Lillian L. Sugarman, who spent most of her life in Washington, DC, and Philadelphia, passed away peacefully on April 13, 2021, in Atlanta after a courageous battle with brain cancer. She devoted more than 50 years of her life to the care and development of our nation’s young children and their families and served as a wise mentor to a multitude of early childhood educators. Her supportive professional relationships often became deep personal friendships as Lillian led through respect, kindness, integrity, generosity and a great sense of humor.
Lillian began her career in the mid-1960s as a Head Start teacher and then director of Mt. Moriah Center in Southeast Washington, DC, a program under the National Child Day Care Association. She earned a master’s degree in teaching early childhood from the University of the District of Columbia and an M.S.W. from Virginia Commonwealth University. From the late-1970s on, Lillian held several national leadership positions in the growing early childhood field. As deputy director of the National Child Development Associate Credentialing Program, administered by Bank Street College of Education, she oversaw a nationwide pool of 250 early childhood professionals from 1979 to 1985. At the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Lillian served as Head Start and Youth program specialist for Region III from 1987 to 1995, before moving to the Child Care Bureau (now Office on Child Care) as a child care specialist, then as director of the Technical Assistance Division from 1995 to 1999. She was instrumental in planning and implementing the federal Early Head Start program and served as assistant director of the Early Head Start National Resource Center at ZERO TO THREE from 1999 to 2004, and as director from 2004 to 2011.
In addition to her dedication to the field of early childhood education, Lillian’s other passion was for people with intellectual disabilities. Inspired by her beloved sister Sally, who had Down syndrome, Lillian served as an active volunteer and then a member of the board of directors at the Mary Campbell Center in Wilmington, DE, Sally’s home until her death in 2007. Lillian’s work with Mary Campbell and her national leadership in the field led to her being appointed as a member of the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities in 2011.
When she retired to Philadelphia, Lillian joined the board of directors of the Maternity Care Coalition, whose mission is to improve the lives of pregnant women and young children. She made frequent trips back to Washington, DC, where she was a consultant for the United Planning Organization, a community action agency that operates 15 Head Start and Early Head Start programs.
Lillian was born on December 31, 1941, in Wilmington, Delaware where she spent her childhood. She is survived by her sister, Rae Bellman of Atlanta; her niece, Lisa Klein Fuchs of Wesley Hills, NY; her nephew, Barry Klein, and his wife Rachel of Har Nof, Israel; and 11 great nieces and nephews.
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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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