Monique Vasquez is from Kent County, Michigan. She is a mother of one star bright, Estrella (age 3), and one bundle of fur, Chance the family’s dog.

Before becoming a parent leader in 2020, she worked and studied in the culinary field. Now, her everyday life consists of doctor and therapy appointments for herself and her daughter, where she’s learned how important it is to have your voice heard. Her daughter was born premature and with mild cerebral palsy, and she was later diagnosed with autism. Monique herself has her own battles of chronic illness with end stage renal failure. Like most people living with illness (which is not always visible to others), she has her good days and bad days. Monique was treated poorly by the system. The seriousness of her medical condition was overlooked. She was unfairly judged, and people assumed the worst of her. This systemic bias gave Monique more volume in her voice to speak up and advocate with the power she does today.

“I advocate for families while being a bridge of communities to interact with systems people,” Monique says. “Learning to advocate for my daughter and her needs has driven me to do more and to help other families like mine.”

Monique was introduced to parent engagement with her home visiting program, Nurse Family Partnership. In 2020, she was chosen by Strolling Thunder to represent the State of Michigan, where she spoke to congress and Michigan’s state representatives about the child care act and child tax credit. She is a parent representative on a local, state, and national level. She currently serves on multiple committees, councils, and boards, including Think Babies Michigan, West Michigan Perinatal Quality Collaborative, WIC council, Mitten Mommas, and Local Leadership Group.

Monique believes parent engagement is life changing because it gives supportable space to act and share in decision making that affects families and communities in their everyday life.

“Parents need to have their voices heard and respected,” she says. “Parents are living and breathing all these experiences; they have ideas to make experiences. Without our voice, how can a broken system be fixed?”

Cara has been a parent leader since August 2018, but she feels that once you become a mother you immediately step into a family leadership role. Cara is especially proud of one presentation she took part in with WIC, which prompted the organization to include actual parents on their board of directors so that they would have an actual voice and opinions of the people that use their services.

Cara gets excited for any project that involves working with other parents and finding out what programs work or don't work, where they need more resources, and trying to find ways to help find them. Care is also the planner of the group and enjoys organizing, keeping schedules, making arrangements, and other tasks to make sure stuff gets done when it needs to be done. She also describes herself as frugal, knowing how to save money and find good deals, which comes in handy in conversations with parents and for comic relief.

Cara has four children, whom she describes as “my precious pride and joys (pp&j), all have strong unique independent awesome personalities.” Some of her children were born with special needs while others were born neurotypical, and she is proud to advocate for all four of them and help teach them to voice their needs to win the race with whatever "crutches" they need in life.

“I'm severely dyslexic and at a young age my mom taught me that if I don't let someone know what it's like for me, they will not understand,” Cara says. “I have to clearly and loudly voice what I need to win the race with a crutch, BUT it's still winning! With her guidance I learned at a young age how to advocate for myself which has been a huge help in advocating for others.”

Cressie has been involved with parent leadership roles for 12 years, including through school PTA / PTO, parent networking and information sharing groups, and with Think Babies Michigan. Cressie is especially proud of her work with Think Babies Michigan, where she was part of the initial presentation for the P3 funding from Pritzker Foundation and where she co-chairs a Think Babies Workgroup focused on funding.

Cressie has a lot of experience in the human services sector, both professionally and as well as navigating it as a client and recipient of services. This gives her a different perspective than many of those making policy or even working with folks within the system. Cressie also brings a strong sense of connection and relatability to Mitten Mommas. She can talk to and find common ground with pretty much anyone.

“I am a mom of four—two of my kiddos are neurodivergent—and seeing how much they have to fight to exist in spaces like a public school inspires me to keep doing this work,” she says.

Mia Halthon is a remarkable parent leader who has traversed numerous support systems to provide for her children with special needs. As an African American woman, she brings a unique perspective to her advocacy work. Originally a young teen mother from Detroit, Michigan, Mia's lived experiences have shaped her profound understanding of parenting at different stages of life.

Mia's unwavering devotion to her children, community, and fellow parent leaders has garnered recognition throughout Michigan's early childhood system. Her exceptional commitment has propelled her into leadership roles at the local, state, and national levels. Mia's voice resonates as an inspiration, motivating others with her advocacy and making a positive impact on the lives of families in the early childhood arena. Her remarkable journey stands as a testament to the power of resilience and determination.