Setting Early Childhood Education Career Goals
SPONSORED BLOG The task of sitting down and writing out all of your early childhood education career goals can feel daunting. Where should you start? How far in the future should you plan? And, once...
CounciLIVE kicked off last month with brand-new episodes featuring early childhood leaders. Special guests challenged audience members to dream about how to make an even greater impact on the families they serve. And believe us— you won’t want to miss CounciLIVE’s upcoming episodes! Here are 3 reasons why.
1. You won’t want to miss the lineup.
This month, you’ll hear thought-provoking conversations with trailblazing leaders: Dr. Shantel Meek, Founding Director of the Children’s Equity Project, and best-selling author and education consultant Dr. Bisa Batten Lewis.
Dr. Batten Lewis and Dr. Meek will join members of Council staff to probe the most urgent issues in education today. On August 26, Michelle Brown, Council Executive VP of Programs, will delve into equity in education with Dr. Meek. Then on September 9, Sandra Kowalchek, our Manager of Growth and Business Development, will explore ways to build a diverse and culturally responsive ECE workforce with Dr. Lewis.
Tune in to be inspired by our special guests on August 26th (Dr. Shantel Meek and Michelle Brown) and September 9th (Dr. Bisa Batten Lewis and Sandra Kowalchek) at 1 PM ET on Facebook Live!
So, mark the hour and dates. Take a break in your day and learn from the best in ECE. They’ll show you how you, too, can be your best.
2. You won’t want to miss the real-world connections.
What makes CounciLIVE so unique? We know that you want to provide the best possible education for our world’s youngest learners. So, we meet with experts to talk about research, theory and current events— all with the CDA® functional areas in mind. On CounciLIVE, everything comes back to equipping you to become an even stronger teacher for the children you serve.
Dr. Cindy Shackelford made real-life connections in her conversation with Abena Ocran-Jackson. Watch it here!
3. You won’t want to miss the chance to invest in your professional development.
Even seasoned teachers can always learn and grow. But in the midst of a busy week, it’s tricky to find times to invest in your professional growth. That’s why we’re bringing professional development to you on CounciLIVE.
Dr. Ryan Lee-James provided valuable professional development resources in her interview. Watch it here!
We look forward to seeing you at our next CounciLIVE broadcast events! Stream previous episodes on YouTube and Spotify, and follow us on Facebook, Spotify and YouTube so that you’ll never miss an episode!
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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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