Eliza Dean was born and raised in New Orleans, and spent much of her childhood caring for her younger sister. She liked teaching her and babysitting for other children in the neighborhood. Dean earned her bachelor's in psychology from Cornell University. Her first job out of college was as a pre-kindergarten assistant teacher at an all-boys Catholic school in New Orleans, making $6/hour. She taught there for two years, then realized she needed to go to graduate school to learn more about young children and how to teach them. She enrolled at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and earned her doctorate in child and family studies in 2000. As a graduate student, she worked in the infant classroom at the campus child development program and felt that infants should remain with their teachers for more than one year, instead of transitioning to a new classroom at age 1. Dean has taught at Catawba Valley Community College, Lenoir-Rhyne University, Western Carolina University, and is now settled at Haywood Community College, where she has been for nine years.
Dean lives in Sylva, North Carolina, with her husband, 13-year-old son, and three step-children (two are already in college!) She enjoys running, hiking, canoeing, camping, playing tennis, reading, listening to music, and spending time with her family and friends.
