“We can’t just wait for the future we want. We must seize the opportunity to build it,” Susan Gale Perry, Child Care Aware of America CEO said last month on the opening day of “Igniting Opportunity,” a conference on how to make child care strong. “As educators, our most important job is to shape the future,” agreed Alisha De Lorenzo, a management strategist and former educator who gave the day’s keynote speech. “We unlock opportunity by building a culture of mattering in which everyone feels seen, heard and valued, so they’re convinced they can make contributions,” De Lorenzo explained. “The answers to problems in the early childhood field are in early childhood communities, themselves.”
A wide range of people from all parts of the early learning community were there when Perry introduced the second day’s plenary session on “The Power of Networks: Igniting Opportunity for Families.” Center directors, state administrators, family child care providers and child care advocates listened as Perry urged them to unite behind a 10-year vision based on four pillars:
“Taking these steps,” as Perry pointed out, “requires us to move from a patchwork of child care organizations to something bigger. Together, we must put results and outcomes at the center of what we do. We need large-scale data to show what the child care field needs to move ahead. We also have to lift our community up by telling the stories of the educators on the ground.” And the conference provided many chances for attendees to hear about both numbers and narratives that would prepare them to speak out for the early learning field in 160 visits that Child Care Aware had scheduled for attendees the following day on Capitol Hill.
Before meeting their members of Congress, attendees had the opportunity to learn about “Using Family Child Care Educator Narratives to Shape Policy,” an important topic since child policy affects family child providers in a different way than it does centers. “Storytelling matters because it humanizes policy and reveals the impact it makes on providers,” said Daphne Alsiyao, a policy strategist at the National Association for Family Child Care. “Changing lawmakers’ perspectives requires a change of heart,” explained Cynthia Davis, executive director of the DC Family Child Care Association, an organization dedicated to making sure that family child care providers’ voices are heard.
Family child care providers aren’t alone in needing “Storytelling that Moves People and Systems.” This keynote session featured two award-winning journalists who explored ways to craft narratives that support more investment in children and families. Christina Samuels, an editor at The Hechinger Report, told a story about her visit to an under-resourced homeless shelter, where she saw a two-year-old child playing with a bag of potato chips like it was a toy. Chabelli Carrazano, who covers child care for The 19th, discussed the heartache a center director felt when her center closed, and she could no longer serve children she’d come to love. Carrazano also talked about her trials as a mom who had to quit her job at one point, like many other women, because she lacked care for her child. So, she spoke from firsthand experience when she talked about the impact that the child care shortage has on children and families. “We need to connect personal stories like these,” Carrazano explained, “to the broader issues facing educators and those they serve if we’re going make an impact on policymakers who shape the child care field.”
Educators prepared to tell their stories to lawmakers in Congress with guidance from Anne Hedgepeth, vice president of policy and research at Child Care Aware. She also armed them with straight arguments and solid facts to make a case for more investment in child care. “Educators,” she said, “should point to research that showed the number of licensed child care centers declined 11 percent between 2024 and 2025.” It was also important to note, as she explained, that the average annual price for child care was over $13,000, much too high for many families, and that child care for two children was more expensive than rent in many states. “Point to polling that shows voters across party lines agree that more federal funding for child care is crucial,” she advised, “and conclude with the strongest argument of all: child care is a good investment in the future since it allows children to advance, parents to work and the economy to grow.”
Some states are setting the path ahead to a stronger child care system, as attendees heard on the last day of the conference, after an “Advocacy Day” on Capitol Hill. “We came and we connected,” Susan Gale Perry said, as she introduced a session on “Building the Future of Child Care on the State Level” through advocacy and innovation. “Today, we celebrate three states that have improved child care in ways that seemed impossible,” she said. “New Mexico, Vermont and Montana showed the value of compromise, strong relationships and a clear message to expand access to affordable, quality early learning and care.” Legislators in New Mexico bundled universal child care in a larger piece of legislation. In Vermont, a movement of 40,000 people produced a dedicated funding stream for early childhood programs, and Montana advocates got the business community on board, leading to a state trust for early learning. This success reflects a compelling message, according to Caitlin Jensen, director of Zero to Five Montana. “Child care is integral to our daily lives because it provides the workforce behind the workforce.”
Educators play a crucial role, Dr. Calvin Mooore, CEO of the Council for Professional Recognition, explained as he joined Perry in the closing session of the conference. “We need to acknowledge how difficult their jobs are and give them our support. One way would be to broaden access to the CDA®, a credential that defines educators as professionals and would help them advocate for the higher wages they deserve.” as Dr. Moore pointed out. “Nationally recognized credentials like the CDA are important,” Perry agreed, “and they play a role in our 10-year strategic vision. We can go from vision to action through on-the-ground networking, data to drive decisions and more opportunities for educators to tell their stories like they did yesterday on the Hill. Educators also need to be proud of what they do, so we can meet the demand for child care. We need slots for a million more children and qualified teachers to serve them if we are to reach our North Star: a nation where quality child care ignites opportunity for every child, family and community. Making child care strong makes everyone stronger, too.”
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Vice President of Product
Mackenzie Pelland serves as Vice President of Product at the Council. In this role, she oversees the Council’s product strategy and portfolio, including credentialing programs, educational publications, professional development resources, and branded merchandise, ensuring offerings are sustainable and responsive to the evolving needs of early childhood educators and the broader early care and education field. Her work focuses on building scalable, user-centered products that strengthen quality and integrity across the Council’s credentialing, educational, and professional learning offerings.
Prior to this role, Mackenzie served as Director of ECE Observation Systems at the Council, where she oversaw the observation portion of the CDA® credentialing assessment process and led the ECE Observation Team. She also worked to support, refine, and strengthen the Professional Development Specialist community to better meet the needs of a diverse CDA® candidate population.
Before joining the Council, Mackenzie was Senior Director of Monitoring and Compliance Systems at Acelero Learning, where she led the development and execution of monitoring systems related to federal grant compliance, child care licensing, health and safety, incident management, and facilities compliance across Head Start programs nationwide. She also previously served as Program Accountability and Policy Implementation Manager at New York City’s Department of Education within the Division of Early Childhood Education.
Mackenzie is recognized as a credentialing specialist by the Institute for Credentialing Excellence. She holds a master’s degree in education policy from Teachers College, Columbia University, a Certificate in Education and Program Evaluation from Georgetown University, and a bachelor’s degree in politics and education from Occidental College.
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 Administrative Officer (CAO)
Janie Payne is the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) 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.
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 Wilmington, NC with her husband and two dogs.
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