A Tribute to History Makers
Dear Colleagues,
We should recall that a teacher started Women’s History Month, as we now mark the occasion. In the 1970s, Molly Murphy MacGregor, a teacher in Sonoma County, CA, noticed that there weren’t a lot of women in her students’ history books and set out to fill the gap. In 1978, she helped start a Women’s History Week in her district. The idea spread and teachers across the U.S. began using the week to celebrate unsung female heroes. By 1980, word of what those teachers were doing reached President Jimmy Carter, who called MacGregor to tell her he was proclaiming the week of March 8 National Women’s History Week. In the years that followed, President Ronald Reagan followed suit by officially making March Women’s History Month in our country.
This tribute to women’s achievements is a step in promoting equity for the genders. Though we’ve come a long way, sexism still exists so we need to keep empowering women. One way is to offer girls more chances for training that will lead to rewarding careers. Career and technical education programs, like the high school CDA, can make a difference. Teachers who already offer the CDA program know it provides hands-on chances for students to gain skills, advance their education and prepare for a high-demand occupation.
If you want to give this opportunity to your students, you should attend the launch of our new CDA High School Handbook. It will feature a panel of experts on how to start a CDA program in your school and why you should do it. Read on for a preview of what’s in store as we profile two of our wonderful panel members.
Rebecca McGrath-Hinkle, a teacher at Columbus Downtown High School, gets students excited about her program by showing them all the pluses of the credential. “I tell them about how the CDA will help you earn college credit,” she says, “increase your chance of employment and help you get paid a higher wage. I also talk about how you can use the credential to open your own preschool and that’s another selling point because many Downtown students want to start their own business.”
And these students can get the hands-on experience they need at Heavenly Kids Center for Learning since its owner Misti Norman has partnered with Downtown High to help students earn their CDA. “Every year,” she explains, “we hire at least four CDA students and have them train with a mentor teacher. After they graduate and get their CDA, they typically stay with us for at least five years. Many of them also gain the confidence to pursue their AA or BA,” Misti says. And she considers them her greatest achievement.
The Council has a new achievement of its own to report since the Maryland State Department of Education has awarded us a grant that will cover the cost of CDA credential fees and books. The grant should increase the pool of educators with the cognitive, social and emotional skills to support our youngest children.
They’re badly needed because the pandemic has led many ECE teachers to leave the field and many preschools to shut their doors. The closings have heightened the stress parents feel as they face stay-at-home orders, financial pressures and loss of jobs. There’s been a rise in early childhood trauma, as you’ll see when we discuss Air Hugs and ACEs, since the mental health of children depends on the mental health of those who give them care.
It’s a good thing that help is on the way that promises to renew our field, Dr. Moore tells us this month in his blog. The American Rescue Plan Act will give our field the support it needs to survive COVID-19 and President Joe Biden has told all states to make our early childhood teachers a priority group in their plans to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine.
Another piece of good news is the appointment of Katie Hamm, a highly accomplished woman, as acting deputy assistant secretary for early childhood development and associate deputy assistant secretary in the Office of Early Childhood Development. Before joining the Biden-Harris Administration, Hamm was vice president for early childhood policy at the Center for American Progress where she helped advance equity in education, a value we, too, embrace. She’s committed to doing what’s best for our youngest learners—and we’re counting on her to make history in years to come.
Happy Women’s History 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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