Dear Colleagues,
Last year, Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) introduced the Teachers are Leaders Act, bipartisan legislation to expand professional development and leadership growth opportunities for seasoned teachers. “Experience is often the best teacher, and that’s true for our educators as well,” he explained. “Empowering established educators to be leaders and mentors for other teachers is an effective and smart way to retain a high-quality teaching workforce.” So, “it is vital that we provide teachers with professional development opportunities to improve retention and create an extended network of support,” agreed Rep. Chuck Fleishman (R-TN), one of the co-sponsors of the bill on Capitol Hill.
Many state lawmakers also see the value of education, including Rep. David Henry Argosky LeBoeuf, who’s sponsored an act to rebuild the early childhood workforce in Massachusetts. “This legislation will create apprenticeship opportunities, allowing high school students and graduates to pursue their CDA,” said Council COO Andrew Davis this month when he testified before the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Education. “The integration of CDA curricula into state apprenticeship programs establishes a seamless career pathway for aspiring educators and can transform our early education landscape.”
That was also the goal of our Early Educators Leadership Conference this month. The EELC took place in Texas, where they say everything’s bigger. And that was true for this year’s conference, as you’ll learn when you read Leadership in the Lone Star State. We had a bigger crowd than we’ve ever had before and we brought attendees some of the biggest names in our field: Michelle Kang, CEO of the National Association for the Education of Young Children; Natalie Vega O’Neil, president and CEO at Junior Achievement of Washington; and Dr. Leah Austin, president and CEO of the National Black Child Development Institute, who told attendees that “action is what leadership is about.”
And Zuly Vazquez, national manager of professional learning for Head Start, urges people to awaken the leader inside them to make an impact. “It’s something we all do each day, whether consciously or unconsciously,” she says. “A leader simply makes a stronger impact by uniting people around a common vision.” And her vision is to inspire teachers to be their best, she says when we profile her in this edition. As she works to reach this goal, Vazquez draws her resolve from people who inspired her in the past. “I have had amazing teachers who encouraged and believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself,” she says. “I have seen the power of mentoring and coaching many times in the course of my career.”
So has Waymond Hayes, another ECE leader who we feature this month. As director of early learning and youth development at the Detroit nonprofit Focus: HOPE, he fights poverty, prejudice and social injustice. Hayes is also the first male administrator to helm a Head Start all-male leadership academy consisting of an all-boys classroom with male teachers, who help the boys avoid pitfalls that can lead young men to fail in the tough neighborhood that Hayes serves. He, too, might have failed without Head Start, where he spent his early years and discovered his vocation. Now his focus is on giving community members the hope that they, too, can succeed with the services and the support Head Start provides.
Children who attend Head Start can go far, Dr. Moore shows us in his latest blog, marking Head Start Awareness Month. Head Start alums include Rep. Jahana Hayes, the first Black woman to serve Connecticut in Congress; Bernadine Futrell, deputy assistant secretary for equity and discretionary grants and support services at the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; and Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia, a staunch champion of the CDA. “These leaders make the news, but they haven’t forgotten the unsung heroes who launched them on the path to success,” as Dr. Moore points out. He knows our Head Start teachers are also leaders because they make an impact on communities and classrooms every day.
Happy Head Start Awareness Month,
The Council for Professional Recognition
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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.
Chief Operations Officer
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
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.
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