We can’t wait to greet you next week at the 2022 Early Educators Leadership Conference (EELC). You can look forward to hearing insights from industry thought leaders connecting with colleagues, watching world-renowned entertainers and working on great, new methods of self-care. There’s a wealth of information—and fun—in store, as you can hear from Dr. Calvin E. Moore, Jr., Council CEO.
Get to Know the Keynote Speakers
Dr. Calvin E. Moore, Jr.
Chief Executive Officer
Council for Professional Recognition
Dr. Calvin E. Moore, Jr., an accomplished and experienced early childhood education leader, was appointed interim CEO of the Council for Professional Recognition in May 2020; he’s the first CEO of the Council to hold its early education credential, the Child Development Associate® (CDA). He previously served on the Council’s governing board.
Moore earned his CDA® nearly three decades ago while working for Head Start, a program he first participated in as a child. He also has vast professional Head Start experience, having served in large and small, urban and rural, center-based and family child care-based programs, as well as programs focused predominantly on Hispanic families.
Throughout his career, Moore has held senior roles directing complex public departments at both the federal and state level, focused on improving outcomes for underserved children and families.
Coy Bowles
Musician, Children’s Book Author and Early Education & Literacy Advocate
Coyco Creative
A Georgia native, born and raised in Thomaston, Coy Bowles is probably best known as a guitarist, keyboardist, singer, and songwriter for the three-time Grammy Award-winning Zac Brown Band. However, off stage, he is a teacher and parent blazing trails in the world of early education. With five highly praised children’s books under his belt, Coy recently released a social-emotional learning kit based around his hit book, Behind the Little Red Door, an unforgettable story of imagination and creativity. His new children’s album, Music for Tiny Humans, won a Gold Award from the Parents’ Choice Foundation.
Coy is a board member for the Georgia Foundation for Early Care + Learning and is involved with the Georgia Governor’s Office education initiatives. He was also the 2019 keynote speaker for GAEYC, and recently became the Region IV Head Start Ambassador on Early Literacy.
Recently, Coy unveiled his new children’s education and creativity company, Coyco Creative, which stands for “Creativity Opportunity Yields Creative Output.” Through this exciting new venture, Coy delivers original children’s books and music, play-based learning, and unique opportunities for both in-person and digital classrooms.
Dr. Kimberly Johnson
Children’s Book Author & Educator
Clemson University
Children’s author and educator, Dr. Kimberly P. Johnson is the author of 22 children’s books. She received her doctorate in curriculum, teaching, and leadership from Northeastern University in Boston, MA. She holds a master’s degree from Clemson University in youth development and leadership. Kimberly also has a degree in early childhood education and communications from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and completed her post-doctoral work in the Advanced Leadership Program at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. In addition, she recently completed a certificate in diversity and inclusion at Cornell University.
Kimberly is a creative thinker with a passion for teaching and helping others. She currently teaches “Creative Activities for Youth” and “Working with Diverse Youth” at Clemson University. She also teaches “Creative Writing for Social Change” at Clinton College and is a course facilitator for the “Leading Learning and Managing Evidence” courses at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. She is currently the curriculum design specialist for the King Center in Atlanta.
Sherry Cleary
University Dean and Executive Director
City University of New York
Sherry M. Cleary is the University Dean of Early Childhood Initiatives at the City University of New York and the Executive Director of the New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute. She leads the work of a passionate team dedicated to building essential systems to ensure a highly effective early childhood workforce for the state of New York so that young children have a guarantee of access to excellence. Her work also focuses on how colleges and universities can build more effective early childhood programs, as well as campus children’s programs. She supports CUNY’s 17 campus child care centers and chairs the Student-Parent Task Force.
Ms. Cleary has worked in the field of early childhood education as a classroom teacher, program administrator, and both a faculty member and higher education administrator at Erie Community College, the University of Pittsburgh and now, CUNY. She has extensive experience in inner cities and rural communities, has served on several boards of directors and college advisory boards, as well as presided over national and regional membership organizations.
Want to learn more?Download the conference brochure to get to know all the presenters and see the special events that are planned.
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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.
Andrew Davis
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.
Janice Bigelow
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.
Janie Payne
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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