The beginning of each new year brings new opportunities to reset and reimagine the vitality of your program and to reengage your community – children, families, and staff. It’s the perfect time to plan experiences and events that involve and include everyone. A meaningful approach is to map out topics of interest for each month with the goal of building on the unique cultures, contexts, interests, and priorities that are part of your program’s world.
To jumpstart planning, consider themes and topics that build on the available resources and extended support systems in your neighborhood and city. What focus topics will bring people together and strengthen your program’s identity and impact? What unique skills, talents, and abilities are represented by your staff and families? As you consider your families’ personal stories and experiences, how might others benefit? What topics or themes make sense for your location and setting? As you plan, these questions can guide feedback and collaboration.
Families. Consider the unique funds of knowledge and expertise families bring that enrich your program. For example, in one urban program, children and families focused on the topic of discovering nature in the city. A father demonstrated how to build a simple bird feeder. Children played “I Spy” during outdoor walks. They collected natural objects and created a mural, adding animals they discovered. The following month, the same program topic was family traditions. Activities centered around cultural learning, with families sharing traditions, cuisine, and stories. You may hold story telling circles where family members share their childhood experiences or select the theme of storytelling by holding a book-making event, where families and children create memory books together.
Children. Think about how to engage every area of children’s development and learning, with ideas that can be extended to include infants and toddlers, preschool, and school-age children. Choose topics of interest that inspire curiosity and engagement, with the goal of enriching and extending your current curriculum. In one program, teachers highlighted authors whose writing and illustrations reflected the cultural heritage of the families and depicted children’s identities and daily lives. As you decide, explore themes and activities that are meaningful and interesting to the children you serve and that inspire new ways to play and learn.
Staff. What individual talents and interests are a source of inspiration for your teachers? Can they introduce instruments, music and dance, or art and creative drama? Are there special hobbies they can share? In one program, a toddler teacher demonstrated how to make sandwiches as part of a topic of interest that focused on cooking. Her humorous reenactment was a big hit with the children, and she encouraged them to help at home. Families included children in meal planning and food preparation. What topics of interest and activities reflect your teachers and program?
Community. How can you connect with community resources to enrich and inspire children and strengthen families? One program held an outdoor performance of local high school students and invited a community puppet group. Imagine an acts of kindness month, where children and families do simple acts to help others. In response, families place a photo, drawing, or note on a giving tree – displayed in the program entryway wall – describing what they did or learned. Invite community service personnel for a health fair, where children learn about caring for teeth, healthy nutrition, and wellness. Ask your local librarian to recommend book lists for families and sponsor a reading event. Be sure to create or update your community resource guide for families and staff. Through local children’s activities, museums, and community events, your program can extend learning and fun.
Once you have brainstormed a list of monthly topics with staff, families, and children, create a monthly chart with related activities and action steps. It is okay to keep your plans simple and flexible. As new ideas and possibilities emerge, your areas of interest can grow along with your inspiration and experience. The result will be lively, hands-on learning that invites curiosity and engagement from all.
Over time, you will develop stronger relationships and commitments within and outside your program. Staff will have new opportunities to demonstrate leadership and take part in creative collaborative teamwork with families. In turn, your families will experience increased connections with your program and enjoy new ways to support children’s development and learning. Planning program experiences around topics of interest can benefit everyone, as you jumpstart a great new year ahead.
The beginning of each new year brings new opportunities to reset and reimagine the vitality of your program and to reengage your community – children, families, and staff. It’s the perfect time to plan experiences...
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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.
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.
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.
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