Dr. Bisa Batten LewisThe Council is pleased to welcome Dr. Bisa Batten Lewis as Director of ECE Competence and Practice. Dr. Bisa, as she is known, is a renowned public speaker and best-selling author in a wide range of formats: articles on parenting and education, college textbooks, children’s books, early childhood curricula and motivational books for early childhood teachers. Everything she writes reflects real-life experience because Dr. Bisa has served as an early childhood teacher and administered many child development centers, including lab schools, Head Start and Georgia’s Pre-K program. She has also served as an early childhood instructor and dean at the college level, president at an Atlanta affiliate of the National Black Child Development Institute and lead author of the CDA Handbook for High School.
This diverse background has given Dr. Bisa a strong grasp of what it takes to provide high-quality, research-based services in the early childhood classroom. She also knows the challenges that educators can face as they seek to earn the qualifications required to advance in the early learning field. So, she has championed articulation agreements that allow CDA holders to earn credits at institutions of higher ed and been a firm advocate of equity for the members of the early childhood field. Dr. Bisa is also a staunch advocate for children and wants to ensure that young learners have the competent teachers they need. That’s also the Council’s goal, so Dr. Bisa is excited to join us. “The Council is insightful,” she says, “listens closely to the concerns of our early childhood educators and is committed to meeting their needs.”
As Director of ECE Competence and Practice, she will lead the ongoing review and application for relevance of the CDA Competency Standards and elevate the awareness, utilization, and facilitation of communities of practice.
Dr. Richard S. BrownThe Council is pleased to welcome Dr. Richard S. Brown as its new Director of Psychometrics and research. Dr. Brown earned his M.B.A. from the University of California, Irvine and Ph.D. in advanced quantitative methods from the University of California, Los Angeles. He offers more than 20 years of statistical and analytical expertise, mainly in the areas of research design, test development, quantitative analysis and psychometrics. Dr. Brown has been a faculty member at the USC Rossier School of Education, director of the Center for Research in Educational Assessment and Measurement in the Department of Education, University of California, Irvine, and senior researcher at the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing at UCLA.
His role in assessing education has also extended beyond California to make an impact nationwide. He has served the National Assessment Governing Board as a reviewer and advisor for the board’s plans to commission studies on alignment between college readiness exams and the National Assessment of Educational Progress. He has also served on numerous technical advisory committees for educational policy and research, including the Standardized Testing and Reporting program for the California Department of Education, the IES-funded Regional Education Laboratory for the Mid-Atlantic region, the Assessing Data Modeling project at Vanderbilt University, and the National Inspection, Testing, and Certification Corporation. In addition, he served on the board of directors at the Education Policy Improvement Center and as chief research scientist for The National Math + Science Initiative—leading to a wide range of experience that will advance the Council’s mission. “The role of a psychometrician for a credentialing organization is to document and ensure that the credentialing process is valid, reliable and fair for all candidates,” he says. “I look forward to bringing that perspective to the Council.”
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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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