Time to Reimagine and Rebuild“I remember being five years old and walking into my first day of kindergarten,” said Miguel Cardona, U.S. Secretary of Education, in a recent speech. “At the time, I was learning English, and I felt I didn’t belong. It turned out to be a horrible day, and my mom had to pick me up early from the nurse’s office. I’m not sure if it was because of being overwhelmed, being around kids who spoke English a lot better than I did, or maybe a feeling that the challenge ahead of me was too great,” Cardona said as he recalled the fear that gripped him that day until his mom managed to lift his spirits up. “On the way home, she told me it would be OK, that school would open doors for me to be anything I wanted to be—and she was right.”
Today Cardona is committed to rebuilding our nation’s system of education from pre-K to adult learning. As COVID wanes, “this is our moment to address the inequities that have existed in our school systems for far too long,” and now have widened even more, as he explains. “COVID has turned students’ lives upside down.” And “it was especially difficult for English language learners,” like he once was, “students with special needs and those with messy home lives—absent parents, food insecurity, homelessness and domestic violence among other issues.” These students are most in need of teachers who are qualified, caring and skilled.
Teachers who have these key traits can make the strongest impact when children are still in their first years. Yet early childhood teachers are too often undervalued and underpaid. So, they’ve been fleeing the field—a problem that long preceded the pandemic, Cardona points out. “We need to think differently about how we support our educators, or else we shouldn’t be surprised that they walk away.” And the many early childhood teachers who continue to quit their jobs have led to a crisis as ECE programs fight to recruit and retain staff.
So, our field can’t return to the way it was pre-pandemic, Cardona is firmly convinced. That system didn’t work for anyone, either teachers, children or parents. And “now that we are at the doorstep of a new chapter in education,” he says, we need to go through it. Sure, returning to the status quo is the goal for many cities, states and folks, but it would be a step back for our field. So, Cardona recently convened a virtual panel of early childhood stakeholders and leaders to discuss topics such as the early childhood workforce, child care and pre-K, early intervention and family engagement. “Creating a culture of intentional collaboration,” he says, “is more important now than ever” to give early childhood teachers the boost they need and set the bar higher for our field.
The Council is pursuing this goal by working to reimagine the Child Development Associate® (CDA) Credential™ process. Like Cardona, we have embraced a culture of collaboration to enhance all components of the CDA® process and make it more efficient for the rising teachers we serve. So, I began this ambitious project by convening a Blue-Ribbon Panel made up of people from all different parts of our sector: likeminded early childhood groups, state decision makers, subject matter experts, educators and others who are committed to early learning. These panel members talked to us frankly about the Council’s challenges present and past.
We’ve encouraged their honest input and commitment to future action. Still, change is hard, as I learned by leading efforts like this in the past. I remember grappling with the status quo as CEO of Plaza de la Raza, an early childhood group operating Head Start, Early Head Start and state pre-K programs serving over 2,000 children in Los Angeles County, CA. The organization was in crisis, and I led them in transformational change by raising $2.6 million, recruiting new board members and creating a new vision for the organization.
Now I’m investing resources and time to reimagine the CDA process and inspire more people to enlist in an embattled field that needs them. I’m committed to this effort because I share Cardona’s conviction that “when we invest in our teachers, we invest in our students.” Qualified teachers who hold a CDA can open doors for children like the fearful five-year-old boy that our secretary of education once was before he went on to fulfill his dreams.
Every child deserves this chance. And it’s high time for us to surmount our own fears by shaking up the status quo. We must seize this moment to embark on a reset in early learning. And I know our field is up to the challenge since we’ve shown our mettle during the pandemic. Sure, it’s tough to take a bold stance after the trauma of COVID. “We’re all tired,” Cardona points out. “But it’s been really clear that our schools not only have to reopen but need to reimagine and do even better than they did before the pandemic.” Success depends on having more teachers with the skills to help young learners become whatever they want, as Cardona did. And that’s what drives our ongoing work to reimagine the CDA process, make it more candidate focused and boost the ranks of qualified teachers. It’s a strong, first step toward rebuilding our field.
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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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