Orion has been on a race to spread kindness since he was nine years old. “It all began with an email that I received from my fourth-grade teacher during the COVID pandemic,” the 14-year-old now recalls. “My teacher told me she had just learned about a speech contest and urged me to submit an entry. I had never done any kind of public speaking before and I had only 24 hours to prepare the speech, but my teacher believed in me,” Orion says. And he lived up to her expectations. “It dawned on me that kindness was the thing that people needed most during the pandemic,” leading to a speech that won the contest. That was the start of Race to Kindness, a program that would earn Orion national fame as TIME 2021 Kid of the Year.
With his $500 prize and community support, he set out to help children and families around his hometown of Fort Worth, Texas. His Race to 500 Toys allowed him to donate 619 toys to Children’s Health Hospital in Dallas and Orion still remembers “the smiles on the nurses’ faces” when he and his parents dropped off the toys. “That motivated me to partner with Tango Tab, a local dining app, and start my Race to 100,000 Meals for hungry families,” Orion says. “Then Orion wondered “what’s next” and decided to go from feeding bodies to feeding minds. So, he launched his Race to 500,000 Books with support from several literacy nonprofits that included Book Drive for Kids, Literacy Achieves, Reading is Fundamental and Reading Partners.
“I love to read, so I’ve always wanted to give books to people,” Orion says. “Books are important because they provide you with a window into a different world with each new character and story. You get to go to new cities and countries while you learn how to communicate better, too,” Orion says. “Reading enlarged my vocabulary, inspired my love for telling stories and even led me to write two books myself: A Kid’s Book About Leadership and Race to Kindness.”
Orion has sometimes done readings of his books at the book fairs he’s held in Dallas and Fort Worth, with an upcoming one in Tulsa, Oklahoma. They’re fun-filled events with food, ballons and a chance for families and children to collect as many books as they want. Most recently, Orion partnered with the Dallas Mavericks basketball team who provided swag and entertainment, leading 300 people to attend the fair. It was also a chance to meet Orion, who’s at all the fairs as a volunteer. “I give out books and assist in any way I can,” he says. And he isn’t looking for attention, but his fame does precede him. “When I’m at a fair, people want to talk to me and ask me questions since my name is on the flyer for the event. Still, the book fairs are not about me. They’re about helping the community and spreading the power of kindness.”
Being kind isn’t hard, and it’s a choice any young person can make, Orion points out. And he acts on this conviction every day. “When I’m at school, this means simple things like complimenting someone, holding the door for them or sharing a smile. At home, it means making lunch for my little brother, taking out the trash without my parents asking me to do it and anything else I can do to lighten my mom and dad’s load.” These are among the ways that all children can have an impact, as Orion points out in Race to Kindness. “You can make a difference. Just give it a try,” and “you will find small ways to shine your big light.”
Orion has taken this advice to a higher plane by finding big ways to light the way to a kinder world. And the leadership role he plays at a young age can be “overwhelming,” he admits. “It’s a lot of pressure to have people look to you as a leader when you’re still trying to figure how to live. So, I’ve accepted that I’m going to make mistakes and I’m not going to be perfect. But if I’m doing my best and acting on my convictions, then I believe I am succeeding as a leader.”
Orion also believes that all young people can make an impact as leaders in both big and small ways. Granted, “we’re not all going to be in leadership positions at our jobs or our homes.” But when the right opportunities present themselves, it’s about taking charge, listening to others, finding out what people need, and doing what you can do to make their lives better, as he points out in A Kids Book About Leadership. It’s a book that he urges grownups and children to read together since he knows how much his mom and dad have guided him as a leader. They deserve credit, as Orion points out, for many of the lessons he’s learned about team work, compromise and patience. His book is a way to pass these lessons on and inspire the next generation of leaders.
The book also describes some of the ways that kids can bring out the leader inside them by spreading kindness. For instance, “you could cheer on your friends when they aren’t feeling confident and brave,” as Orion suggests. “You could eat lunch with someone who you notice is sitting alone, babysit a sibling, offer to show a new student around your school or send a personal note.”
The path to being a leader is different for everyone, as Orion knows, and now he’s providing a place for people to recount their acts of leadership and inspire others to make a difference, too. “I’m in the middle of my Race to 1 Million Acts of Kindness,” Orion says, “and about 80,000 people have already submitted their own stories about kindness to our website in the past nine months.” The stories range from holding the door for someone to feeding the homeless, and Orion’s favorite, making hundreds of cake pops to give out in a park. They also include helping a teacher with technology and sending encouraging notes and audio prayers to teachers, acts of kindness that our teachers fully deserve, as Orion knows.
So, he looks forward to addressing the early learning professionals who will be at the Council’s upcoming Early Educators Leadership Conference in October. “Teachers are the backbone of our society,” as he’s seen firsthand. “My story shows the impact that one teacher can have when they care about a student, see their potential and urge that student to do their best,” something all teachers have the power to do. “Teachers are a driving force in shaping the next generation of leaders who can make the world a better and kinder place,” Orion is convinced. “My fourth grade teacher helped me discover the leader I had inside me and make the decision to spread kindness throughout the world.”
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Vice President of Strategic Alliances
Elisa Shepherd is the Vice President of Strategic Alliances at the Council, where she leads initiatives to advance the Council’s mission and strategic plan through designing, managing, and executing a comprehensive stakeholder relationship strategy.
