Hawaii faces a documented shortage of qualified early childhood educators, particularly on neighbor islands and in rural communities leaving many children and families without access to needed care. With a shortage of licensed child care slots and a growing waitlist of families statewide, the demand for a stronger, more supported workforce has never been greater. For many early childhood educators in Hawaii, advancing their careers while continuing to work can come with challenges. Those balancing full-time schedules or living on neighboring islands may find that traditional higher education pathways are not always easy to access. Flexible, accessible pathways such as the Child Development Associate (CDA®) Credential™ are helping to meet educators where they are, creating opportunities to strengthen the workforce while better supporting the children and families who rely on it.
To support these efforts, on February 27, 2026, the Council for Professional Recognition, in collaboration with Keiki O Ka `Āina Family Learning Centers (KOKA), convened early childhood educators, employers, advocates, and stakeholders in Honolulu to discuss the past, present, and future of the CDA® credential in Hawaii.
The coalition gathering brought together 58 early childhood educators, employers, advocates, and stakeholders committed to supporting Hawaii’s youngest learners and provided an opportunity to share updates, resources, and perspectives on strengthening the early childhood workforce and expanding career pathways. The CDA® credential, the nation’s most widely recognized credential in early childhood education, served as the common thread connecting every sector represented in the room.
“Bringing together educators, employers, and partners from across Hawaii allows us to have meaningful conversations about the future of the early childhood workforce,” said Elisa Shepherd Vice President, Strategic Alliances at the Council. “Convenings like this help us share ideas and explore ways to better support educators working with young children.”
There are currently more than 800 CDA® credential earners in Hawaii, reflecting steady growth in recent years. The convening highlighted ongoing interest in expanding access to the CDA and strengthening the early childhood workforce across the state.
In addition to the Council for Professional Recognition, speakers included representatives from KOKA, PATCH, Friends of the Future, PACT HI (Parents and Children Together), Kamaʻaina Kids and University of Hawaii/Honolulu Community College. Attendees also represented a range of early childhood education sectors throughout the islands, including child care providers and employers, the HI Department of Human Services (DHS), the Executive Office on Early Learning (EOEL), and other early childhood champions and advocates.
Discussions during the convening focused on the role of the CDA credential in supporting Hawaii’s early childhood workforce. Participants explored ongoing initiatives, resources, and opportunities to expand CDA pathways within the state.
Topics included the value of the CDA, Hawaii’s CDA apprenticeship expansion, including initiatives led by KOKA, high school CDA programs, and connections between CDA credentials and higher education pathways.
“Strengthening career pathways for early childhood educators is essential for supporting both the workforce and the young learners they serve,” said Sandra Kowalchek Manager, Partner Relations, Strategic Alliances at the Council “The CDA credential continues to be an important step for many educators beginning or advancing their careers in the field.”
During their visit to Hawaii, the Council team toured Kamaʻaina Kids preschools in ʻEwa and Kapolei. These centers have partnered with Parents and Children Together EHS-HS to enhance access to high-quality early learning for children and families. The team engaged with center staff and directors, noting that the children were well cared for and appeared content. It was evident that the staff members, who demonstrated professionalism and commitment, took pride in earning their CDA credentials. The visits highlighted effective strategies for scalable CDA attainment and positive workforce outcomes. Furthermore, these partnerships bolster workforce development initiatives, including increasing the number of Infant-Toddler CDAs among personnel.
The February convening reflected a shared commitment to supporting Hawaii’s early childhood workforce and expanding opportunities through the CDA credential. By bringing together educators, employers, advocates, and partners from across the state, the event helped advance ongoing conversations around workforce development and career pathways.
Hawaii’s early childhood community is demonstrating what’s possible when commitment turns into collective action. By expanding access and aligning shared goals, partners across the state are building more than a workforce they are strengthening support systems for children and families, and creating a future where every child is nurtured, every family is supported, and every educator is empowered.
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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.
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.
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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