This year’s recipient of the Alice Eberhart-Wright award is Jessica Mostaffa. Her impactful contributions include but are not limited to: providing reflective consultation to early childhood professionals, mental health training and resource support, committee work with various early childhood organizations, and assisting home visitation leaders in effectively supporting home visitation staff. Below is Jessica’s comment on receiving this award:

At the heart of infant and early childhood mental health is one simple yet profound truth: relationships matter. It is through relationships – safe, responsive, and nurturing – that children begin to make sense of themselves and the world around them. Every moment of attuned connection lays the foundation for a child’s lifelong capacity to trust, to learn, to love, and to thrive.

But as we all know, children do not grow in isolation. They grow in the context of families, and families need support, understanding, and compassion. That’s why our work is not only about children – it’s about holding the caregivers, too. It’s about seeing the whole system and recognizing that when we support the adults, we support the child.
This is where the parallel process becomes so important. The way we engage with caregivers, the way we listen, reflect, and hold space for their experiences, directly mirrors what we hope they can offer to the children they care for. Our relationships with providers, parents, and colleagues become the model, the living blueprint, for the healing and growth we seek to foster in families. That’s what makes this work both powerful and deeply human.

I share this honor with the countless professionals who walk alongside families every day – often quietly, often without recognition – holding stories of pain and resilience, and doing the brave, relational work that changes lives. Also, with everyone who has guided me, taught me, and everyone who has trusted me with their story.

I truly believe that our field is filled with visionaries – people who imagine what’s possible when we invest in the earliest relationships, and who believe, fiercely, in the capacity for healing, connection, and hope.

Thank you for this recognition. Thank you for believing in this work. The journey continues, and I am honored to walk it with all of you.