“Jesus taught everywhere,” Linda Davis says. So has she because she thinks it’s a blessing to teach other folks. And this conviction has guided her during a long, diverse career in the early childhood field. She’s been a center teacher and director, an adjunct college professor and the owner of Justus Kidz Family Child Care. Now she’s a PD Specialist and the CEO of Justus ECE Professional Development in Atlanta GA, a business she started about 10 years ago “My focus now,” she explains, “is to provide high-quality training for family child care providers and center-based teachers, administrators and directors.”
Success in the early childhood field, Linda tells everyone she trains, depends on caring about the people you serve. “You have to love the children. You also have to love the families and give them the social and mental support they need. You need to be willing to work long hours to help others develop and grow. You have to be willing to take criticism at times, and you certainly can’t expect to get rich.”
But the rewards are great, Linda points out, as she thinks about the impact that she’s made. “The children I taught have been successful. They have become doctors and lawyers, even judges. We keep in touch, and they still call me Nana like they did when they were little.” Some of them even come to Linda’s house for picnics and bring their own kids, who are now about the age Linda was when she first found her vocation.
“I’ve always been interested in working with children,” Linda recalls. “When I was six, my sister had little children. I remember putting them on the porch to teach them their ABCs and colors. Soon I began to teach other children in our neighborhood in Peoria, IL. And when I went to college, I found a way to turn my love for teaching children into a career. A friend of mine was a nurse and said she was going to take a child development class, so I took it with her. When I aced the class, it was like I had found my niche.” It was the start of a 45-year-long career in ECE.
Linda would go on to earn her master’s in child, family and community services while teaching at Riverview Garden Child Care Center in Illinois. After five years, she became the center’s director. Then her path changed a bit after she and her husband moved to Georgia in 2003. “Around that time, the onset of long-term health issues stopped me from working in a center,” she explains. “But some of the parents we met at our new church asked me if I would watch their children, so I decided to get licensed and start my own family child care home. Five years later, I got involved in the National Association of Family Child Care and began to take training. When the trainers figured out how experienced I was, they asked me if I wanted to become a trainer, too. So, I took the steps to get qualified, began writing down my training programs and submitting them for approval.”
Since then, Linda has reached a wide audience of people who want to learn. “I do train the trainer. I do directors’ training and I do individual training dealing with engaging parents. It’s different than teaching the little ones,” she admits. Yet she still gets the gratification of helping kids by making sure their teachers are well prepared. “Everyone is winning out in the long run,” she says, “when teachers do what they’re supposed to do.” And that matters to her so much that she even provides free training to some teachers who can’t afford it. Her keen sense of charity comes from her strong commitment to kids, as she explains. “Teachers need to be aware of resources and trends in their field so they can do the best possible job serving young children.”
One of the ways she helps teachers learn the proper way of doing things is by helping them earn their CDA. “The credential is a great way to get the training they need without going to college,” she says, and that’s a godsend, especially for older teachers. “I’ve had students in their sixties and seventies,” she says, “who told me they were afraid to go into a college classroom with a lot of young people. But they were comfortable earning their CDA with me.”
That’s because Linda knows how to put students at ease. Every time she starts a training session, she makes a standard speech, so all the students know they’re in this together. “I tell them that we’re all here to learn, including myself. I’m still taking training for things I don’t know, and I hope you’re taking this training for things you don’t know. No one has all the answers.”
Still, there was one 65-year-old student who thought she knew it all, Linda recalls, and was convinced you couldn’t teach anything to infants. “But I insisted that you could and showed her how to do interactive activities like finger play, toe play and baby yoga. Then when the training was over, I went to the center where she worked and saw that she’d taken my lessons to heart. I watched her getting down on the floor talking to babies, doing baby yoga and all the other things she told me you couldn’t do with babies. So, it made me feel good to know I had won her over.”
Linda has also made a lasting impact on other students she’s trained for the CDA. “After earning the credential,” she says, “some go on to earn their associate degree in ECE. Then, when it comes time to renew their CDA, they come back to me for any additional training that they might need. Some also invite me to come into their classroom just to make sure they’re doing what they’re supposed to do. And it’s rewarding to watch them do exactly what I taught them.”
She also passes on important lessons in her work as a PD Specialist for the Council. “Before I do a visit for CDA students, I interview them to make sure they have everything they need. Then I tell them to relax and take a deep breath. I’m not here to criticize you. So just be yourself. If you’re teaching the children the right way, you’ll be fine.” And so will the children. “What matters is that you take time to explain to the kids why you have to sit still during circle time, why you should do math, why it’s important to know your colors and numbers. And you also have to make children feel they can come to you with any issues and know you’ll do your best to clear them up.”
Linda gets the chance to practice what she preaches since she often volunteers as a sub for her former CDA students. “I take over their classes,” she says, “when they have a doctor’s appointment or something important to do and can’t get someone to fill in. I teach, I read, I cook, and do anything else they need. I also go with former students on field trips, so they have another set of hands to supervise the children.” And this volunteer work gives Linda a chance to still enjoy the rewards of teaching young children. “I get to see the smiles on their faces,” she says, “and watch them absorbing everything like sponges.”
Little children have a strong desire to learn, Linda explains. So, “teachers who have the right training play a vital role in helping them become productive adults later in life. There’s nothing better than seeing a young child go on to succeed in school and have parents tell you it’s because you took the time to make them school ready.” Many parents have said this to Linda, and many early childhood teachers have turned to her consistently for help in making their practice effective and fun. So, as she reflects on her long career as a teacher and trainer, Linda feels truly blessed.
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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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