This summer, be inspired to grow, act and excel with the launch of CounciLIVE: the Council for Professional Recognition’s new live broadcast series! Join us to hear from special guest speakers on the most vital topics in early childhood practice, theory, research and advocacy today. Our summer lineup features renowned authors, professors, CEOs and seasoned educators with 20+ years of experience, all of whom are committed to helping you best serve the children in your care. Take a peek at some of our special guests below!
Anchored in our flagship publication, The Essentials for Working with Young Children, each CounciLIVE episode will bring to you a conversation on a CDA® competency standard functional area, such as safety or professionalism, and will explore its importance in relation to current events, educational philosophy and research today. Though Essentials was created for educators seeking to earn the CDA®, its principles and pedagogy are applicable to everyone who works with young children, including parents/families. CounciLIVE is for everyone, too!
Stay tuned for CounciLIVE on 6/29/2021 at 1 PM ET on Facebook Live!
Dr. Fran Cleland, SHAPE America & West Chester University (Former President, Professor)Dr. Cleland has been preparing future health and physical educators for 29 years. It is her philosophy that it is critical for teacher candidates to gain both content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge so they, in turn, can help their future K-12 students develop health and physical literacy. She believes in translating theory into practice by providing candidates with multiple field experiences during which they can apply their content knowledge within the K-12 school setting. Dr. Cleland has several years of K-12 teaching experience, has served as a national leader as the former president of SHAPE America, and has presented at international, national, district, state and regional conferences. She holds a P.E.D. in Motor Development & Adapted Physical Education and a M.S. in Physical Education from Indiana University, in addition to a B.S. in Health & Physical Education (K-12) from Purdue University. She has received numerous awards and has authored several publications, including Developmental Physical Education for All Children – Theory into Practice (2017).
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Dr. Calvin E. Moore Jr., The Council for Professional Recognition (CEO)Dr. Calvin E. Moore, Jr., an accomplished leader in early childhood education, was appointed CEO of the Council for Professional Recognition in May 2020. He’s the Council’s first CEO to hold its early education credential, the Child Development Associate® (CDA), and a former member of the Council’s governing board.
Dr. Moore learned the value of early care and education when he participated in Head Start as a child. He also has vast professional Head Start experience, having served in large and small, urban and rural, center-based and family child care-based programs, as well as programs focused mainly on Hispanic families.
Throughout his career, Dr. Moore has held senior roles directing complex federal and state departments that improve outcomes for underserved children and families. Most recently, Dr. Moore was the regional program manager in Atlanta for the Office of Head Start within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. His responsibilities included providing oversight, monitoring, training and technical assistance to over 350 Head Start and Early Head Start grantees with a portfolio of over $1.6 billion. He’s the author of The Thinking Book Curriculum: For Early Childhood Professionals, Men Do Stay: Recruiting and Retaining Qualified Male Early Childhood Teachers and many other books. Dr. Moore has received a literary award from AIM and New Light Ministries for his book, Agape Declarations, the Maria Otto Award for Leadership from the National Family Child Care Association and the Billy McCain, Sr. Memorial Award from the Alabama Head Start Association.
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Dr. Shantel Meek, Children’s Equity Project (Founding Director)Dr. Shantel E. Meek is a professor of practice and the founding director of the Children’s Equity Project (CEP) at Arizona State University. She manages a budget of over a million dollars, strategic partnerships with CEP partners at 17 universities and non-profit organizations, policymakers, and national organizations, and sets the strategic direction of the CEP. Dr. Meek previously served as a consultant in early childhood policy and strategy at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington D.C. where she advised senior staff on a range of federal and state equity and early childhood policy issues. Prior to founding the CEP, Dr. Meek served in the Obama Administration as a Senior Policy Advisor for Early Childhood Development at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and as a Senior Policy Advisor for Education in the Domestic Policy Council at the White House. She has published pieces in the New York Times and the Washington Post. Dr. Meek holds a B.A. in Psychology and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Family and Human Development from Arizona State University.
