Scaling Up the CDA: Q&A with Council Leaders
What inspired you to launch the Reimagine project? Dr. Calvin E. Moore, Jr. (CM), Chief Executive Officer: I joined the Council when we were in the middle of the pandemic and needed to rebuild the...
Published by CounciLINK on January 23, 2020
What’s the secret to a long life? Ask 91-year-old Betty Wolford, who’s been working with young children since she was 13 years old. She began by teaching Bible class at her church, and 78 years later, she’s still working at Kae Dee Day Care, the center she built in Lawton, Oklahoma. “All her life has been about kids,” says Betty’s daughter, Daniele Esquer, who’s now taken over the center.
“I grew up with this,” recalls Daniele, who was four years old when Kae Dee opened its doors in 1973. Before that, Betty was “a single mom with four kids, and she had nothing,” her daughter says. Daniele’s bassinet came from a trash bin and Betty was running a home day care out of the family’s trailer. But hard work and help from loved ones allowed her to put the center up and keep it going.
The center succeeded because Betty gave children just what they needed: opportunities to learn, enough time to play, and the feeling that they were at home. All the food was home-cooked, including her chicken vegetable soup, always a big hit with the children.
Daniele has continued making that soup in the years since she took charge. But Betty still teaches every day and Daniele recently helped her renew her Child Development AssociateTM (CDA) credential, which Betty first earned at age 75. “As long as she’s alive,” Daniele says, “I want to continue helping her work with children because it’s so important to her.”
It’s important to Daniele, too, though she didn’t intend at first to make a career in child care and education. “I earned a business degree,” Daniele says, “and I wanted to do something else. Then my husband said, ‘Why don’t you take over the day care?” Since then, Daniele and her husband have made some updates to the center and put in a gymnasium and an indoor pool. But it’s still the same place. And it still offers that same sense of home.
Over the years, “thousands of children have come through the center, along with their children and their grandchildren,” Daniele says. And many of them have also come back when they get older. “I used to care for a lot of teens who helped me in the summer with errands and meals, tying shoelaces and setting tables,” Daniele explains. “My mom used to assure them that they have a job waiting for them at the center, and I tell them the same thing. They’re at an impressionable age, so I want to keep them out of trouble and make them feel like they’re part of something that matters.”
And it’s clear the center does matter to many folks who went to Kae Dee as kids. “Two years ago, in May, we had a reunion,” Daniele says. “The adults who came wanted to eat the same food and play the same games they did as children.” They still thought of it as a home away from home. But that home-cooked chicken veg soup so many of them asked for was just a sign of the warm, homey spirit behind everything they do at Kae Dee.
Betty made all the children feel like family, and Daniele has followed in her path. Kae Dee keeps its costs down because “Mom made us promise we wouldn’t rob anyone or charge overtime,” Daniele says. “We honor our faith by treating everyone the way we want to be treated.” And it helps that the facility is all paid for while most centers have a lease.
They’re also able to keep rates low because the members of Daniele’s family do everything themselves. “My husband, like me, has a CDA and he teaches, in addition to washing the dishes and mowing the lawn,” Daniele says. “My daughter also helps out when she’s not in college and might take over one day.” In addition, “Mom teaches with me and insists on going to work each day. Every Sunday she says, ‘This has been the longest weekend. When are the children coming back?”
At Kae-Dee, there are three generations working together. At the family’s side is another person who’s been there from the beginning: a 92-year-old woman who was 74 when she earned her CDA and still serves as an assistant teacher. Doris Wagon started working for Betty in 1973 and she, too, has devoted herself to children. One day, Doris told Daniele,” “I need to be here. If I was home, I’d die.” And her poignant words speak to the power of doing something you love.
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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.
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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.
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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