2026 First 1000 Days Florida Highlights
2026 Carol Brady Trailblazer Award
Carol Brady is the found of First 1000 Days Florida and is a longtime maternal and child health advocate. She served as Executive Director of the Northeast Florida Healthy Start Coalition for 16 years before joining the FAHSC team as Project Director for the Florida Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Initiative, a role she held until her retirement in 2019.
Carol is the kind of leader who shows up with courage and conviction. She was willing to take risks and didn’t wait for certainty before moving forward. She is innovative and unafraid, and she was bold in how she approached her work. Over the years, that willingness to lead without fear has helped shape this work in lasting ways.
That is why we have created the Carol Brady Trailblazer Award. This award carries her name because it honors the same spirit Carol brought to her work: fearless leadership, thoughtful risk-taking, and a belief that progress is possible when someone is willing to go first.
We present our first-ever Carol Brady Trailblazer Award to
Dr. Chelsea Arnold.
Dr. Arnold exemplifies the spirit of the Trailblazer Award. An alumna of Florida State University, she earned her Doctorate of Nursing Practice and is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner. Through her leadership of First 1000 Days Suncoast she has translated the First 1,000 Days concept into coordinated, measurable, regional action.
The People’s Choice Award goes to the Center for Child Counseling!
Voted by 150+ attendees, researchers, and presenters at the 2026 First 1000 Days Florida Showcase, their presentation, “A Decade of Fighting ACEs in Palm Beach County,” reflects the meaningful impact of their hard work!
2026 First 1000 Days Florida showcase
1:00 pm Kick-off and Welcome
Kickoff and Welcome!
Mimi Graham, Ed.D., Director, FSU Center for Prevention & Early Intervention Policy
1st Plenary Session: The Power of Connection: How Relationships Shape the First 1,000 Days Suncoast
Chelsea Arnold, DNP, APRN, FNP, Initiative Director, First 1000 Days Suncoast
Moderated Panel Discussion: Centering Maternal Mental Health Across the First 1000 Days
~Mary C. Mayhew, President & CEO Florida Hospital Association
~Dr. Monica Rider, DO, Chief Medical Officer/Medical Director MCR Health
~Faye Johnson, CEO, Northeast Florida Healthy Start Coalition
~Mirine Richey, DrPH, Moderator
Multi-media session: Exploration of Mental Health Support in the First Year of parenthood
Carmita McCall, DPA, PBHC
2nd Plenary Session: How Healthy Start supports Maternal Mental Health
Paloma Prata, MBA, MS, Chief Program Officer
Alex Goldberg, Ed.D, Program Director of State Grants
Florida Association of Healthy Start Coalitions/Healthy Start MomCare Network
5:00-7:00 pm Poster Showcase, Awards, and Reception
Join us as we showcase efforts from around the state in our poster presentations. Join us for this session and the reception featuring hors d’oeuvres and drinks. Open to all registered attendees.
