Published by CounciLINK on January 24, 2019
CHANDLER, AZ – Melanie Alexander has more than one passion. She’s committed to both early childhood education and fashion.
For 23 years, she’s worked with kids in a wide range of settings: private preschools, child care centers and public elementary schools, besides operating her own family child care business. For the past nine years of her career, she has served as a Professional Development Specialist (PDS) and a teacher at Bashar High School here where she teaches both fashion design and all levels of early childhood education.
It’s a role that fits her like a glove since she knows the field from the bottom up. And you have to take your hat off to her for all she has achieved. She began her career with a Child Development Associate (CDA®) credential and went on to earn an associate’s and bachelor’s degree in early childhood development and leadership. She even completed a master’s degree in early childhood education, but she’s still proud of having earned her CDA many years ago. And she encourages all her students to do the same.
When she talks about her current work, it’s clear that she wears her heart on her sleeve.
“I work with individual students,” she said, “to make a difference in their lives and future careers in early childhood. I believe every student is unique and can use their special gifts to make a difference in the field of early childhood education.”
And Alexander, herself, has kept making a difference in several ways while she continues to teach. She has run the local chapter of Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, a national nonprofit career and technical student group that helps young people expand their leadership potential and develop skills for life. She has represented her school district in statewide curriculum and assessment development, helped adapt textbooks and integrated state standards into successful programs at multiple high schools.
By taking on these challenging new roles, Alexander has acted on her deep belief in the value of education.
“My ultimate goal,” she said, “is to instill in my students a desire to become lifelong learners.”
And what’s the greatest lesson she’s learned in her
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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.
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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.
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