Home > Newsletters > Alabama Board Meeting was Successful, Informative
Published by CounciLINK on February 28, 2019
Alabama’s successful approach to early childhood education is drawing rave reviews from the Council for Professional Recognition.
Council staffers and its Board of Directors spent several days in Birmingham for their annual meeting (Feb. 12-15) at the Tutwiler Hampton Inn. Valora Washington, the Council’s CEO, said she and the Board chose to hold their meeting in Alabama because of the state’s commitment to funding and innovative teaching for its youngest citizens.
Case in point: According to a 2017 State of Preschool Report from Rutgers University and the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER), First Class Pre-K – Alabama’s voluntary pre-kindergarten program – is available in all 67 counties. And, as of the 2017 school year, the program serves more than 14,000 4-year-olds. That’s up from 750 children in 2000, the program’s first year.
“Alabama, in general, and Birmingham really have a big early childhood agenda so we want to congratulate them,” Washington said. “We’re really here so we can see it on the ground.”
Part of the kinship with Alabama is tied to the popularity there of the Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential™, which, of course, is administered by the Council. Currently, Alabama has nearly 6,000 ECE workers who hold CDAs.
Washington said that more innovative means of teaching, equitable wages for early childhood educators and deep public investment in the field of ECE will be needed to satisfy the diverse educational needs of Generation Alpha – the group of children who are now babies, toddlers and preschoolers.
She lauded Alabama’s efforts on the state level, while pointing out that it also had gotten two competitive federal Preschool Development Grants: $17.5 million in 2014 and $10.6 million in 2018.
“We’re encouraged to see that Alabama is really investing in the workforce and helping the staffs to get the credentials and the professional recognition they need to support young children,” she said.
Council Board member and Alabama native Calvin Moore, previously the state’s Child Care administrator, said that public-private partnerships have helped pave the way for the state’s success with ECE.
“None of this could even happen without leadership buy-in,” Moore said. “We have political leaders, state leaders in corporations and nonprofit entities all working on the same page. It’s taken a while … but I think in the last decade we’ve made some really good strides in supporting early education because there is an actual return on investment.”
Moore added: “The numbers of people who have their CDA and are working on their CDA in the state and receiving state support for getting their CDA, that’s a vibrant number to look at.”
While in Alabama, the Council and its Board met with state ECE Secretary Jeana Ross and others, such as Joy Winchester, director of the Office of Early Childhood Development and Professional Support. They also visited faculty, students and former students a Jefferson State Community College.
Introduction The Child Development Associate® (CDA) credential, awarded by the Council for Professional Recognition, is a foundational credential for early childhood educators across the United States. While the CDA® has long been recognized as a...
SPONSORED BLOG If you’re looking to boost your career and make a bigger impact in the lives of the little ones you teach, earning your Child Development Associate®(CDA) credential is a fantastic step forward. And...
As professionals dedicated to the advancement of early childhood education, we understand the critical role that a highly skilled and well-trained workforce plays in the development and success of young children. At the Council for...
The Council for Professional Recognition has long been a leader in quality in early childhood education, ensuring that educators meet the highest standards of competence and professionalism through the Child Development Associate® (CDA) credential. As...
The Council wants to give our early childhood teachers a chance to tell their stories. So does Usma Mohamed, the Council’s VP of Brand Experience and Marketing, and she conveys what they have to say...
SPONSORED BLOG As summer winds down and back-to-school season approaches, preschool teachers everywhere are gearing up for another exciting year of guiding littler learners! Amid the hustle and bustle of adorning bulletin boards with colorful...
What inspired you to launch the Reimagine project? Dr. Calvin E. Moore, Jr. (CM), Chief Executive Officer: I joined the Council when we were in the middle of the pandemic and needed to rebuild the...
Experts Speak Autism and Apraxia with Elizabeth Vosseller Early childhood educators play a critical role in the lives of young children and their families around the world. As the administrator of the Child Development Associate®...
National Children’s Day is a special occasion dedicated to celebrating the joys and innocence of childhood. For parents with young children under the age of 5, it’s an opportunity to spend quality time together, creating...
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.
Andrew Davis
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.
Janice Bigelow
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.
Janie Payne
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.
CounciLINK is Your Connection
Read our monthly e-newsletter and keep up to date on all Council programs and services, as well as the latest news in the world of early care and education. Subscribe today to stay connected with us. You’ll receive timely information on events, webinars, special promotions, and more.