A Silver Lining to Somber TimesHope is contagious, and it can encourage positive change. You spread it by passing on your own sense of faith in the future. You remind people that they have both the motivation and the means to pursue a goal. And you support those in need by showing how much you care. I care about you—all the members of our early childhood community—so I want to share my belief that better days are in store. And there are solid reasons for us to have hope, hold on and keep pushing ahead.
Granted, the pandemic poses problems that have tested our early childhood settings. Class sizes are smaller, and resources are slimmer. Taxing new rules change the tone of daily routines. Still, the greatest predictor of students’ achievements is the quality of their teachers. Educators need the right training, and those who have earned their CDA® are well equipped to keep supporting young learners in the best possible way. They know how to communicate with a mask on, encourage students to find unique ways to share their feelings, and turn some of the new mandates for social distancing and sanitation into fun, amusing games.
Our educators are up to the challenges because they know how to turn tragedy into triumph. I thought of their power to surmount obstacles and ordeals when the Council recently heard from an educator in Missouri. Heather Dunn used grief as a gateway into education after her much-loved, little nephew suffered an untimely death. Looking for a way to heal her heart, she decided to become a preschool teacher and earn her CDA. She now works to keep other families from going through similar trials by helping her students stay happy, healthy and safe.
Heather’s center is open, after the COVID-19 lockdown, and there’s now scientific proof that the children who go there really are secure from the onslaught of the virus. A recent study from Yale University surveyed 57,000 child care providers and found there was no “heightened risk” of coronavirus transmission if centers followed safety practices. This leads me to believe, more than ever, that there is hope on the horizon. It’s also a bright spot for us since early childhood teachers have been called on to fill a vital role in recent months by allowing parents to resume their jobs.
And that, too, may be a silver lining to these somber times. The pandemic has focused attention on our early childhood teachers—the long-unsung heroes who keep our communities and our economy running. As more people recognize the essential role that early educators and centers play, we will have stronger grounds for demanding more investment in our sector.
Looking ahead to the future, we must realize that the “new normal” may give way to a “next normal” in which technology plays a greater role. That new model may extend to more virtual and hybrid learning environments. There may be even more use of iPads and Zoom meetings—but it will be our early childhood teachers who will have to show families and children the way.
I’m convinced we can face the coming challenges by working together. And by doing so, we can succeed in turning our scars into stars. We need to have the “audacity of hope,” as former President Barack Obama once urged us. As we reached the end of the recent election season, I was reminded of his stirring call to action: “The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.”
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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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