Celebrating Families: Making Family Fun
August is National Family Fun Month, with American Family Day celebrated on August 3rd. During this time, families can spend quality time together, head to the local park or pool, take a walk, or go...
Family child care homes are more than convenient places for working families to find child care; they are essential nurturing learning environments where children grow, develop, and build the foundation for lifelong success. With nearly 3 million children from birth to age five receiving care in these home-based settings in our country, the need for well-prepared, skillful educators has never been more critical.
Family child care educators play a unique and powerful role. They often serve as a child’s first teacher, shaping not only early learning experiences but also children’s social, emotional, and physical development. Family child care settings are especially crucial for:
Despite these benefits, family child care has often been undervalued or misunderstood. The Council for Professional Recognition, in partnership with the National Association for Family Child Care, is committed to shifting that narrative.
The term “provider” can imply that family child care is merely about supervision, but that could not be further from the truth.
Only well-prepared, skillful, experienced educators can truly support a child’s development across all domains: cognitive, social, emotional, language, and physical. Family child care educators are professionals who:
Recognizing these professionals for their educational expertise, emotional intelligence, and dedication is key to transforming how we value early education.
The CDA® credential is nationally recognized and elevates family child care educators as qualified professionals. It affirms their skills and commitment to quality early learning through rigorous CDA® Competency Standards go beyond basic caregiving.
For educators working in family child care settings, earning a CDA credential offers powerful benefits:
In 2024, the Council for Professional Recognition partnered with the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC) to strengthen the family child care workforce. Through this collaboration, the Council is committed to expanding access to the CDA credential and supporting professional development, ensuring family child care educators have the tools and recognition needed for continued growth and excellence.
High-quality family child care begins with highly competent educators. These professionals are far more than providers of care; they are architects of early development, helping shape young minds and futures in a deeply personal-home environment and in an impactful way. By earning a CDA and embracing the standards of our profession, family child care educators raise the bar for early education across the nation. It’s time we recognize and support them not as babysitters or caretakers, but as professional educators they truly are!
To learn more about the CDA for family child care professionals, please check out the Council’s resources and information:
August is National Family Fun Month, with American Family Day celebrated on August 3rd. During this time, families can spend quality time together, head to the local park or pool, take a walk, or go...
Early childhood educators play a critical role in the lives of young children and their families around the world. As the administrator of the Child Development Associate® (CDA), the Council for Professional Recognition is at...
The Council is updating the renewal process to make it more efficient, accessible, and user-friendly. These changes streamline requirements, automate renewals, and introduce a fair audit system to ensure compliance while minimizing administrative burdens. Updates...
Family child care homes are more than convenient places for working families to find child care; they are essential nurturing learning environments where children grow, develop, and build the foundation for lifelong success. With nearly...
Beginning August 1, 2025, the Council is implementing a new exam-first approach for the CDA credentialing process. This change enhances standardization and streamlines the process, allowing candidates to demonstrate their expertise in a structured manner....
The month of June is rich with purpose and powerful reminders for those of us who support young children and their families. We celebrate National Safety Month, Family Health and Fitness Day, World Environment Day,...
Do you want to widen your career options in the early learning field and work with more than one age group of children? Many educators do, and the Council is giving you a new way...
The Council for Professional Recognition is proud to present the Child Development Professional™ (CDP) concept paper—presenting a bold vision for a nationally recognized credential to elevate early childhood education (ECE) by expanding professional pathways beyond...
The month of May is a time of heartfelt gratitude and thoughtful reflection. Not only is it the month we honor mothers, but we also celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week (May 5–9), Teacher Appreciation Day (May...
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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