KAIMH Conference Save the Date
We are so excited to return to Salina, Kansas next spring for our annual conference! We invite you to put April 22-23, 2027 on your calendar and join us for a collaborative, interactive focus on supporting families with young children. If you provide mental health consultation, home visitation, early education, coaching, intervention, research or clinical mental health services, this conference is for you!
Alice Eberhart-Wright Visionary Award
AEW Nomination
The Alice Eberhart-Wright Visionary Award recognizes outstanding achievements and significant contributions in the field of infant and early childhood mental health. The award is given to those who represent the mission of KAIMH and illustrate passion, creativity and best practices in their work supporting infant and early childhood mental health in Kansas. This award is presented each year at the KAIMH annual conference. If you would like to nominate a candidate for the 2026 award, please complete the form below.
Alice Eberhart-Wright Visionary Award Overview (160.32 KB)
Congratulations to the 2025 AEW Recipient:
Jessica Mostaffa
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.