With over 25 years of experience in early childhood education (ECE), Elisa has dedicated her career to developing impactful programs, professional development opportunities, and public policies that support working families, young children, and ECE staff. Before joining the Council, Elisa held numerous roles within the childcare industry. Most recently, she served as Associate Vice President at The Learning Experience and as Senior Manager at KinderCare Education, where she influenced government affairs and public policies across 40 states.
Elisa’s commitment to leadership is reflected in her external roles on the Early Care and Education Consortium Board of Directors, the Florida Chamber Foundation Board of Trustees, and as the DEI Caucus Leader for KinderCare Education. She has been recognized as an Emerging Leader in Early Childhood by Childcare Exchange’s Leadership Initiative.
Elisa earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a focus on child development from Pennsylvania State University in State College, PA.
Chief Operations Officer (COO)
Andrew Davis serves as Chief Operating Officer at the Council. In this role, Andrew oversees the Programs Division, which includes the following operational functions: credentialing, growth and business development, marketing and communications, public policy and advocacy, research, innovation, and customer relations.
Andrew has over 20 years of experience in the early care and education field. Most recently, Andrew served as Senior Vice President of Partnership and Engagement with Acelero Learning and Shine Early Learning, where he led the expansion of state and community-based partnerships to produce more equitable systems of service delivery, improved programmatic quality, and greater outcomes for communities, children and families. Prior to that, he served as Director of Early Learning at Follett School Solutions.
Andrew earned his MBA from the University of Baltimore and Towson University and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland – University College.
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Jan Bigelow serves as Chief Financial Officer at the Council and has been with the organization since February of 2022.
Jan has more than 30 years in accounting and finance experience, including public accounting, for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. She has held management-level positions with BDO Seidman, Kiplinger Washington Editors, Pew Center for Global Climate Change, Communities In Schools, B’nai B’rith Youth Organization and American Humane. Since 2003, Jan has worked exclusively in the non-profit sector where she has been a passionate advocate in improving business operations in order to further the mission of her employers.
Jan holds a CPA from the State of Virginia and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Lycoming College. She resides in Alexandria VA with her husband and dog.
Vice President of People and Culture
Janie Payne is the Vice President of People and Culture for the Council for Professional Recognition. Janie is responsible for envisioning, developing, and executing initiatives that strategically manage talent and culture to align people strategies with the overarching business vision of the Council. Janie is responsible for driving organizational excellence through strategic talent practices, orchestrating workforce planning, talent acquisition, performance management as well as a myriad of other Human Resources Programs. She is accountable for driving effectiveness by shaping organizational structure for optimal efficiency. Janie oversees strategies that foster a healthy culture to include embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion into all aspects of the organization.
In Janie’s prior role, she was the Vice President of Administration at Equal Justice Works, where she was responsible for leading human resources, financial operations, facilities management, and information technology. She was also accountable for developing and implementing Equal Justice Works Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategy focused on attracting diverse, mission-oriented talent and creating an inclusive and equitable workplace environment. With more than fifteen years of private, federal, and not-for-profit experience, Janie is known for her intuitive skill in administration management, human resources management, designing and leading complex system change, diversity and inclusion, and social justice reform efforts.
Before joining Equal Justice Works, Janie was the Vice President of Human Resources and Chief Diversity Officer for Global Communities, where she was responsible for the design, implementation, and management of integrated HR and diversity strategies. Her work impacted employees in over twenty-two countries. She was responsible for the effective management of different cultural, legal, regulatory, and economic systems for both domestic and international employees. Prior to Global Communities, Janie enjoyed a ten-year career with the federal government. As a member of the Senior Executive Service, she held key strategic human resources positions with multiple cabinet-level agencies and served as an advisor and senior coach to leaders across the federal sector. In these roles, she received recognition from management, industry publications, peers, and staff for driving the creation and execution of programs that created an engaged and productive workforce.
Janie began her career with Verizon Communications (formerly Bell Atlantic), where she held numerous roles of increasing responsibility, where she directed a diversity program that resulted in significant improvement in diversity profile measures. Janie was also a faculty member for the company’s Black Managers Workshop, a training program designed to provide managers of color with the skills needed to overcome barriers to their success that were encountered because of race. She initiated a company-wide effort to establish team-based systems and structures to impact corporate bottom line results which was recognized by the Department of Labor. Janie was one of the first African American women to be featured on the cover of Human Resources Executive magazine.
Janie received her M.A. in Organization Development from American University. She holds numerous professional development certificates in Human Capital Management and Change Management, including a Diversity and Inclusion in Human Resources certificate from Cornell University. She completed the year-long Maryland Equity and Inclusion Leadership Program sponsored by The Schaefer Center for Public Policy and The Maryland Commission on Civil Rights. She is a trained mediator and Certified Professional Coach. She is a graduate of Leadership America, former board chair of the NTL Institute and currently co-steward of the organization’s social justice community of practice, and a member of The Society for Human Resource Management. Additionally, Janie is the Board Chairperson for the Special Education Citizens Advisory Council for Prince Georges County where she is active in developing partnerships that facilitate discussion between parents, families, educators, community leaders, and the PG County school administration to enhance services for students with disabilities which is her passion. She and her husband Randolph reside in Fort Washington Maryland.
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