This is a moment of profound loss in our country and world; the death toll from COVID-19 is overwhelming. At another time, dealing with another tragedy, Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl wrote, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
Four years ago my family and I dealt with an enormous loss. That situation put me on a path to advance my education and help others. I offer my story as a way to help us all understand how we can heal and the role education can play in that process.
My journey begins in the small town of Ironton, Missouri, in the southeastern part of the state. In my family, my job is to be the one everyone sort of leans on, and I’m proud to play that role. I’m the first one in my immediate family to graduate high school and I did so as a single mom.
When my sister had her son Titus, I was excited. During the first three months of his life, Titus lived with my family. Even after that point, I’d look after him — he was full of joy and we were so close; it’s as if he were my own son.
I had noticed that he wasn’t reaching intellectual and emotional milestones that I thought he should have at that point. He wasn’t speaking a lot; he made sounds but wasn’t verbalizing. I saw definite differences between him and my children.
On a cold February night when Titus was three years old, his mom tucked him safely into bed. Somehow Titus got out of the bed and wandered outside on his own, without any clothes. My sister and our family started looking everywhere for him. Eventually, the police found little Titus — he had frozen to death. My heart still breaks writing those words.
Over and over again in my head I thought about what more we could have done. Should I have spoken up when I noticed he wasn’t developing at the same rate as other kids? What gifts did I pick up raising my three children that I could share with my community to prevent similar tragedies?
I leaned on my faith and tried to make peace with the situation. It wasn’t enough. I knew I needed to do more.
After my nephew’s death I had this desire to help other children his age. I started by taking a position at a nearby early childhood education center. The director of the center saw my interest and e ncouraged me to pursue the Child Development Associate credential; it’s based on a core set of competency standards, which guide early care professionals as they work toward becoming qualified teachers of young children.
The process was challenging but worth it. Now, I’m on the path to earning my associate’s and then bachelor’s degrees in early childhood education.
Today my preschool has reopened after the COVID-19 shutdown. I look forward every day to seeing the boys and girls laugh and learn. Being so young, they really don’t know what’s going on, as it should be. They just experience caring adults, helping them learn.
Each educator has a story of how we arrived at our role. I trust my story helps you find hope and encouragement as we seek to make peace with today’s challenges.
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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.
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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.
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.
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