The Morning Meeting is Groundwork Ohio’s virtual platform to engage, mobilize, and inform advocates for young children in Ohio. Whether you’re a policy-maker, community leader, or parent—The Morning Meeting is your space to grow Ohio’s commitment to young children. This Morning Meeting features Family Action Network members, Guadalupe Bright, Shelley Hill, and Sara Laughlin.

Guadalupe Bright was raised in Central Ohio and is a mom of two boys. Her oldest son has autism level 3, requiring the highest level of need and care, and her youngest has a developmental delay. She’s a former public school teacher experienced in teaching Spanish and English Language Learners. As an advocate for children she has worked relentlessly to bring attention to the several policy issues affecting all children such as access to affordable childcare. A PhD candidate in Education Policy and Leadership, she understands how policy affects real life situations.

Lupe grew up in a single parent low-income household and has since worked to provide other students with the opportunity to advance their education and purse their life goals. She has worked as a consultant for several educational programs aimed at helping students in high needs areas.

Lupe specializes in special education advocacy, community partnerships, curriculum development, and in navigating the world of waivers.

Shelley Hill is a wife, mother of three, dog mom of two, avid coffee drinker, and public health advocate. Shelley and her husband of nearly 11 years have a 6-year-old daughter and twin 3-year-old daughters, and are having a blast.

Shelley is completing her AmeriCorps service and will begin working fulltime with Madison County Public Health in their prevention department in August. As a strong advocate for the health and safety of all children and families, Shelley holds unswervingly to evidence-based public health initiatives and programs, especially those that address health disparities and inequities. Some of Shelley's other hobbies include being outside in any capacity, geeking out over data, and cultivating her love-hate relationship with running.

Sara Laughlin is a self employed, single mom of three boys residing in Troy, Ohio. Sara serves on her local Council on Rural Services (CORS) Head Start. Her experience with Head Start began when she was researching child care and early educations options for her oldest son, all of which were too expensive or did not have accessible hours of operation.

As her family grew to include twins, Sara also experienced the loss of a loved one, post-partum depression and the end of a relationship. She credits the CORS early childhood educators and home visiting program with keeping her family afloat during a challenging time, offering her and her children support and access to resources.

Today, Sara's oldest child is a 3rd grader who is reading at a 6th grade reading level, has straight A’s, and is in the top of his class. Her 4-year-old twins are 4 years old and are learning and thriving in the Head Start preschool classroom! Sara attributes her children's and family's success to the support they received through CORS Head Start.