Project Specialist


The Research Institute
345 N Monmouth Ave
Monmouth, OR 97361

Dr. Serra Acar is a Project Coordinator at The Research Institute (TRI). Dr. Acar works on projects with an early intervention/early childhood special education (EI/ECSE) focus. Serra received her Ph.D. in Early Intervention Program from the University of Oregon and her master's in Birth-Kindergarten: Interdisciplinary Studies in Education and Development (BK:ISED) from University of North Carolina, Greensboro. Serra's primary areas of expertise are family-centered practices, culturally and linguistically responsive assessment approaches, and personnel preparation in EI/ECSE. She has over 10 years of experience in the field.

Serra is the project coordinator of Project EF: Executive Function in Infants and Toddlers Born Low Birth Weight (LBW) and Preterm. Serra has presented at numerous national and state conferences and is the elected Member-at-Large to the Division of Early Childhood (DEC) Executive Board and a liaison for DEC’s diversity council, VOICES. She is also serving as Oregon Ambassador for the the Early Childhood Technical Assistance (ECTA) Center’s aRPy project. At the state level, she serves as an active member for Oregon DEC and Oregon Higher Education Consortium. When not working, she enjoys painting, reading, cooking, and spending quality time with her family.