It helps to have someone to encourage you when you don’t think you can succeed, as Fatima knows. Twenty-four years ago, she came to New Mexico from Sudan, where she taught math in eighth grade, and she was disappointed to learn that her teaching degree wasn’t valid in this country. Fortunately, she found a mentor in her son’s preschool teacher. “When I told her about the problem with my degree, she said, you can still do a lot,” Fatima recalls. That teacher encouraged her to start at the beginning by finding a job at a preschool and pursuing her education, as Fatima still recalls. The teacher made Fatima believe she could succeed, and she did after earning a CDA® on the job.
“The CDA opened the door to success for me,” Fatima says. And since then, Fatima has also earned her college degree and nearly completed her master’s degree. Her education and experience have equipped her to become an education consultant with the University of New Mexico Early Childhood Services Center, where she helps ECE programs improve their ratings. She’s also a lead mentor for Early Childhood Networks (ECN), where she guides educators in earning their CDA and teaches a course that allows educators to become mentors, too.
Fatima has been involved with ECN since its start in 2015, while she was working as a preschool teacher. “At the time, they were supporting associate degree students who needed experience in a classroom,” she recalls. “My director thought I was a good teacher and allowed ECN to bring the students to my classroom. Then ECN brought all the mentors together for a monthly meeting, and since then the network has grown. Last year, the network began mentoring CDA students, and Fatima knows the value of the credential first hand. “The six Competency areas of the CDA,” as she explains, “provide a firm foundation on which to build knowledge of early childhood and get a start on a college degree,” as Fatima did.
It’s also much simpler now to earn the credential than it was in 2007 when Fatima earned her CDA. “I didn’t have a mentor, and all the coursework was in person,” she recalls. “Now everything is online, and educators can do all their coursework at their own convenience.” So, there’s been a lot of progress in the credentialing process, as she points out. But CDA candidates still face some challenges, and Fatima draws on her experience to guide them to success.
“The most important lesson I try to pass on is about time management,” as Fatima explains. “It can be challenging when you have a family, you have a full-time job, and you have to work on your CDA. That makes it important not to wait until the last minute to go through the different steps required to earn your CDA. So, I tell candidates to get organized, finish one part of the CDA at a time, and always reflect on their final goal.”
Fatima has also reflected a lot on what she can do to help them through the CDA process and on what it takes to be a good mentor, as she explains. “Active listening is important,” she says. “So is trying to understand the people who you mentor. You have to build trust and adapt to people’s needs since every CDA candidate has a different learning style,” as she points out. “And you have to set an example by also learning from the candidates you serve.” So, Fatima is always thinking about what she can do better to guide the candidates ahead, and over time she’s come up with a system that helps her provide what each person needs.
“I start by sending my mentees a questionnaire that helps me make a game plan for them,” Fatima says. “I ask them if they have any experience in the early childhood field. I ask about their areas of strength and where there’s room for improvement. And I ask what I can do to help them. Depending on a candidate’s answers, I know how closely I need to watch them and work with them so that they can succeed.”
The candidates’ backgrounds vary widely, from high schoolers who’ve never been in a classroom to seasoned veterans in the early childhood field. And Fatima gives each one personal attention so she can meet their needs. “They have my phone number and email so they can contact me in whatever way they wish. I also arrange to meet with them on Zoom, and I address their individual questions and concerns.”
Some are worried about the CDA exam, Fatima says, so she strives to calm their fears. “I tell them that it’s normal to be nervous, but there are things you can do to prepare. Start learning and practicing early. All the questions on the exam come from your CDA textbook, Essentials for Working with Young Children. So, make sure you study it. And equally important, take the exam with a clear head. Don’t be so nervous that it affects how you score”—advice that also helps candidates through the assessment part of the CDA.
“Some of the candidates think the children will act different when a stranger comes to the class for an observation. And they’re also afraid that the Professional Development Specialist will judge them. So, I tell them nobody is there to judge you. They’re just going to write down what they see and hear. They’re going to reflect with you on your classroom practice. All you have to do is be your best.”
And Fatima is still striving to be her best as she gets down to the finish line on her master’s degree in education. “I’m three courses from completion and then I’d like to do doctoral research on how to manage children with challenging behaviors,” she says. “I want to dig deep into the subject, so I can do even more to support teachers and children.”
That’s the reason Fatima loves being a mentor, as she explains. “I can make a greater impact than I would in a classroom where I might be sharing my experience with 20 children. As a mentor, I can share my experience with many teachers and those teachers impact many children.” That makes a big difference, and it also gives Fatima the chance to help others in the way that her son’s preschool teacher helped her many years ago. “I listened to her and believed her when she encouraged me to work in child care and get an education. That’s why I’m where I am today and why I work so hard to encourage others. I want educators to know that I did it, and they can do it, too.”
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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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