Our Team

Nathaniel Pettit is a former elementary educator and current University of Pittsburgh PhD student. Nathaniel is the son of Marla and Al Pettit, two lifelong, Western Pennsylvanian early childhood educators, who – alongside the deep and simple wisdom of Fred Rogers – inspired Nathaniel to pursue a career of his own in the service of children and their caring adults through classroom teaching, family science research, and systems-level advocacy. While teaching in Montessori schools in Upstate New York and Washington, D.C., Nathaniel was a member of Educators’ Neighborhood and as an Inquiry Educator in 2023-24 explored the pedagogical synergies of Fred Rogers and Maria Montessori. He is deeply grateful to continue his relationship with the Fred Rogers Institute, currently working with institute staff to study the caregiver experience of the institute’s Family Connection Groups and, this year, serving as an Educators’ Neighborhood group facilitator.