Dear Colleagues,
Martin Luther King, Jr. believed “character plus intelligence—that’s the objective of true education.” These words still ring true as we mark King’s birthday this month. It’s more important than ever for children to have character, to feel empathy and respect for others in a nation that’s on edge. COVID-19 lockdowns, protests and lingering election strife have left our country at its most divided since the Civil War. At this turbulent moment, we should remember the title of King’s final book: Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?
As we choose the road ahead, we should recall how King used the power of peaceful protest to advance justice and equity for all. We should also honor his vision for the future. “I have a dream,” he once said, “that one day little Black boys and girls will be holding hands with little white boys and girls.” That dream lives on at the Council, where we are committed to building a sense of community for all teachers and children. “We should fight systemic racism and make equity a key part of how we credential new teachers,” as Dr. Calvin Moore points out in his blog, An Equity Lens on Early Education.
“Children learn best from educators who look like them,” he says, so the Council is striving to make the ECE workforce more diverse.” So is Sebawit Yirsaw, an early educator and CDA® coach who we profile this month. She plays a prominent role in training Amharic-speaking teachers who can meet the needs of the District’s growing group of Ethiopian families and help their children connect to the wider community around them. “Most of the children I’ve worked with were not from around here,” Sebawit explains. “So, it’s very important for educators to understand the children’s different cultures and backgrounds.”
The CDA is all inclusive, thanks to educational leaders like Leah Shapiro. In her 50-year career she wrote a widely used CDA assessment instrument and taught many CDA courses. She also worked as a Head Start teacher, CDA PD Specialist™ and developmental therapist who helped vulnerable children. This work taught Leah “to accept other families’ lifestyles and cultures,” she says. It also took her into some of the roughest parts of Chicago, neighborhoods rife with drug abuse and gang violence. She did it because she wanted to save the world by serving children.
Many of our early childhood teachers share Leah’s sense of commitment. They don’t all work in neighborhoods where gun shots ring out, as she once did. But they are facing danger as the pandemic goes on, and they confront a tricky choice between their livelihood and their lives. Early childhood teachers are returning to the classroom despite concerns about their health, and their sense of persistence has made people realize that early childhood teachers are frontline heroes. States have also acknowledged this by releasing the COVID-19 vaccine to early childhood teachers. “These educators are indeed essential workers, and we appreciate the recognition of their role,” Dr. Moore says in a press release this month.
He knows the CDA gives rising teachers a passion to work with young children, and that’s especially needed now as the pandemic puts more pressures on our profession. So, the Council has launched a new effort to help high school students earn their credential. The CDA not only gives them the skills they need to teach young children; it also puts a premium on training teachers who can serve our increasingly diverse population, New America said in a recent report.
Much is certainly new in America these days, and we’re again asking, “Where do we go from here?” Our profession can respond by teaching the citizens of tomorrow to choose community over chaos—and someday build a nation where “children will be judged by their character, not the color of their skin,” as King once hoped and prayed. Over the past year, our early childhood teachers have shown they have the passion and the persistence to make King’s dream of equity and justice come true.
With hopeful dreams for the coming year,
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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