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Gina Plata-Nino is the SNAP director for the Food Research and Action Center, a national nonprofit group focused on eliminating hunger in the US, and spoke about some of the impacts changes to SNAP could have on Missourians.

The Missouri Immunization Coalition was a non-profit that focused on advocacy, education and training around vaccines. Funding cuts to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention in April led to a loss of funding for the group and they were forced to shutter in summer 2025.

Building Community Bridges is a group that focuses on supporting area youth — and their families — by providing community and giving them the chance to discover new passions and learn new skills, such as boxing, chess, modeling, dance and more.

Kayla Keller and Hannah Pond both work at the Halo Girls Home in Jefferson City, a residential program for homeless and at-risk girls ages 16-21 who are pregnant, parenting, and non-parenting.

Hannah Dolan lives in Jefferson City and was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult. She spoke about the importance of talking about and normalizing neurodivergent experiences.

Craig Fontenot and Dr. Kelly Cleary both work at Food Allergy Research & Education, or FARE — a national non-profit focusing on food allergies. They spoke about what people can do to make holiday gathering safe and more comfortable for everyone.

The Center Project is an LGTBQ+ community center in Columbia that serves mid-Missouri. Mel Constantine Miseo is a board member and spoke about the recently announced food share for the holidays — where anyone needing help can come to the Center Project and receive shelf stable foods.

Erin Washburn and Stephanie Daniels both work for FosterAdopt Connect in Springfield. They spoke about how some of their services — especially their Youth Connect Center can support youth ages 13 through 21, as well as families involved in the child welfare system.

Dr. Matthew Tilton and Amy Baumgartner with Northeast Missouri Health Council in Kirksville spoke about how they use AI in their clinic — having it listen to patient-provider conversations, so doctors can focus less on their note taking and more on their connection with patients.

Dr. Philip Payne is the chief health AI officer at the Center for Health AI, a collaboration between WashU Medicine and BJC Health System in St. Louis. He spoke about the code of conduct that providers should consider when employing AI in healthcare processes and decisions.