Published by CounciLINK on June 25, 2020
Back in the 1800s, Ralph Waldo Emerson advised teachers to respect the needs of individual children. That’s still a premise of the Child Development Associate® (CDA) credential and great early childhood classes like the ones Stephanie Wendolowski has taught high school students for 13 years at Passaic County Technical Institute in Wayne, NJ.
Stephanie has taken some of Emerson’s tips, but you shouldn’t assume she lives in the past. “Throughout my entire career in education,” she says, “I have not only made it a priority to stay up to date with all the current trends in the field of education, I have strived to provide my students with the best possible training in both our career technical education (CTE) and CDA programs.”
She has also taught at Passaic County Community College and served as a Professional Development Specialist who mentors and assesses CDA students. So, she knows the importance of supporting them through certification and helping them hone all the skills they need to earn the credential.
This experience must have come in handy in her efforts to make Passaic’s CDA program the best it can possibly be. In recent years, she’s played a prominent role in revising the curriculum at her school. “I have written proposals,” she says, “to make our students’ learning experiences more meaningful by adding opportunities for fieldwork and more chances to work with young children.”
She’s also involved in plans to add a second on-site preschool to the existing one on campus. “I hope to contribute to its development and functioning,” she says, “with the most up-to-date materials and a learning environment that would best meet our program’s goals and, more importantly, the needs of our students.”
She has a strong base to build on since Passaic’s program is already well-rounded. Students in the CTE program receive intense training throughout their high school career. As seniors, they also take college-level CDA courses and serve a year-long internship. “Many of our students follow through by attaining their CDA and continue their postsecondary studies in the field,” she says. “They often become educators, and some are currently my colleagues.”
These successes have inspired her to bring her students’ training to the next level. “They are the future of early education,” she says, so she hopes they’ll become lifelong learners. As she urges them to go past their comfort zone, she likes to share Emerson’s timeless advice: “Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.”
And Stephanie serves as a role model to guide their professional growth. She knows that “those who lead by example and demonstrate passion for what they do make it much easier for others to follow.”
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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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