Council for Professional Recognition
news@cdacouncil.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Council for Professional Recognition (the Council) and Cooperativa de Servicios Integrados a la Niñez (COSIANI) are working together to integrate and align the Child Development Associate (CDA®) Credential into COSIANI’s early childhood education course offerings, and identify potential candidates for CDA training from teachers currently working in child care centers and family care facilities in San Juan.
“Our partnership with COSIANI is a great way for early childhood educators in Puerto Rico to utilize the Council’s bilingual teaching expertise. Young children and their families in San Juan will benefit from high-quality CDA instructors who have passed the Council’s rigorous credentialing process that verifies their knowledge and skills for teaching in a bilingual setting,” said Valora Washington, chief executive officer, Council for Professional Recognition.
The Council will provide best practices in early childhood education to assist COSIANI in offering a quality early education program. Because COSIANI works to uplift educators’ voices, they will host special events to obtain feedback directly from early childhood educators about how early childhood education practices can improve when working with young children. COSIANI is also supporting the Council as a sponsor of its annual Early Educators Leadership Conference on October 11-14, 2018 in Orlando, Florida.
ABOUT THE COUNCIL FOR PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION
The Council for Professional Recognition promotes improved performance and recognition of professionals in the early childhood education of children ages zero to 5 years old. The Council recognizes and credentials professionals who work in all types of early care and education settings – Head Start, pre-k, infant-toddler, family child care, and home visitor programs. As a non-profit agency, the Council sets policies and procedures for assessment and credentialing, publishes the industry’s leading training books and workbooks, including its CDA Competency Standards and Essentials textbook and workbook (2nd edition).
ABOUT COSIANI (Cooperativa de Servicios Integrados a la Niñez)
COSIANI promotes the quality of educational services for children and contributes to the development of professionals, institutions and individuals that offer services to its population. We offer the necessary tools to effectively combat the challenges faced by service providers according to the demands of the times
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Chief Operations Officer
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
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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