Dear Colleagues,
How much do men care about their children? The question came up as countries around the world marked Father’s Day this month. And there are some answers in a new report from Promundo, a global nonprofit devoted to changing gender norms. Its survey of men in 47 countries provided some good news. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, men have contributed more to child care in the home than at any other time in recent remembrance.
More good news came from a recent study conducted by Sesame Workshop-India and HCL foundation. Their survey of Indian families in low-income neighborhoods of Lucknow showed that the pandemic has brought fathers closer to their children. And this finding has helped Sesame Workshop carry out the Daddy Cool campaign to make Indian fathers see that they can make a major impact on their children’s lives. Young children whose fathers engage with them closely have better language skills and higher test scores, as many studies show.
And Arab-American fathers have gotten the point since they’re moving past the old notion that the father’s primary role is to be a stern paterfamilias, who provides for children and prepares them for adulthood. Now many Arab-American men are finding new, warmer ways to parent and interact with their children more. The change reflects the impact of social media, which has helped the men expand their comfort zones, and the entry of more Arab women into the U.S. workforce.
Arab-American women are now finding their way into the early childhood field, thanks to the Pamoja Early Childhood Education Workforce Program in Colorado. This month we profile two Pamoja students, Fatima Boubina and Masuma Adelzada, recent immigrants who are on the way to earning their CDA. They love the program because it’s helping them be better moms and giving them the know-how to work effectively in an early childhood program.
Educators with the right skills can help the most vulnerable children succeed, as you’ll see when you read our blog on “Tomorrow’s Hope.” This recent documentary puts the spotlight on Educare, a cutting-edge early childhood program on Chicago’s South Side, one of the poorest census tracts in the country. Many of the children in the program come from single-parent homes and lack the role models that fathers provide. Yet educators can fill the gap, especially male teachers such as Buddy Rhodes, who serves many Head Start students from homes without fathers.
Buddy is a CDA holder like Dr. Calvin E. Moore, Jr., CEO of the Council. Dr. Moore is also an accomplished singer and devoted dad who loves to sing and dance with his two daughters, as you’ll see this month in our blog, If It Sounds Good, It is Good: The Benefits of Music for Children. It doesn’t matter whether you play them Tchaikovsky or the Jackson Five, a Bach Concerto or Benny and the Jets, as two real-life moms from the Council explain. Music of all kinds helps children build the brain networks that support visual perception, memory and self-expression—qualities that play a key role in learning and life outcomes.
Children also benefit from the attention and affection of their dads, as Dr. Moore points out in a plea to give good dads their due. Too many devoted dads remain unsung, unpraised and unnoticed since gender norms haven’t kept up with social change and the rise in working moms. Now a number of public campaigns are trying to change this by honoring fathers who are committed to being there for their kids, despite issues like addiction and the stresses of immigration. Whatever the roadblocks you face, as these fathers know well, being a daddy is cool.
Happy Father’s Day,
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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