Come join us for our Community Partnership Celebration on Monday, February 24, from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. at BRAVO! Italian Restaurant. Tickets and sponsorships are still available.
Please help us honor and recognize the outstanding people and organizations that exemplify our four core values: Every Child and Family, Excellence, Partnership and Accountability.
We honor Callie Poole, Systems Change Lab Project Manager at Mississippi State University’s Social Sciences Research Institute, with the Helen Reddy Johnson “Valuing Every Child and Family” Award for how much she has partnered with families in all of her work with the Early Childhood Development Coalition, especially how thoughtfully she has onboarded families to committees. She is also a relentless champion for family-driven practice with providers.
The Rusty Turner Excellence Award goes to Diana Autin, a passionate parent and accomplished attorney who serves in several national roles, including Co-Director of Family Engagement and Leadership in Systems of Care (FELSC) and Co-Director of NE-PACT/Region A Parent TA Center. She receives this award for her outstanding technical assistance in special education, bringing together legal and family-run organizations in Mississippi in a special education coalition to support families.
We honor Drew Snyder, former Executive Director of the Mississippi Division of Medicaid, with the Jo Turlington Partnership Award for his years-long partnership with Families as Allies during and before he directed Medicaid. This blog we wrote when Drew left his position captures the spirit of our work with Drew. We are grateful to him, especially for the groundwork he laid for the Division of Medicaid’s Beneficiary Advisory Council.
We honor G.C. Barnett, Senior Staff Attorney at the Southern Poverty Law Center, with the Tessie Schweitzer Accountability Award for his ongoing leadership on the Special Education Coalition and for listening to family-run organizations and families to ensure his work is accountable and family-driven legislative advocacy, particularly his work on House Bill 1222 in the 2023 legislative session.
Again, the date is Monday, February 24, for our 11th Annual Community Partnership Celebration at 5:00 p.m. There is still time to purchase tickets and sponsorships! Please help us celebrate these remarkable award recipients and all we can accomplish as we work together for our children.
