“I once had two students who I called Thelma and Louise because they did everything together,” says Phillip White, president of Theoria Technical College in Carlsbad, California. “They were preschool teachers in their sixties who weren’t very tech-savvy and were scared to go back to school with so many younger students. On the first day of the semester, I happened to stop by their classroom, and they asked me if I could help them set up their computers. So, I jumped in, though our technical rep was there. As I worked with them, they fretted that the screens were too small and that they couldn’t hear the teacher through their headsets. They had all kinds of worries, but I ran around setting things up and managed to put them at ease. Later on, I ran into them in our cafeteria at lunch while one of them happened to be looking at our website. When they saw my picture and realized I was the president of our college, they drew back in shock. ‘You’re the president of the school!’ they exclaimed. ‘So, what are you doing helping out with computers in the classroom?'”
Sure, most college presidents wouldn’t do that, but it comes naturally to Phillip. “I was an officer in the U.S. Navy, and we lead by example. I wouldn’t ask my men to do anything I wouldn’t do myself. So, helping is something I expect everybody to do at my college,” he says. And this hands-on approach is at the heart of Theoria’s mission to be on the leading edge of training in early childhood care and education. As a private institution that specializes in ECE, Theoria offers both an associate degree and training for the Child Development Associate® (CDA) credential.
It’s best known for its accelerated program that allows students to earn their ECE credits fast with two-day lectures, for its commitment to serving students and for its live, interactive, online learning platform. “We’re striving to set the standard for ECE training in the state of California,” Phillip says. And this goal reflects his belief that “we need more teachers who are at the top of their game” so they can make an impact on children.
Phillip showed his own commitment to young learners while he was still serving in the Navy. “I used to volunteer to read at circle time at a preschool in San Diego, and I urged my men to volunteer, too. I found that I loved talking to the kids and seeing the light in their eyes when they learned something new.” The experience also opened his eyes to the demand for qualified teachers, and he decided to do something to fill the need after meeting Elisha Valentine, a licensed family child care provider. She would become his partner at Agafya Consulting Group, a company that they cofounded to build and develop child care centers.
“I learned about ECE on the job while running the centers. There’s no better way since it helps you know the community and understand its needs,” Phillip says. And his background helped make Agafya a success. “When I was in the military,” he says, “I took classes in IT and also worked as a project manager and career counselor. It was an easy transition to building child care centers, staffing them and making sure educators received the right training. I got to marry my passion for management and child care,” he explains. And he was so invested in his new career that he went back to school and earned a degree in ECE.
“Having a formal education helps teachers understand why they’re doing things a certain way,” Phillip says. But it’s hard for many educators to take the courses they need while they’re holding down a job, as he came to see. “Preschool teachers work hard Monday to Friday, which makes it difficult to go to school. Yet you can’t advance in the ECE field without receiving that formal education. So, I wanted to find a way to get them where they needed to be while they remained in the classroom.”
“We started Theoria two years ago with a desk and two phones,” Phillip recalls. “I built our IT platform from the ground, and we began marketing our program to early childhood settings in California. Elisha was our first professor, and we’ve built a great staff of professionals who love what they do and want to infect the next generation of educators with their passion for ECE.”
Theoria mostly draws working teachers from centers, but it’s trying to expand its offerings to attract high school students. “Many high school graduates aren’t working,” Phillip says, “so we’re now partnering with schools to develop a program that will train the students for a job in ECE.”
These high schoolers, like all Theoria students, should be job ready because the college’s curriculum and approach are hands-on instead of academic, as Phillip explains. “Early educators don’t need to know how to write long papers explaining why they might teach in a certain way. They need practical skills that will equip them to stand in front of a group of children and help them be their best.” So, the CDA plays a big part in his program. “When I came across the CDA,” he recalls, “I thought we need to focus on this and make sure we are aligned with its standards. Now 80 percent of our 420 ECE students are working on earning their CDA credential. We have quarterly meetings with the Council for Professional Recognition, and we help spread the word about the credential in an informational newsletter that reaches over 10,000 child development centers.”
Now, Phillip is finding new ways to reach out to centers during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Everyone hit the panic mode at first” he says, “so the best thing Theoria College could do to help the ECE community was to share our expertise and knowledge. My professors all work in the field and they’re involved in a lot of the process of reopening. So, we’re giving seminars on how you can keep teachers and young students safe as they come back to the classroom.”
This community outreach, like all of Phillip’s endeavors, is about serving children. “You never want to see that light going out of their eyes,” Phillip says. So, he wants to put the teachers who serve them in the best position to succeed. And he knows he’s made an impact when he hears from former Theoria students who’ve gone through his CDA training.
Not too long ago, he spoke to his two favorite “outlaws” when Thelma and Louise paid a visit to the college. “They thanked me for getting them through their anxiety attacks and discomfort at being older than the other students. They told me that my professors are impeccable and clearly loved their jobs. They said how much they enjoyed the program, how it inspired them to ask questions and learn—all praise that made me feel good and know I was progressing toward my goal. I want people to know Theoria is here to serve. We take a lot of pride in making sure teachers have all the credentials and tools they need to keep that light in children’s eyes.”
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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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