Dear Colleagues,
A South Jersey school district recently took a novel approach to helping teachers improve their classroom practice. The Haddon Heights School District in Camden County held a nontraditional professional development day in which 130 teachers attended sessions touting health, wellness, art, relaxation and fun. Teachers played Fortnite and other video games, engaged in music therapy, practiced yoga, lifted weights and participated in self-esteem building workshops. There were also sessions involving board games, art, dance, sound healing and therapy dogs to help the teachers de-stress.
The Haddon Heights teachers had a blast as they learned to take better care of themselves so they could take better care of the children they serve. And you’ll also have fun if you’re joining us at our sold-out Early Educators Leadership Conference this fall. While we won’t be featuring video games and therapy dogs, our Health and Wellness Expo will give you a chance to get pampered, learn new practices for self-care and enjoy all that’s good for the body, spirit and mind. We’ll also have special breaks for you to learn about power poses and healthy snacks to boost your energy. And you can let loose at our dance party, an event that will pay homage to Houston, home to space exploration and NASA.
Professional development should also be fun, according to William White, who will lead our Men in ECE panel at the conference. As director of My Brother’s Teacher, he brings young Black men into the early learning profession by providing scholarships, mentoring and mental health support. White also keeps the men engaged and entertained, as you’ll see when you read about him in this issue. “We have the men do fun activities like building rocket ships or conducting science experiments with young children,” he says. “We’ve taken over 500 people to football games. We’ve taken over 200 people to baseball games, the aquarium and the zoo. In addition, we hold monthly meetings, where we talk about big topics that concern the brothers, like the grief some of them felt after losing family members to COVID.”
The pandemic increased our field’s concern about the health of young children, according to Hester Paul, national director of Eco-Healthy Child Care. And you’ll learn from her how to guard children from environmental hazards while they’re having fun in your classroom. “Cutting down on children’s exposure to substances like lead, mercury and unsafe plastics cuts down on absences and developmental disorders,” Paul explains in the sessions she presents nationwide. And “teachers are eager to learn about these hazards because they love children,” she says in her feature story this month. “Many teachers are upset because they didn’t get this information early in their careers, and that’s why I’m partnering with the Council on ways to make environmental health a part of professional development for teachers.”
And you’ll be learning more from Paul at the conference, where she’ll talk about making systems changes to safeguard our youngest children. You’ll also have a chance to meet the staff of the Council Alumni Network and find out about the exciting, fun events they have planned for the coming months. Get a preview of what’s ahead by reading our blog on the great benefits of belonging to CAN, including chances to present research, enjoy peer support and grow as a professional in ECE.
CAN brings a sense of community to the goal of giving children high-quality early learning, and we want more folks to take up the cause by attending our CDA webinars in coming months. We also need school districts, states and community colleges to join the Council in giving educators the professional development they deserve. “Our children must have qualified teachers, so we all need to partner in building more career pathways for professionals in ECE. Let’s serve our children by serving our teachers and helping them earn their CDAs,” Dr. Moore pleads in his blog. Read it to feel more empowered, encouraged and engaged in your professional growth. Hearing from Dr. Moore is always a blast.
From your most devoted partner,
The Council for Professional Recognition
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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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