Early Learning Specialist


345 N. Monmouth Avenue
Monmouth, OR 97361

Nathan Winegardner is a Bilingual Early Learning Project Specialist at The Research Institute (TRI) at Western Oregon University. He earned his Bachelors of Arts in Political Science and Spanish Literature from the University of Oregon. Nathan’s early learning expertise comes from his experience at Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency Head Start where he worked as a home visitor and program administrator from 2007 to 2015.
He started his position at TRI in 2015. Since then, he has worked on various Spanish translation projects for TRI and Spark Oregon’s Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS), facilitating the Diverse Language Cohort call, and supporting Central Coordination of Child Care Resource & Referral (CCCCR&R). Supporting the maintenance and revision of Spark Oregon’s QRIS is his primary focus. He has also directed Project Fund and OPK Extended Duration Playbook projects. Nathan has presented at local, statewide, and national conferences on topics ranging from Circle of Security to the importance of translation in the field of early learning.