Let the games begin now that spring is here at last. It’s time for kids to get off the couch and away from their computers. They should be outside kicking balls, shooting hoops and racing bikes—all activities young children enjoy. And preschoolers aren’t too young to join in organized sports: baseball, basketball, soccer and even tennis, my favorite sport. Serena Williams, for instance, began hitting the court when she was three, an age at which most children can’t grasp the rules of the game. Still, they can learn how to handle a racket and hit balls, skills that may not lead them to the U.S. Open. Still, practicing the game will help children learn something that great sports stars know: “Champions do not quit,” as Billie Jean King once said. “They keep playing until they are successful.”
Persistence is just one of the many positive traits that children can pick up from playing sports, and I was thinking about them this month as we marked International Day of Sport for Development and Peace. Sure, we all know the physical exercise children get is good for their health. But that’s not the only reason for encouraging them to join in organized athletics and games. Sports also help children become caring, competent adults who win in the game of life and lift others up, too. “The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team,” according to basketball coach John Wooden who won an unrivalled 10 national championships over a 10-year span at UCLA.
The “Wizard of Westwood,” as Wooden was known, developed a Pyramid of Success to train his players. It consisted of timeless character traits, like friendship, loyalty, confidence and cooperation, that he thought would make you a better player and a better person. These are traits children can develop by playing sports, the point of a soccer match at Celebree School, a child care center in Perryville, MD. From the stands, the match looked a little odd. The coach was singing most of the instructions and applauding the young players for listening well. But the goal wasn’t scoring. It was learning the basics of the sport and having positive thoughts about themselves and others.
The preschoolers were all in and so was the American Academy of Pediatrics when it weighed in on the value of sports. According to an AAP policy statement, “participation in organized sports is strongly associated with a positive social self-concept” and a child’s ability to bond with their peers. The exercise they get also encourages better sleep, which enhances mental health. And sports help children develop on an emotional level as they learn about facing challenges and loss. They also come to see that they are part of a team in which they must follow rules, respect authority figures, share and take turns. Besides all of that, sports relieve stress and help children do better in school, according to a recent study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
The study found that two-year-old children who spend less than an hour a day looking at screens and who also engage in daily physical exercise have better executive function than those who don’t meet these guidelines. “Executive function underlies your ability to engage in goal-directed behaviors,” said kinesiology and community health professor Naiman Khan, who led the study. “It includes abilities such as inhibitory control, which allows you to regulate your thoughts, emotions and behavior; working memory, by which you are able to hold information in mind long enough to accomplish a task; and cognitive flexibility, the adeptness with which you switch your attention between tasks or competing demands.” So, it seems that having children engage in sports is a slam dunk for their future.
Sadly, not all children have an equal chance to get the benefits of sports, according to another recent study from Early Learning Ohio. The study revealed that race, gender, income and the mother’s education determine whether children follow pursuits like art, music and athletics outside of school. The results pointed to a continued and troubling gap in opportunities that has persisted in recent years: white children are 2.5 times more likely to participate in athletics compared to their peers of color.
And this finding comes in the wake of COVID as schools consider how to make up for lost learning by ramping up classroom time and cutting down on physical education. Sure, parents can act on their own to encourage children to play more sports. But physical activity shouldn’t become an area schools feel they can sacrifice to drive up academic achievement. We need policy changes to make organized sports more accessible to children, especially those from communities that are underserved.
I can empathize with our nation’s marginalized youth because we share a similar background. So, I’ve gone to bat for them at the Council by striving to build equity in early learning. It isn’t easy, but I’m determined to level the playing field for all young learners. And I draw inspiration from time spent on the tennis courts. Once the match starts you have to put everything you learned into practice. Based on your preparation, you either win or lose. But sometimes it’s just not your day even if you’re really well prepared and rank higher than your opponent. So, you can’t be too fazed when you fail in a set. You just have to charge ahead if you want to score that final win—a key life lesson I’ve picked up from tennis.
I’m also stirred by the example of Dikembe Mutombo, a giant of basketball who never forgot the folks closer to the ground. After growing up in the Congo, he came to study in this country, went on to become a frequent pick for the NBA All-Star team and earned a fortune. He used his wealth to help his homeland by building clinics, schools and the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital, named for his mom. “We have an obligation to give back to the place from which we have come,” Mutombo said when asked about his charity work. “In Africa, there is a saying: when you take the elevator to the top, don’t forget to send it back down so someone else can use it.”
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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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