CDA Now, CDA for the FutureMany famous folks began their careers by teaching children. Before Sting crooned his way to success as the front man of the Police, he was a certified primary school teacher and soccer coach in England. Rhythm and blues legend Roberta Flack and Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda worked as English teachers while building their stellar show business careers. Sheryl Crow taught music to special needs children at a grade school in St. Louis and went on to become an icon of country music and rock. Then there are politicians like President Lyndon Baines Johnson, whose first job was teaching Mexican immigrant children in a desolate Texas town, and Senator Patty Murray, who worked for several years as a preschool teacher in Washington State.
Granted, it’s a long road from the preschool classroom to the halls of Congress, but qualified early childhood teachers, like those who’ve earned a Child Development Associate® (CDA) Credential™, can rest assured of a job right now. The early childhood field is projected to grow 18 percent from 2020 to 2030, much quicker than the average of all occupations. It’s also the starting point for a wide range of careers that include school counselor, art or music therapist, educational consultant, policy analyst, literacy coach, child care administrator and even head of a large public institution.
That’s because working in an early childhood classroom builds leadership skills like confidence, competence and courage, along with a strong sense of social justice. And former preschool teachers who’ve really flexed their leadership muscles include Dr. Shirley Raines, the first woman president of the University of Memphis, and Sue Russell, former executive director of T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood National Center, which funds scholarships that let educators grow in their field and beyond. T.E.A.C.H. helps teachers earn their CDAs and college degrees to establish a qualified, stable, fairly paid early childhood workforce for our children.
The educators who T.E.A.C.H. has supported have gone on to become college professors who guide rising teachers, contract managers for early childhood organizations, policy analysts and advocates for the early child profession. “Like some of these people, I started out as a teacher making very little money working in a classroom of two-year-old children,” Russell says. And the experience showed her “the absolute need to have the best educated and effective early educators working in classrooms, homes, community agencies, colleges and universities, state and federal agencies across the country.”
There’s a wide range of prospects for those who gain the professional development they need. And there are several ways to get it. You can go back to school, a step that will keep you abreast of new trends and ideas in the field, while gaining added qualifications to advance your career. You can attend seminars and meetings—like the Council’s ECE Practitioner Day—great venues to hear from industry experts, enhance your personal growth and learn how to help children perform better. You can join professional organizations, groups that often supply members with access to exclusive events, industry news and the latest research studies. These organizations also provide early childhood teachers more chances to connect with likeminded people in their field.
And if these structured activities don’t appeal to you, there are also informal ways to advance your skills. You can study on your own since learning doesn’t have to happen in a classroom. Your independent study can be as simple as keeping up to date with early childhood education blogs and communities online, or you may choose to read industry journals, publications and research studies. And if you do choose to go it alone, it helps to find a trusted colleague who can serve as a mentor. Your mentor can be a resource for feedback on issues you encounter at work and someone on whom you can bounce off new ideas. And whether you find a mentor at your child care center or outside of work, building an open line of communication with a seasoned colleague will help you grow.
I know the tremendous role that mentors have played in my ECE career by helping me know I was in the right place. They include Helen Taylor, a former bureau chief in the Office of Head Start, and Ed Green, a great early childhood educator. My heroes also include two former Council CEOs, Drs. Valora Washington and Carol Brunson Day, whom I’ve always looked up to and admired.
Dr. Day was CEO of the Council when I was a young man looking for an entry into the early childhood field. At first, I thought I’d go right into school to get my bachelor’s degree, but my aunt said, “Why don’t you work at Head Start? It will give you the experience to make sure teaching young children is something you really want to do.” I took her advice, and straight away Head Start put me into a CDA program at the local community college. I went on to earn a Ph.D., work in Head Start administration and become a nonprofit leader. Now as Council CEO, my goal is to reimagine the CDA process so we can serve future candidates even better and keep connecting with teachers throughout the credentialing process and their careers.
The people who choose ECE as a profession play a key role in building the future. They lay the bedrock for lifelong learning and school success when children are at the most formative stage in their lives. And making a difference in children’s lives requires teachers to develop certain traits—including creativity, a sense of organization, communication skills and dedication—that can help you advance with added training and education. The CDA is a great starting point on the career ladder since it helps teachers pick up some pivotal skills that are vital for many professions. Sure, our CDA holders might not aim to become senators or rock stars, but they do have a strong foundation that will help them rock at whatever they choose to do. The CDA is for now and for the future.
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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.
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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