Dear Colleagues,
Are you wondering how we can solve the child care crisis and widen the pipeline of skilled early childhood teachers? Council CEO Dr. Calvin Moore offered an answer in his white paper, Leveraging the CDA® as the Entry-Level Qualification for the Early Learning Field. Dr. Moore’s suggestion is spot on, according to Linda Smith, director of the Child Care Trust, a catalyst for building our profession’s future. In an article that appeared early this year, Linda noted that “families need more child care now, programs need staff now and policymakers need a realistic workforce strategy now.” One of the best ways to meet these pressing needs, as Dr. Moore and Linda agree, is by broadening access to CDA training nationwide.
The CDA has already proved its worth in Head Start and the military child care system, which has embraced the CDA® Competency Standards ever since Linda brought the credential to the Department of Defense. Her leadership made the department’s child care system a national model, as you’ll see when we feature her in this edition. Learn about the insights Linda gained on the role of policy and persistence in a professional journey that took her from a tribal child care center in Montana to high-profile positions in Washington, DC. During her career, Linda also served as executive director of Child Care Aware of America (CCAoA), which recently held a symposium, Child Care Strong: Igniting Opportunity, which brought together leaders from the early learning field.
Leslie Holt, director of a Bright Horizons child care center in Cary, North Carolina, was one of the presenters at the conference, and you’ll hear from him this month. Leslie advocates for the early learning profession by using social media to tell the real-life stories of educators and the roadblocks they face in getting the salary and recognition they need. These challenges make it especially hard to recruit and retain men in the early learning field, which is an issue Leslie has addressed as advisor and primary co-chair of the Men TEACH Employee Advisory Group at Bright Horizons. “The low wages for entry-level educators prevent many men who’d like to work with children from taking positions in early education,” Leslie says, “so I provide my staff, men and women alike, with opportunities for professional growth like earning a CDA, a proven path to promotions and higher pay.”
Leslie also urges us to get men interested in the early learning field while they’re young, among the recommendations that Dr. Moore makes in a new interview with Education Week where he explores factors that deter men from teaching young children. “One of the things that we can do to attract more men is to think about apprenticeship models and find ways to capture their imaginations earlier,” he says. “So, the Council is putting more focus on CDA programs in high schools.”
Still, earning a CDA is just a start. It’s also important to keep it up to date so next month the Council is offering a CDA Renewal Amnesty initiative. Learn more about it in our new blog, where a wide range of early learning professionals speak from firsthand experience as they explain the Reasons to Renew Your CDA. “Having a CDA is part of defining yourself as a professional in the early learning field,” as one educator pointed out. “Educators who hold up-to-date CDA credentials strengthen our entire profession.”
Success in moving the field ahead will also depend on building networks and telling the stories of educators on the ground, as you’ll read in our wrap-up of the CCAoA symposium, Making Everyone Stronger. Then turn to Dr. Moore’s latest blog, Partnering to Improve Child Care, to learn how the conference put a spotlight on the CDA by passing on some exciting news. There’s a new venture to provide educators with more access to the CDA and promote the CDA as the best first step in ECE career ladders and workforce systems nationwide. That would bring us closer to reaching the goal that brought the early learning community together at the symposium last month: making child care strong and igniting opportunity for our field.
Looking forward to opening opportunities for you,
The Council for Professional Recognition
“We can’t just wait for the future we want. We must seize the opportunity to build it,” Susan Gale Perry, Child Care Aware of America CEO said last month on the opening day of “Igniting...
Why should you renew your CDA? Learn what some of our early childhood professionals had to say. For example, Isabel Blair, a family child care provider in New Mexico, has renewed her CDA for 20...
For years, the search for solutions to early childhood education’s workforce challenges has felt like a treasure hunt. Policymakers follow new clues. Advocates debate new frameworks. System leaders chart new routes forward. Each effort is...
Promoting family health and fitness goes far beyond encouraging children to run, play, and eat their vegetables. It is about creating lifelong habits that support physical, emotional, and social well-being, while honoring the diverse cultural...
Download Your New CDA® Sample Exam Questions Now! The Council for Professional Recognition, the organization that administers the CDA® credential, is excited to share the new CDA® sample exam questions. This free resource uses research,...
Ariana’s mother is the last to pick up two-year-old Ariana from the early care and education program late on Friday afternoon. She hugs Ariana and sighs, “I have reached my limits today with Henry still...
For decades, the early childhood education (ECE) field has faced a persistent challenge: the lack of consistent entry-level qualifications. Despite widespread recognition that high-quality early learning experiences are critical to children’s long-term success, the workforce...
At the Council for Professional Recognition, we are committed to ensuring the Child Development Associate® (CDA) Credential™ continues to reflect high‑quality preparation, meaningful learning, and strong alignment with career and education pathways. As part of...
Hawaii faces a documented shortage of qualified early childhood educators, particularly on neighbor islands and in rural communities, leaving many children and families without access to needed care. With a shortage of licensed child care...
Vice President of Product
Mackenzie Pelland serves as Vice President of Product at the Council. In this role, she oversees the Council’s product strategy and portfolio, including credentialing programs, educational publications, professional development resources, and branded merchandise, ensuring offerings are sustainable and responsive to the evolving needs of early childhood educators and the broader early care and education field. Her work focuses on building scalable, user-centered products that strengthen quality and integrity across the Council’s credentialing, educational, and professional learning offerings.
Prior to this role, Mackenzie served as Director of ECE Observation Systems at the Council, where she oversaw the observation portion of the CDA® credentialing assessment process and led the ECE Observation Team. She also worked to support, refine, and strengthen the Professional Development Specialist community to better meet the needs of a diverse CDA® candidate population.
Before joining the Council, Mackenzie was Senior Director of Monitoring and Compliance Systems at Acelero Learning, where she led the development and execution of monitoring systems related to federal grant compliance, child care licensing, health and safety, incident management, and facilities compliance across Head Start programs nationwide. She also previously served as Program Accountability and Policy Implementation Manager at New York City’s Department of Education within the Division of Early Childhood Education.
Mackenzie is recognized as a credentialing specialist by the Institute for Credentialing Excellence. She holds a master’s degree in education policy from Teachers College, Columbia University, a Certificate in Education and Program Evaluation from Georgetown University, and a bachelor’s degree in politics and education from Occidental College.
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 Administrative Officer (CAO)
Janie Payne is the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) 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.
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 Wilmington, NC with her husband and two dogs.
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.
