“I’ve always wanted to give back to society,” Michael Ukhueduan says. And this long-held wish led him to work in the early childhood field. “Growing up, I wanted to make positive changes in people and over the years, I thought, ‘What better place to start than with the youngest of the young, the little children who come through child care and education centers. I hope I can make positive changes in them that will carry through into their older years.” And Michael has pursued this goal for 25 years at the New Hope Development Daycare Center in Newark, NJ. He began as a board member and then board president of the center while employed as a behavioral therapist for children. This work strengthened his attraction to the early childhood care and education field, so nine years ago, he became director of New Hope.
He also gives guidance and hope to Child Development Associate® (CDA) candidates as a Professional Development Specialist™ (PDS) for the Council. For the past four years, he has fulfilled this role in order to spread best practices, pick up more knowledge and share it with others in his field.
In addition, working as a PDS has other pluses. “It’s rewarding,” Michael says, “to be invited into someone’s classroom or daycare and have them say, ‘Hey I trust you. I want you to come in and observe me and tell me how I’m doing. Come and grade me and with your help I will get my CDA.'”
Candidates trust Michael because he does whatever he can to put them at ease. “Some of the educators I observe are excellent at their jobs. They know what to do, but they do get nervous. So, I tell them, ‘I’m coming to observe you. I’m not here to judge your child care center. Just be yourself.'”
Michael thinks “you should take people for who they are,” and his warm, human touch clearly comes across to children in the centers he visits as a PDS. “Some of my best memories are about the children,” he says. “Sometimes, when I go to a site initially, I’m like a teacher in the classroom, instead of a PDS, because the children gravitate toward me. I let them know that yes, I’m a visitor, but I’m not there to scare them. So, I gain their confidence, I talk with them, I play with them.”
And he’s had some moving encounters. For example, the staff in one child care setting told him, “Wow! Clarissa doesn’t talk to strangers. She doesn’t even talk to us half the time. But look how she deals with you, Mr. Michael. She’s laughing and carrying on with you. She’s sharing her toys.” Even more amazing was the time when a child with autism was so drawn to Michael that he started crying when Michael had to leave.
Experiences like this have helped make Michael’s job as a PDS rewarding. So have the chances it offers also to change himself for the better when he’s helping educators be their best. “I’m not always perfect,” he says. “I’m not always right. And the people I work with help me see just who I am and what I’m doing right or wrong.” So, in giving to others, as Michael has come to see, he’s getting a lot back in return.
As early education professionals, we appreciate the value and necessity of lifelong learning. In order to maintain quality of practice, we absolutely need to stay on top of our game by attending early childhood conferences....
At the Council, we are proud of sharing CDA® success stories with you to show the importance of the work we do daily. Anthony McKinsey, Marisa Ray, and Devon Peone, from the Salish School of...
On May 4, our Renewal & Credentialing Team hosted its first Online Renewal Live Chat. In this live chat session, we answered questions from the audience about the new renewal procedures. My colleagues Raquel A....
The amount of websites devoted to the early education field is vast, but it is just a matter of finding the ones and using them as technology tools to enhance your child care program in...
As early childhood professionals, we must constantly set new goals for our child care programs and try to stay ahead of new trends within our field. We need to strive to mentally absorb the all...
Are you considering applying for a Child Development Associate® (CDA) Credential™? The CDA® credential has many valuable benefits for all early childhood professionals, including helping early educators meet current state and national professional requirements and serving...
Consider for a moment these everyday activities; inviting parents to volunteer in your classroom, recommending breastfeeding resources, or talking about child development milestones with friends and family. While perhaps unconventional, these activities are everyday advocacy!...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7GrPCWBROM I am excited to invite you to our 3rd Annual Early Educators Leadership Conference at the beautiful Lansdowne Resort in Leesburg, Virginia from October 12-15, 2016. This meeting has sold out for the past...
A very tired mother brought her 4 month old daughter to a day care center telling her teacher, “She was up all night crying. I wanted to go get her but my husband said I’m...
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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