A man working in the field of child care? How did that happen?
I earned a BA degree in criminology in 1994, but I became interested in early childhood education (ECE) when my daughter was born five years ago. It 
was a challenge to find a good child care center for my daughter — not one seemed good enough.
I researched acceptable standards in the ECE industry, and then embarked on the CDA process myself. My CDA fee was paid for by the Florida TEACH program.
The required 480 hours of experience allowed me to work with children and discover how rewarding the ECE profession is. There were many challenges. I was the only man in the class and, at first, parents looked funny at me, but I did not get discouraged.
I took CDA classes through the Florida Community College of Jacksonville. My wife also went through CDA training, and now we are planning to open our own child care center.
Currently, I work as campus director for a private 1-12 grade school. The reason why I am not working in ECE is that I wanted to see the whole continuum of human development, and serve all ages in order to understand human development better.
I plan to go back to school to get a degree in Special Education, because I believe special needs children do not get their fair share of quality education and positive reinforcement in the classroom.
I want to encourage all people who are interested in how human beings develop to join the ECE workforce, get some ECE training, and practice in the field. The ECE field is not only for women, and advertising for ECE openings should not be geared only toward women.
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Chief Operations Officer
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
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.
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