Dr. Calvin Moore, Jr., Named Council Interim CEO

The Council for Professional Recognition Governing Board is appointing accomplished and longtime early childhood educator and executive Dr. Calvin Moore, Jr., as interim CEO. In order to take on these responsibilities, Moore has resigned from the Council’s board and from his position as the regional program manager in Atlanta for the Office of Head Start in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Moore’s connection to the Council, which offers the Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential™, goes back nearly three decades, to when he earned his CDA. Moore’s connection to Head Start began when he participated in the program as a child; he also has vast professional Head Start experience, having served in large and small, urban and rural, and center-based and family childcare-based programs, as well as programs focused predominantly on Hispanic families.

“I’m humbled by the board asking me to serve at this critical time for our organization and the entire early childhood education sector,” Moore says. “We’re truly being challenged in ways we would have never imagined because of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on education. However, I know my fellow CDAs and the Council team have the strength and wisdom to rise to this occasion. I’m grateful for the opportunity to help in this important role.”

Previously, Moore had been appointed to government executive positions at both the federal (deputy director of the Office of Child Care in the ACF) and state level (child care administrator at the Alabama Department of Human Resources).

Moore holds a bachelor of science degree in early childhood education from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a master’s degree in education and a Ph.D. in early childhood education, both from Walden University.

He’s the author of an early childhood curriculum supplement, “The Thinking Book Curriculum: For Early Childhood Professionals,” as well as “Men Do Stay: Recruiting and Retaining Qualified Male Early Childhood Teachers” and many other books.

Linda Hassan Anderson, board chair of the Council for Professional Recognition, says, “We’re excited that Calvin has agreed to serve in this capacity as we build upon our recent successes and work to fulfill the Council’s mission. All our efforts are more important than ever, as we help educators through the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on students and families. The early childhood education community is being profoundly impacted by this crisis.”