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Dr. Carol Brunson Day, The Council for Professional Recognition (Fellow)Dr. Carol Brunson Day has spent her career as an advocate for quality early childhood services for young children and families. She retired from the National Black Child Development Institute in Washington, DC in 2011, where she served as CEO and President from 2006 until 2011. Prior to 2006, she served as the CEO and President of the Council for Professional Recognition, the home of the Child Development Associate National Credentialing Program, as well as the National Head Start Fellowship Program. Dr. Day was also the liaison for the international exchange between the schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy and the early childhood community in the United States. In addition to her impressive scholarly contributions to the field, Dr. Day is recognized as a leader in the field of early childhood education. Presently, Dr. Day is a research fellow with the Council for Professional Recognition.
Dr. Day sits on numerous national boards including ZERO TO THREE Editorial Board, National Center for Professional Development and Inclusion National Advisory Panel, and T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center National Advisory Panel. She has spoken at conferences and programs across the United States and internationally, and authored publications on subjects such as professional development, diversity and multicultural education, and cultural influences on development, and has a long history of interest and expertise on African American culture and heritage. Dr. Day received a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education from the Erikson Institute in Chicago and a Ph.D. in Education from Claremont University in Claremont, California.
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Dr. Ryan Lee-James, Rollins Center for Language and Literacy (Director)Dr. Ryan Lee-James is an ASHA certified speech-language pathologist and published author with expertise in language development, language disorders, and literacy in the context of linguistic differences and socioeconomic disadvantage. In her current role as the Director of the Rollins Center for Language and Literacy at the Atlanta Speech School, Dr. Lee-James is responsible for working collaboratively with community-based organizations and key stakeholders to impact language and literacy achievement for our most vulnerable children. Before joining the team at the Atlanta Speech School, Dr. Lee-James had the privilege of training and mentoring graduate level speech-language pathologists as a member of the Communication Sciences and Disorders faculty at Adelphi University in New York.
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Dr. Cindy Shackelford, Jefferson State Community College (Department Chair)Dr. Cindy Shackelford serves as the Department Chair and Program Coordinator of the Child Development program at Jefferson State Community College, also serving Early Childhood/ Elementary Education majors. She is the Program Director for the Alabama Infant/Toddler Professional Development Network (A.I.T.P.D.N) which provides coaching and technical assistance to teachers and directors. She loves all things education and the positive impact it has on children, families and the community. Dr. Shackelford has served in the classroom and in leadership for over 24 years. She has earned her CDA® and B.S., double majoring in both Child Development and Elementary Education. Dr. Shackelford has completed her M.Ed. degree in Early Childhood Education Teaching and Learning /Leadership, an Ed.S. degree in Curriculum and Instruction, a Ph.D. in Early Childhood Education and an Ed.D in Curriculum and Instruction.
She is member of NAEYC (the National Association for the Education of Young Children), currently serving as a higher education peer reviewer, and also partners with the Council of Professional Recognition to help students complete all criteria to complete and renew their CDA at Jefferson State Community College. Lastly, she advocates for all students in dual enrollment programs to assure quality teaching of all diversities of learning. As the owner of Equipping Educators, Dr. Shackelford believes in “equipping students and educators for success through partnership.”
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Dr. Bisa Batten Lewis is a best-selling author, diversely experienced education authority and renowned public speaker. Her publications include education and parenting articles, college textbooks, children’s books and music, early childhood curriculum, and motivational books for educators. Having supervised multiple child development centers, including lab schools, Head Start, and Georgia’s Pre-K, Dr. Bisa offers realistic methods of implementing high-quality research-based curriculum practices.
Dr. Bisa has been conducting CDA training since 2003 and continues to partner with community organizations to ensure minimum out-of-pocket expenses and maximum program quality. She worked as a CTE Instructor in north Georgia, where she served as the district’s ECE Career Pathway Lead, as well as the Health Sciences and Human Services Academy Lead Teacher and sole ECE Instructor at one of its largest high schools. She proudly serves as President of Black Child Development Institute (BCDI)—Atlanta, while continuing to consult with school systems around the country to guide CTE leaders and ECE instructors on how to implement CDA CTE high school programs. Professing as a life goal to advocate for children, Dr. Bisa is actively committed to upgrading the quality of education settings around the world.
