Dear Colleagues,
The Early Educators Leadership Conference is almost upon us, and the sense of excitement is soaring. Our staff has been working around the clock to make this year’s conference the best we’ve ever held, as Dr. Calvin Moore says in a recent video clip. Expect to have fun and get informed as we focus on an urgent theme: Building Career Pathways to Equity by advocating for young children, families and the educators who serve them. We’ll take a deep dive, Dr. Moore explains, into how to build systems, policies and paths that put our field on the right track in the workplace, as well as the classroom.
And this month, we profile a few of the people who are moving our field ahead. You’ll have a chance to chat with them at the EELC. So, this is just a preview of what’s in store when you meet our two EELC scholarship winners and our Council advocate awardee, Erin Smeltzer. They stand out for their devotion to the communities they serve and their conviction that they can make a difference in our field.
Erin, for example, has always believed she “could change the world for children.” And she picked up this passion to serve from her mom, a fire fighter and paramedic. Her mother’s example guided Erin even though she went into a different field. As a preschool teacher, she sparked a love of learning in young children before joining the Florida Department of Education, where she helped build an early learning system that puts young children first. Now, she heads the Children’s Forum, a national group that sets up many workforce initiatives for teachers, including making it easier for them to earn a CDA®.
Getting the proper training is a big part of being a professional in ECE, according to Dyanna Sibert, one of our scholarship winners this year. She’s a family child care provider, whose early trials have shaped her practice as a teacher. Dyanna was bullied as a child because of the color of her skin, so now she’s keen on teaching children to treat each other fairly. She also struggled as a single mom, so now her mission is to do all she possibly can for the single moms who rely on her to keep their children safe.
There isn’t enough quality, cost-effective care like the kind Dyanna provides, and it’s a pressing social issue our second scholarship winner, Javier Nicasio, addresses as a CDA instructor. He sees his work as part of the fight for social justice in the community where he lives, a crusade he was stirred to pursue by a middle school teacher who urged him to give back by being an advocate for others.
Both she and Javier are Hispanic, and their contributions are especially timely as we mark Hispanic Heritage Month. So, we’re featuring several pieces that explore the experience of Hispanic teachers and families. See what this month means in our early learning settings when you hear from the Council Alumni Network (CAN). Then read Dr. Moore’s blog on Celebrating Hispanic Teachers. They make a key contribution, he explains, because children learn best from teachers with a knowledge of their language and culture. So, we need to remove roadblocks that stop Hispanic teachers from earning the credentials they need to meet children’s needs as our country continues becoming more diverse.
We also need to break down the walls of language and culture that stand in the way of two-way communication between teachers and immigrant parents from around the globe, as we point out in our latest paper, Partnering with Immigrant Parents. And there’s common ground for collaboration since love of young children crosses borders. By reaching out to immigrant parents, teachers gain new insights on how to keep their children on track—and that builds paths to equity in early learning, too.
See you soon at EELC,
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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