Ilene R. Berson, Ph.D. is a Professor of Early Childhood at the University of South Florida. She leads international studies on integrating social justice and child advocacy into early childhood contexts, and conducts participatory research to explore young children’s civic engagement through multiple literacies. She studies the intersection of technology and the pedagogy of inquiry in the early years with a focus on children's affordances of digital innovations. Dr. Berson has been the principal investigator on numerous grants, collaborating with national and international organizations.