“Home visiting gives you the opportunity to touch the community, touch other organizations and, most importantly, touch families’ lives. You never know who you can change for the better,” Katari says. She saw the impact that home visiting can make when she took a job as a home visitor with the Salvation Army’s Family Outreach initiative in Chicago. It was one of Katari’s first jobs after studying sociology in college and it opened her eyes to the wide range of opportunities in the early childhood field to serve young children and their families. In the 20-plus years since then, Katari has worked in roles that include college professor, research director and training director before assuming her current position as senior project director at the Education Development Center, a Chicago-based nonprofit that works in the intertwined fields of education, workforce development and health care to bring out every person’s potential.
Katari also nurtured her own potential by earning a master’s degree in early childhood education at the Erickson Institute and a PhD in educational and cultural policy studies at Loyola University Chicago. Her academic training prepared her to serve as program director of the Tennessee Early Childhood Training Alliance and research director of the Tennessee State University (TSU) Center of Excellence for Learning Sciences. “While I was at TSU,” Katari recalls, “I was in charge of an innovative program to help people working in child care to pursue college coursework and earn degrees.”
Holding these high-level academic jobs did not cause Katari to lose her commitment to working with families. During her years in Tennessee, she was also the project lead for the Nashville nonprofit Smart Baby, where she developed an interactive curriculum to address the literacy needs of young children. “Once a month,” she recalls, “I’d meet with parents for about an hour or two and talk about literacy topics so they could prepare their children for preschool. We also did field trips for the parents and their children, and the parents were so engaged in the program that it warmed my heart,” Katari says.
The opportunity to interact with parents is what first drew Katari into the early learning field. She still feels, after all the positions she’s held, that working as a home visitor taught her the most important things she knows and made her who she is today “Being a home visitor is an opportunity to meet parents in their comfort zone, and that allows you to make a tremendous impact on how their children develop,” Katari says. “After all, children spend most of their time at home, so home visitors play a key role in the early childhood education field. While home visitors are doing their jobs, they also become a source of knowledge about communities and the resources that are available to help families succeed.”
Home visitors also need more resources to succeed in their jobs, and Katari has supported them for eight years at the Education Development Center, where she’s the quality commitment and implementation lead for the Institute for Home Visiting Workforce Development and Jackie Walorski Center for Evidence-Based Case Management. “We do training and professional development for home visitors and seminars on recruitment and retention. We work with many other organizations, including the Child Welfare League of America and the Tennessee Home Visitor Leadership Alliance, which share our interest in the home visiting workforce. We also work with the Council for Professional Recognition since we support the CDA® as a credential that gives home visitors the competencies and knowledge they need to do their jobs.”
Part of Katari’s job is to build collaborations and partnerships around a National Strategy for the Home Visiting Workforce, as she explains. “The National Strategy deals with system change for home visitors, and it includes changes that also apply to the broader early childhood profession. We’re addressing compensation, benefits, well-being and strategies to make home visitors feel safe, valued and not overwhelmed by their work.”
One of the special things about the National Strategy, as Katari points out, is that “we are basing it on the lived experiences of home visitors and the families they serve. Its foundation is the voices of home visitors and families. “We spent two years working with our partners to collect information through surveys, focus groups and interviews to learn more about the impact that home visitors have made on the people they serve.”
As Katari conducts this work, she looks back at her own experience as a home visitor for the Salvation Army and remembers a young woman named Laura whom she served. “Laura was in her early twenties and had four children,” Katari recalls. “She sometimes lived with family members but was homeless when I met her and risked losing custody of her children. So, I worked with her to get her children’s health records up to date and make sure they were attending school. I also talked to Laura about her future and encouraged her to earn her GED,” Katari says. “With my assistance, Laura managed to find stable housing, retain custody of her children and obtain the services she needed for her children to thrive.”
Many of the other parents who Katari served had also found themselves in similar straits where they could no longer provide for their children’s needs. “I saw a lot of cases where the father was no longer present, and other family members had thrown the mom out because her children were acting out,” Katari says. “That creates a situation where the children no longer have proper food or clothes and sometimes have to live in a shelter. It’s also hard for children to flourish when they’re moving from place to place, which can sometimes lead to developmental delays,” Katari says. “So, I really cherished the chance to work with families like Laura’s and make a difference in their lives.”
Now, decades later, Katari has come full circle in the work she does for the Institute for Home Visiting Workforce Development and Jackie Walorski Center for Evidence-Based Case Management. “I’m excited about the chance to support the training and professional growth of home visitors,” she says as she helps chart the road ahead for the home visiting field. “The goal of the National Strategy is to build a stable, skilled and respected home visiting workforce with opportunities for advancement and recognition. When we give home visitors more opportunities to thrive, they can do more to touch families’ lives.”
Revised editions of four of the CDA® Competency Standards books will be available in January 2027 in both English and Spanish. If you currently have a CDA® Competency Standards book for your setting, you may...
https://youtube.com/shorts/BN0JTkyBuyA?feature=share Expertise, Made Ready to Open Coming January 2027: Revised CDA® Competency Standards Books The revised CDA® Competency Standards books will feature updated guidance, streamlined information, and enhanced support for completing the CDA® process. The...
In August, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) proposed significant changes to Head Start governance and staffing requirements. For more than 60 years, Head Start has provided children and families with early learning, child...
The earliest years of a child’s life establish the foundation for lifelong health, learning, and well-being. From pregnancy through age five, rapid brain development makes this a critical period for nurturing relationships, responsive caregiving, and...
The Council for Professional Recognition is proud to partner with the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) on the inaugural Credit for Prior Learning–Early Childhood Education (CPL-ECE) Cohort, an initiative designed to strengthen pathways...
Did you know the Council for Professional Recognition is a great source for exploring early childhood education trends and finding critical information to support your work? During times of challenge, a key strategy for increasing...
“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...
Why should you renew your CDA? Learn what some of our early childhood professionals had to say. For example, Isabel Blair, a family child care provider in New Mexico, has renewed her CDA for 20...
For years, the search for solutions to early childhood education’s workforce challenges has felt like a treasure hunt. Policymakers follow new clues. Advocates debate new frameworks. System leaders chart new routes forward. Each effort is...
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)
Janice brings more than 20 years of experience in accounting and strategic financial management, with an extensive background spanning global associations, nonprofits, and technology organizations. She most recently served as CFO/COO for a global association advancing women in commercial real estate. Prior to that, she was the CFO at Achieving the Dream, a national nonprofit dedicated to supporting community college success, and Director of Finance at the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and Controller for two technology companies.
A Maryland-licensed CPA, Janice is deeply engaged in the profession through her service on the AICPA Governing Council and leadership roles with the CFO Leadership Council. In 2025, she was recognized as an AICPA Global Woman to Watch. She holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs & Public Policy from UC San Diego and a B.A. in International Affairs & Economics from The George Washington University, bringing both financial expertise and a global policy perspective to her work.
Janice’s journey is uniquely shaped by global and mission-driven experiences. Before transitioning into accounting, she spent a decade managing refugee programs in the United States and abroad, including roles with the International Rescue Committee and the Maryland Office for Refugees & Asylees. She has also lived and worked internationally in both Japan and Uganda.
Outside of work, Janice is a dedicated endurance athlete who completed a full Ironman triathlon in 2024, bringing the same discipline and determination to her personal pursuits as she does to her professional impact.
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