Each year I update my professional bio and pause at the part where it says, “Rachel Robertson has worked in the field for over X years”. Not because I can’t believe it or can’t remember, but because I feel so fortunate to have such a long career doing work I love.
Even though my entire career has involved working with children, it wasn’t a straight line from A to B. I started out, like many, as a babysitter at 13 years old. Disposable diapers weren’t quite the norm yet and I remember sticking my finger quite a bit with diaper pins. I overcame, and at 15, I got a job as an afterschool aide at Hug-a-Bear Daycare, a home-based program. That led to a few years working for the YMCA in St. Paul, Minnesota. I did a little bit of everything and loved it all. I took a gap year after high school to work at a Montessori program located on an urban farm. Feeding the animals and llama rides were a weekly activity. I took a slow pace through college, earning a degree in family studies (racking up a lot of child psychology credits along the way as I changed majors). Eventually this led to my first job out of college: day camp coordinator for the YMCA. Dream job! Two years later, I had my first daughter and determined the nights and weekends weren’t the right fit for me. So, I looked at the job postings in the newspaper and started searching for child care program roles. Lucky me, I was hired as a director in training. I was immediately welcomed and quickly recognized how this position was also a critical aspect of my education. I realized how important every day was in the lives of the children I served and the professionals I supported. The work was gratifying and joyful, and I soon realized this was where I would spend the rest of my career, and I have! As a trainer, quality consultant, curriculum writer, instructional designer, accreditation validator, and more. 10 years ago, I came to Bright Horizons, where I am now, leading the education and development department.
When I reflect on all of this, I realize there are a few factors that guided my path.
Passion: This is the most essential ingredient to a mission-driven career. I love what I do. I think it is so important. Scratch that – I know it is so important. My passion fuels me to not only do the work, but to keep learning about the work.
Intentionality: I am very clear on the impact I want to have on the world, my work, and my career. I don’t ask, “what job do I want?” I ask, “what difference do I want to make?” This helps me make decisions so everything I do is in service to the vision I have for myself.
Relationships: I have a genuine respect for and interest in others work, perspective, and expertise and I care for these connections. Each of my new career opportunities was brought to me via a professional relationship and I value my ability to do this for others.
Learning: I use wonder as a catalyst. I seek out new ideas, use critical thinking to evaluate research, and continue my own learning as I help others in their learning. There isn’t an end goal to learning, it is an ongoing process.
Risk & Grit: I say yes as much as I can to new opportunities, and I try to embrace being a beginner. If I was an expert, I wouldn’t be starting out, right? I often think, will this open or close a door for me? And make as many door-opening decisions as I can.
Resilience: I have hit the ground hard in my life. But I am determined to learn from each moment and problem-solve using all my resources. I cultivate my own growth mindset so I am never hindered by negative thinking, but instead motivated by optimism. I accept that I won’t always get it right and value the process of learning through mistakes.
Take a moment to think about how these characteristics resonate with you. Consider how you can build these skills and create habits that will help your professional journey. A career is very rarely a straight line from here to there, but instead, a twisty, turning path full of “what if?” and “why not?” moments leading to opportunities and experiences we never imagined.
So, how long have I been in the field? The answer is 30+ years, and I am looking forward to a few more decades!
About Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc.
Bright Horizons® is a leading global provider of high-quality early education and child care, back-up care, and workforce education services. For more than 30 years, we have partnered with employers to support workforces by providing services that help working families and employees thrive personally and professionally. Bright Horizons operates approximately 1,000 early education and child care centers in the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and India, and serves more than 1,300 of the world’s leading employers. Bright Horizons’ early education and child care centers, back-up child and elder care, and workforce education programs help employees succeed at each life and career stage. Click here to learn how you can build a brighter future with Bright Horizons or visit https://careers.brighthorizons.com/.
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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 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 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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