Dear Colleagues,
Bad times can bring out the best in people, as we’ve seen during the current crisis. Sure COVID-19 has brought out the worst in some folks—from hoarding hundreds of rolls of paper towels to flouting public health guidelines by flocking to restaurants and bars. Still, we’ve seen most people rise to meet the occasion. In these dark months, there have been moments of light, as Dr. Calvin Moore reminds us in his stirring blog, A Core Conviction for the Coming Year. Our ECE community has stayed strong because we know we’re all in this together. Over the course of the year, we’ve shown how the diverse parts of our sector have converged around a common concern: the health and well-being of our youngest children.
We’ve put a spotlight on the contributions of immigrant teachers, like the ones Maria Fátima Castro trains and supports as director of Central California Migrant Head Start. They play a key role as a cultural bridge for our country’s growing population of immigrant and refugee children, many of whom have been through trauma, as we show in Strangers in a Strange Land. Our new white paper points to the importance of educators who speak the children’s languages, know their background and can put themselves in the kids shoes.
Most of our immigrant teachers are women. So are most of our other heroes of the early childhood classroom, including Tabatha Rosproy, the first preschool educator to be named National Teacher of the Year, who spoke with us about her trailblazing work in early childhood education. Still, we must also hail the contributions of men to our profession. Throughout the year, we’ve recognized men who’ve stood up to challenges and stereotypes so they could serve young children. And this month, you’ll read about Phillip White, founder and president of a college that specializes in ECE. He’s committed to giving early childhood teachers the training they need to keep the light of learning burning bright in children’s eyes.
“Our educators need practical skills that will equip them to stand in front of a group of children and help them be their best,” Phillip says. So, the CDA plays a big part in his program. And it’s especially helpful for men. The credential surrounds men with a bubble of confidence and competence, as we heard this year when we convened a special panel on men in ECE.
The panel was part of our virtual celebration to mark 45 years of the CDA. And our own eyes lit up when we saw that more than 3,000 of you registered for the anniversary event. Together, we heard from inspiring speakers who talked about the impact of the CDA and the promise it holds for the future. The CDA has endured, grown, and expanded globally, largely thanks to educators like you. We’ve been thrilled to tell your moving stories this year.
The story of our sector is still unfolding, and the next chapter looks good. The pandemic has brought attention to the key role that our educators play in the lives of working families. We’ll soon have new national leadership that seems to strongly support early care for all our country’s youngest children—and the ideal of inclusion.
It’s a value we’ve all embraced, and it has brought us together during this trying time. Our shared commitment to children has kept us close despite the need to social distance. Now we must stay strong because there’s light at the end of the dark road we’ve travelled. As the lights of the season illumine our communities and our homes, please keep hope in your heart. This has been the worst of times—but the best of times may be in store.
With warm wishes for a happy holiday season,
The Council for Professional Recognition
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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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