Research & Policy for Early Childhood Development

Transforming how the world invests in the earliest years of life.

Terra Alta turns rigorous science into policy, programs, and advocacy that give every child a strong beginning — because the first years hold the greatest opportunity for human development, and the highest moment of risk.

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What We Do

We bring science, policy, and communities together at the foundation of human development.

Terra Alta is a research and policy organization dedicated to early childhood development. We partner with governments, multilateral organizations, foundations, and communities to design, evaluate, and scale the policies and programs that shape a child's first years — across health, education, and social protection. Our work is grounded in evidence, driven by equity, and built to endure.

Our Expertise

Grounded in evidence. Driven by equity. Focused on impact.

Policy Research & Analysis

Comprehensive, integrated early childhood policies and national implementation plans, built on the best available science and local context.

Program Evaluation

Randomized trials, feasibility studies, and school-readiness assessments that show what works — and how to scale it responsibly.

Advocacy & Communications

Translating evidence into a compelling case for investment, so decision-makers act on what matters most in the earliest years.

Global Partnerships

Working alongside UNICEF, UNESCO, the World Bank, Save the Children, and governments across five world regions.

Measurement & Assessment

Rigorous, culturally valid tools to assess early learning and development in the communities where they matter most.

Childhood, Peace & Resilience

Advancing early childhood as a foundation for social cohesion and peacebuilding in fragile and conflict-affected settings.

Our Approach

Principles that guide every engagement.

01

Evidence-Driven

Every recommendation rests on rigorous science and the best available data — never assumption.

02

Equity-Centered

We begin with the children and communities most often left behind, in the contexts that need it most.

03

Locally Led

We build alongside governments, researchers, and communities so solutions are owned where they live.

04

Built to Scale

We design for national systems and durable policy — work that endures beyond any single program.

Our Team

Led by global authorities in early childhood.

APAngelica Ponguta, MPH, PhD

Angelica Ponguta, MPH, PhD

Founder & Principal

A researcher and policy scientist who has spent two decades advancing early childhood development across more than ten countries. She has served on the faculty of the Yale Child Study Center and as Director of Research at Tec de Monterrey's early childhood initiative. Her work bridges health, education, and social protection, supported by UNICEF, UNESCO, the World Bank, and the Jacobs Foundation.

ACAdrián Cerezo, PhD

Adrián Cerezo, PhD

Founding Principal

A scholar of child development, social ecology, and global policy who has spent two decades at the intersection of early childhood and climate change. A Senior Fellow at Capita and a researcher at the Yale Child Study Center and the University of Maine, he advises UNICEF Pacific and serves on the Marshall Islands' climate delegation to the UN. He authored Protecting Our Future Now, a policy framework placing the earliest years at the center of climate action and sustainable development.

ARAna María Rodríguez, MA

Ana María Rodríguez, MA

Founding Principal

An early childhood leader who has spent two decades across government and the United Nations. She has served as ECD Specialist at UNICEF's East Asia and Pacific Regional Office and as Chief of Education at UNICEF Colombia, and helped shape Colombia's national early childhood strategy, De Cero a Siempre. Her work spans policy design, program development, and child protection in emergencies.

Selected Work

Two decades of impact for the world's youngest children.

From national policy to field trials, our team's work spans health, education, and social protection across more than fifteen countries and five world regions.

Policy

National ECD Policy & Systems

Comprehensive early childhood policies and national implementation plans, developed hand in hand with governments across more than fifteen countries.

Field Trials

LEAPS & JUNTOS

Youth-led early childhood programs evaluated through randomized trials in Pakistan and Colombia — preparing children for school while opening pathways for young leaders.

Measurement

Remote Assessment for Learning

Cross-country validation of early-learning measurement tools, in partnership with Save the Children.

Emergencies

Early Childhood in Crisis

Sector-wide analysis and programming for young children in emergencies and displacement, from Lebanon to the occupied Palestinian territories.

Climate

Early Childhood & Climate

Placing the youngest children at the center of climate action and sustainability — advising regional networks, UNICEF, and global climate forums.

Regional Systems

Scaling ECD in East Asia & the Pacific

Strengthening early childhood systems, services, and policy across an entire region in partnership with UNICEF.

Our work has been carried out with and supported by

UNICEFUNESCOWorld BankSave the Children Jacobs FoundationDubai CaresYale Child Study CenterCapita

Our Vision

Terra Alta believes the earliest years are the foundation on which more equitable, peaceful societies are built.

We exist to move early childhood from the margins of policy to its heart — building the evidence, the tools, and the partnerships that let nations invest wisely in their youngest citizens. Our ambition is a world where every child, in every context, begins life on high ground.

“In the first years of life there is the greatest window of opportunity for human development — but also the highest moment of risk. When we get the beginning right, we change everything that follows.”

— Angelica Ponguta, MPH, PhD, Founder

Let's Work Together

Ready to transform the earliest years — with us?

We partner with governments, foundations, multilateral organizations, and researchers who share our commitment to early childhood. Tell us what you're working toward.

angelicaponguta@gmail.com