MaryEllen Fritz’s 20 year career in early childhood education began with a simple question: Why are some children more engaged than others?
As a nurse at a tribal clinic in rural Alaska, MaryEllen said she would routinely see children come to the clinic that were happy and inquisitive while others hid behind their parents and had poor social skills.
MaryEllen’s soon learned the difference was in a child’s early childhood education.
“Teachers who had their CDA had a curriculum on developing social skills and responsibility, while those who didn’t often struggled with behavioral problems,” she said.
When she became the director of her local Headstart center, MaryEllen said she wanted to ensure that all students could grow from having a CDA Certified teacher in their classroom.
“When I first started as a director, only one teacher had a CDA and all of the other teachers went to her for advice. A year later we had six CDA’s in the center,” Fritz said.
“We saw a jump in the quality of education. As teachers were gaining their credentials, we would see children who were initially scoring low on national exams, score higher.”
Inspired by the progress of her teachers, MaryEllen decided to earn her own CDA.
“I saw the benefits of the CDA in my classrooms and I wanted it for myself. I wanted to understand how children learn, even though I was a director and not in the classroom.”
Since earning her CDA, MaryEllen has gone on to earn her Bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education. Today, she serves as the Program Director and Administrator of the Anchorage Vineyard Early Learning Program where she oversees multiple centers throughout rural Alaska and continues to advocate for the CDA and early childhood education for Alaska’s tribal community.
“I really fell in love with the way the process helps families and new teachers grow and learn,” Fritz said. “The CDA is a great first stepping stone for the professional development of early educators.”
– MaryEllen Fritz
Anchorage, Alaska
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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.
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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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