disabilities in mainstream early childhood policy and practice. He was among the authors of a 2024 Frontiers in Public Health paper setting out an early childhood development strategy for the world’s children with disabilities, and has led partnership projects in Israel and Ukraine.