Luz’s older daughter, Zarah, provided her with the inspiration to enter the early learning field. “Zarah was almost two years old,” Luz recalls, “when my family moved from Colombia to the United States in 2005. I wanted Zarah to learn English, so I enrolled her in Head Start, where I loved the interaction that I witnessed in her classroom. I was so intrigued by what was happening in Head Start that I volunteered in the program.” That was the start of a career that has brought her to the position of bilingual early childhood specialist at the Latin American Community Center in Wilmington, Delaware, where she works with children, families and teachers.
Luz is also a coach for the Early Childhood Innovation Center (ECIC) at Delaware State University, where she helps Hispanic educators earn a Child Development Associate® (CDA) Credential™. “I put my heart into helping these rising CDAs because I have firsthand experience of the challenges they face,” she says. “I get them inspired by telling them my own story to convince them that they, too, can succeed.”
When Luz came to this country, she had a college degree in business but didn’t speak English and the only job she could get was as a custodian in a medical supply warehouse. After a few years, she was laid off from the job, and it turned out to be blessing in disguise, as she explains. “I realized I had to learn English, go to school and gain new skills. Fortunately, my husband supported my goals by taking on a second job, allowing me to take English classes at Delaware Technical and Community College.”
After that, Luz had enough English to begin working on her CDA®, and that, too, posed a challenge,” she says. “It was hard to build my CDA Portfolio since it was only in English when I earned my CDA in 2008. The Professional Development Specialist who did my classroom observation didn’t speak any Spanish, so I had trouble understanding everything she said. Yet I managed to pass my assessment and earn my CDA,” Luz is happy to say. Though her English was still shaky at the time, earning the credential gave her a firm grasp of what it means to be competent in the early childhood classroom.
“The CDA is the first step in a career in early learning,” Luz points out. “It gave me a foundation in how to take care of children and keep them safe. You also learn about state licensing regulations, how to develop lesson plans, how to manage a classroom and how to work in teams. The CDA is a comprehensive credential,” she says. And it gave her the tools to get a job as an assistant teacher at the Latin American Community Center, where she has worked for nearly 16 years. During that time, she has served as a teacher, administrative staff member, and health and enrollment coordinator, roles in which she interacted with a lot of families on behalf of the Center.
Meanwhile, she also honed her English skills and advanced her education. In 2020, she earned an associate degree in early childhood care and education. In 2024, she completed a bachelor’s degree in education studies and a certificate in trauma-informed care to address the rise in behavioral issues among children since the pandemic. “I went through the whole educational process,” she says, “learned from my mistakes, and all this has taught me how to better support educators in their careers.”
She brings her experience and education to her work at ECIC, where she’s served as a CDA coach for about two years. Last year, Luz won ECIC’s coach of the year award, and she attributes this honor to the passion she brings to her role. “I have a lot of empathy and want to empower teachers so they, too, can reach their goals,” Luz says. She also feels a sense of community with the educators she serves, so her support for them goes beyond professional development to include ways they can practice self-care.
“Many of the women I coach are moms, and I know firsthand how exhausting it is to work, go to school and take care of a family, too,” Luz says. “Often, the women may also have immigration issues or suffer from domestic violence. So, I’ve provided a space at ECIC where they can relax, read, do yoga, and get a break from the challenges they face. We have many conversations, and they feel confident enough to tell their personal stories to me.” The educators’ stories touch Luz’s heart, and whatever issues they face, Luz strives to give the educators the courage to go on and reach their goals.
“For example, I coached a young woman named Ana who had diabetes and was suffering from domestic abuse,” Luz recalls. “She had no family in this country to help her. So, my colleagues at ECIC and I stepped in and helped her find a place to stay. Now, Ana has finished the CDA program strong and she’s going for her associate degree in September.”
So is a CDA holder who Luz supported as a PD Specialist, another way she gives educators support. It can also be a way for her to draw on her business skills, as she did when she visited a family child care provider named Alicia. “Her classroom was a little disorganized,” as Luz recalls, “so I helped her prioritize the materials and make improvements she needed to run a more professional program.” In addition, Luz has guided many Hispanic providers by boosting their computer skills, showing them the right way to write a report and ensuring they know the proper forms to share with parents.
Whether as a business advisor, cheerleader or coach, Luz puts her heart into supporting Hispanic early childhood teachers. She knows what it’s like to come to this country with nothing, so she’s made it her goal to help other struggling women build a better life. Luz has also passed on her sense of mission to her daughter Zahra. “She recently graduated from college with a major in sociology and a minor in gender studies,” Luz says. “Now she plans on becoming a lawyer so she can help women who face immigration issues or suffer from domestic violence,” among the same issues that Luz encounters in her work. “Zahra recently wrote an article on the challenges immigrants face when they come to this country,” Luz says, “and she’s still my greatest source of inspiration.”
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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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