Afterschool programs linked to schools provide opportunities to keep children safe and engage them in enrichment activities that can support their growth and development. Often, these programs are led by afterschool directors with a background in youth development and no experience or education in leading in educational environments. These afterschool directors implement strategies in staff development and curriculum development, similar to principals, despite their lack of educational preparation. The purpose of this instrumental case study was to explore how an afterschool director who lacks academic preparation in educational leadership implements educational leadership strategies in staff development and curriculum development within the context of a community-based, school-linked program. A single program site was the case and was identified based upon the program's location within Portland, Oregon, and the director's lack of educational leadership background in the domains of staff development and curriculum development. Data collection was in the form of interviews with the afterschool director, an observation, and a documentation review to discover the major themes that emerged for educational leadership practices of a single afterschool director who administers a community-based, school-linked afterschool program. The results from this study determined that professional development and curriculum development strategies are possible to implement without a background in education leadership and could be customizable to support the unique aspects of the afterschool program environment presented in this study. The study results offered recommendations that could be used by afterschool directors to guide their approaches to professional development and curriculum development, by professional development providers for creating appropriate professional development for afterschool directors, and by policy makers for creating resources and tools for supporting afterschool directors. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]