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Michelle Brown, The Council for Professional Recognition (Executive VP, Programs Division)Michelle Brown is a nationally recognized early care and education expert and brings three decades of experience to her role as Executive Vice President, Programs Division at the Council for Professional Recognition. As Executive Vice President, Michelle’s responsibilities include work with the Council’s public policy agenda, communications, event coordination, international relations and publications. Michelle began her career in early childhood as a Head Start teacher and Early Childhood Lab School Director in Toledo, Ohio. She continued her work advocating for children and families in positions at the local, state and national levels. Her work in Washington, DC, in fact began at the Council as a participant in the National Head Start Fellowship program. She has held key positions at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Head Start, National Head Start Association and ZERO TO THREE. She earned a bachelor’s degree in child development and family community services and a master’s degree in early childhood special education, both from Bowling Green State University.
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Abena Ocran-Jackson, The Council for Professional Recognition (VP of Credentialing)Abena Ocran-Jackson is the Council’s Vice President of Credentialing. She is responsible for the effective management of all aspects of the Child Development Associate (CDA), new products and services. Abena has over 20 years working in early care and education, in a variety of roles, from preschool teacher, senior director of NAEYC’s Early Learning Program Accreditation and as director of teacher preparation with KinderCare Education. She has been named one of the Exceptional Leaders in the field of early childhood by Childcare Exchange’s Leadership Initiative. Abena has moderated and presented extensively at local, state, and national early childhood conferences. She has a bachelor’s degree in Human Development from Howard University and holds a master’s degree in Nonprofit Management from Trinity Washington University. She is also recognized as a credentialing specialist by the Institute for Credentialing Excellence.
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Vilma M. Williams, The Council for Professional Recognition (Manager, Multilingual and Special Programs)Vilma, who is trilingual in Spanish, English and Portuguese, was born in Lima, Peru and has been in the early childhood education field for over 35 years. Vilma oversees all special programs at the Council, ensuring that multilingual and special programs needs are a top priority in all the Council for Professional Recognition does. Vilma has presented at many events worldwide— in Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Brazil, Panama, Germany, Korea, Japan and the UAE— on a wide array of ECE topics, including curriculum, dual language learning and bilingual/multicultural issues, credentialing, adult/family education, and diversity, equity and inclusion.
Vilma has received numerous awards for her continuous work and dedicated service to the field of early childhood education, particularly for her work with Latinx children, families and communities, migrant communities and indigenous nations in the United States, the military community and for her international work on behalf of the Council for Professional Recognition. In former years, Vilma studied ECE in Washington, DC at Howard University, Catholic University and the University of DC.
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Keisha McClendon, The Council for Professional Recognition CDA® Advisory CommitteeKeisha, a teacher for over 10 years, is a member of the Council for Professional Recognition’s CDA® Advisory Committee. She is a graduate of Mercer University with a BS in Early Learning and Development, and is presently working on her masters degree in Early Childhood Services from Arkansas State University. Currently, she is a lead PreK teacher at a Head Start program. One of her favorite quotes is: “teachers plant the seeds of knowledge that last a lifetime.”
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Aaron “Buddy” Rhodes, The Council for Professional Recognition CDA® Advisory CommitteeBuddy, an early childhood educator for over 12 years, is a member of the Council for Professional Recognition’s CDA® Advisory Committee. Currently, he is the Educational Site Manager for The Campagna Center’s Head Start program located in Alexandria, VA. While he volunteered at his church and his mother’s first grade class as a child, he didn’t recognize his calling to work in the early childhood education field until later in his life. Buddy began as an afternoon floater teacher and quickly realized his passion for working with young children, families and his fellow teachers. He is proud to say that “he hasn’t worked a day in the past 12 years because he loves how he spends his days.”
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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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