J.D. ANDREWS

Dr. J.D. ANDREWS  
A District of Columbia resident for nearly 50 years, passed away at the age of 85 at his home in Palm Desert, CA, December 21, 2016 after an extended illness. He was a noted visionary with tremendous impact in early childhood education and the travel, hospitality, and meeting planning industries. Dr. Andrews supported Head Start staff training when the program was launched in 1965. He joined the staff of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) in 1972 and was instrumental in growing their annual conference to the largest educational meeting in the country. His vision led to NAEYC's accreditation system which has accredited tens of thousands of child care and preschool programs. Dr. Andrews helped found the Council for Professional Recognition in Washington, DC, and served as its President for many years. Nearly 300,000 educators, many of them Head Start teachers, received their Child Development Associate (CDA) credential during his tenure.In 2011, Dr. Andrews established the JD Andrews Foundation, whose mission is to develop world-class training to help early childhood professionals work effectively with children to prevent diabetes, obesity and related conditions.Dr. Andrews served on numerous corporate boards and was a trusted leader in the Greater Washington Society of Association Executives, Professional Convention Management Association, and the National Coalition of Black Meeting Planners. He was a mentor to numerous association executives and meeting planners, and advised multiple cities as they built new convention centers. Dr. Andrews' contributions continue to benefit millions of young children, families, and early childhood professionals. A celebration of his life will be held at NAEYC, 1313 L Street, NW, Washington, DC on March 18 at 2 p.m. Memorials may be directed to the J.D. Andrews Foundation online at http://www.jdafoundation.org/donate/ or mail to: J.D. Andrews Foundation, c/o Karolina Jasinska, 3151 Mt. Pleasant St., NW, Suite 107, Washington, DC 20010.