The Council for Professional Recognition applauds the critical investments in early care and education included in the Build Back Better Act. This historic move will help children return to stable, developmentally appropriate, high-quality care, and help parents, particularly moms, return to the workforce.
The Build Back Better Act will make quality child care more affordable for American families. It also provides long overdue and desperately needed increases in wages for professionals in a field plagued by workforce shortages. For far too long, child care workers facing low salaries and poor benefits have struggled to achieve financial stability and to find child care for their own children. This legislation will ensure that child care workers in programs funded by the Build Back Better Act are paid salaries commensurate with public school teachers in their state who have comparable qualifications and experience.
The pandemic has had a particularly devastating impact on the early childhood workforce, and the ripple effects are being felt throughout the larger economy as parents search in vain for reliable, quality child care for their young children. The Council advances the careers of early childhood educators and is eager to continue and expand equitable access to its Child Development Associate® credential through affordable online coursework, academic preparation, and practical mentorships available in every community in the country.
This pandemic has underscored that without access to quality child care and education, families suffer, and children fall behind. The Council urges Congress to pass this vital legislation without delay.
The Council for Professional Recognition is the non-profit administrator of the Child Development Associate® credential, the most widely-known and valued credential in early childhood education.
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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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