April is a servant leader who’s brought her sense of mission to the early childhood field since she was a teen. She found her vocation by watching her mom, who worked as a Head Start teacher and then a director in Washington, DC. “I pretty much followed in her footsteps,” April says, “and when I was 14, I worked with children at a summer youth program she was overseeing. That was 36 years ago and I’m still in love with early learning,” she explains.
April spent 15 of those years in the early childhood classroom after graduating from Delaware State University in Dover, the same school that her mom attended. During that long span of time, her passion for teaching grew as she watched children learn concepts in the classroom and then apply them to real life. “I would talk to the children about wheels, for instance,” she says, “and the next day, they would come back and tell me, ‘I saw a bus with wheels, a bicycle with wheels and a car with wheels. There are so many wheels in the world!’”
And there were so many other things April remembers imparting to the children, including language skills and public speaking—an art at which a little girl named Dakota would go on to excel. “I taught her after moving to Clayton County, Georgia, about 15 years ago, and I still remember coaching her on how to stand and how to look at the class when she gave a speech,” April says. And the lessons apparently stuck, as April saw when she ran into Dakota some years later. “At the time, Dakota was about 12, and she had been chosen to represent her middle school at an event for the Clayton County Public Schools. The superintendent of schools was there, and I was so proud as I watched Dakota make a beautiful speech before him and a large crowd. And when we talked, Dakota told me that she remembered just how I encouraged and pushed her.”
By the time of this reunion in 2012, April was passing on her knowledge of ECE to high school students at Perry Career Academy in Clayton County, where she worked until this past summer. “I wrote a grant to bring the Child Development Associate® (CDA) Credential™ to Perry and even succeeded in getting the county to pay for the cost of the students’ CDA exams,” April says. “That benefit attracted students from all over the county, who came to take CDA classes at Perry.” It also helped that April believed firmly in the value of the credential and earned one herself though she already had a college degree.
“Gaining a CDA,” she says, “helped me be a better teacher for my high school students. I felt more professional after getting a credential that was customized to teaching our youngest learners. Besides that, having a CDA put me in touch with what my high schoolers needed to write their competency standards, put together their resource file and fulfill the other requirements of the credential. And it made students less anxious about the CDA process since they knew I had gone through it, too.”
It does take confidence to get through the classes, observations and exams, April admits. So, she did a lot of one-on-ones with the students she thought needed some extra support if they were to succeed. “It’s just like being a mom and having children,” she explains. “You know which of them will be okay on their own and which ones need more help.”
Then there are the ones no one expects much of, and that included a special needs student who enrolled in the CDA program at Perry. “Nobody thought she would be able to get her CDA,” April says. “Still, I spent a lot of time with her going over early childhood theories, different issues in the classroom and test questions for the CDA exam. She was able to pass and is now working as an assistant teacher. I think my assistance made a difference. But I believe what really mattered was her own drive to succeed and desire to work with young children.”
April knew how to bring out the best in her high school students and sometimes that even meant getting a bit silly, as she admits. “I modeled what they should do with children by singing songs with the students every morning. We did the cha-cha, the two-step and the Sid Shuffle, a dance from the kids’ movie Ice Age: Continental Drift. Sometimes, the high schoolers looked at me as if I were crazy, but then when I went to observe them in preschools, they were singing the songs and doing the dances we did in class. My students called me the child whisper when they realized that what I taught them really worked.”
The students took it to the child care centers where they gained the experience needed before being assessed in a child care setting. And April tried to make the assessment go smoothly by getting a clear idea of what CDA Professional Development Specialists were looking for. “I became a PD Specialist, so I was able to look at CDA candidates from both sides of the fence,” April says. “It was also a way to help folks besides my students to earn their CDA, especially since there aren’t a lot of PD Specialists in Clayton County.”
Another way April served the broader ECE community was by volunteering with the Georgia Association of Teachers of Family and Consumer Sciences. “I was the vice president for my region of Georgia and worked with teachers on some of the issues that concerned them, including assistance with certification, professional development, getting background checks for students to do internships, and how to help more people earn a CDA.”
She also provides her expertise as a member of the CDA Advisory Committee at the Council, where she recently worked on ways to keep teachers safe during COVID and help them keep young children safe, too. “I joined the committee,” she says, “because I like helping others in my field. It was also a way to know what’s going on with the profession, so I could keep my high school students in the know.” And April has first-hand knowledge of the challenges teachers face since she’s served for years as a consultant who provides CDA training to child care centers throughout the East Coast.
She’s now doing that when she’s not working at a new full-time job. “I was promoted this summer, and now I’m a professional school counselor at Kemp Primary School in Hampton, Georgia, where I address young children’s social and emotional needs,” April says. Much as she loved teaching the high school students, she missed working directly with young learners. And this new role lets April connect with folks at a deeper level. “Counseling is my true passion,” she says. “I always counseled my students, whether at preschools or at Perry. Now I can touch a broader group of children and parents than I ever could in the classroom,” April explains. And she brings a lot of her own heart and soul to this work.
Your personal values and views shape your approach to education, April believes, and she’s exploring the relation as she pursues a long-held goal. “I want to add a spiritual component to my work and become a Christian counselor,” April explains. “So, I’ve been working toward a Ph.D. in theology for some years. But it’s been hard to finish since life and work have interfered.” Still, April is determined to achieve this dream as she explores new paths to shepherd families and children through life. “I know I can conquer any challenge, no matter what,” April explains. And she draws her faith in a brighter future from the Bible verse, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” They’re words that describe the role of the ultimate servant leader. And April has followed in his footsteps through her tireless work in teaching.
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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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