Speakers

Dr. Kere Hughes
Dr. Kere Hughes-Belding, a professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS) at Iowa State University, brings over 20 years of research and training expertise focused on improving caregiver-child relationships and enhancing service quality, particularly in home visiting programs. Her research also includes work on the implementation of infant and early childhood mental health consultation within Head Start programs. Dr. Hughes-Belding holds a Mentor Research/Faculty endorsement in Infant Mental Health – IMH-E® and is currently pursuing an additional endorsement in reflective supervision/consultation.




Faith Molthen
Faith Molthen is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at Iowa State University. She began her graduate program in 2020 after moving to Iowa. Faith’s research centers on supporting individuals in caregiving roles for young children, emphasizing that nurturing and supportive interactions with adults are crucial for children’s developmental outcomes. In addition to her research, she has 4.5 years of experience as an early childhood educator.







Linda Delimata
Linda Delimata, LCPC, has spent her career dedicated to children and families. She spent years supporting an Early Intervention program, a Pre-school for All Program, and as a mental health consultant to various agencies in Illinois. She provided leadership and supervision to other consultants, most particularly to the cadre of consultants serving Maternal Infant/Early Childhood Home Visiting programs. Most recently, she directed and provided oversite to the pilot of a multi-year project through the Illinois Children’s Mental Health Partnership, the Mental Health Consultation Initiative. This Initiative was a cross-system, public/private partnership program that advanced the goal of a universal, effective, and sustainable Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation throughout Illinois.

Linda Delimata was on the team of professionals at SAMHSA’s first Center of Excellence for Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation as the Associate Director of Training and Technical Assistance, providing guidance and technical assistance to a variety of states. In addition, Linda worked part time at EDC, offering technical assistance on implementation of IECMHC in MIECHV states/territories, and contracts with various agencies to support IECMHC.

Over the last ten years Ms. Delimata has supported various programs, territories and states in the design and implementation of Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation as an Independent Consultant. Ms. Delimata subcontracts with a team of national experts to bring to each situation a wealth of knowledge and experience nationally.


Dr. Rosemarie Allen
Our Founder, President and CEO, Dr. Rosemarie Allen, has served as an educational leader for over 40 years. Her life’s work is centered on ensuring ALL children have access to high-quality early childhood programs that are developmentally appropriate and culturally sustaining. She is currently a professor at the School of Education at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Her classes are focused on ensuring teachers are aware of how issues of equity, power, and justice impact teaching practices. Rosemarie has served in directorship roles with the Colorado Department of Human Services as the Director of the Division of Early Learning and in Youth Corrections. In Early Learning, she oversaw the State’s child care licensing program, the federal child care assistance program, the redesign of the State’s quality rating and improvement system, the implementation of the State’s professional development plan, and assisted in creating Colorado’s early learning guidelines.

Dr. Allen also serves as the President and CEO of the Institute for Racial Equity & Excellence (IREE), which is the lead agency for ensuring equity in organizations throughout the nation and internationally. In this capacity, she has worked with the United States Department of Education as well as 47 State Departments of Education, the United States Customs and Border Protection, the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), Police Officer Standard Training (POST), and numerous police departments, school districts and other organizations providing training on implicit bias, microaggressions, anti-racism, trauma healing practices, and racial equity. IREE is contracted with the State of Colorado to monitor and license early childhood facilities using a model she created, “Culturally Responsive Community-Based Licensing.” Dr. Allen is also on faculty with Georgetown University and the Pyramid Model Consortium and a Professor of Research with the Children’s Equity Project at Arizona State University

Rosemarie has the distinct honor of being appointed as a “Global Leader,” connecting with world leaders in early childhood across the globe. She is the recipient of the prestigious T. Barry Brazelton Friends of Children Award, sharing this honor with other recipients such as First Ladies Hilary Clinton, Rosalind Carter, and Laura Bush. She has been honored to receive the MLK Peace Award, the Rosa Parks Diversity Award, and numerous other awards and honors. She earned her B. A. from California State University, Long Beach, Master’s of Education from Lesley University, and Doctorate in Equity and Leadership in Education at the University of Colorado, Denver.ing soon.


Shelley Horak
Shelley Horak is the Director of Early Intervention and Support for the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. She holds a Doctor of Education in Interdisciplinary Leadership from Creighton University and a master’s degree in public health from Des Moines University where she is an Assistant Professor in the institution’s MPH program. Dr. Horak is committed to exploring solutions to the complex problems facing children and families.






Alex Busuito
Alex Busuito, Senior Technical Assistance Specialist, is a child clinical psychologist with over a decade of experience in research, policy, and clinical practice. Dr. Busuito works with the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health team to guide states in building sustainable systems that meet the unique needs of infants, young children, and their families. Dr. Busuito formerly served as a SRCD State Postdoctoral Fellow at the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH), where they worked to expand access to early childhood and family support services for historically underserved communities.  This work included leading a successful initiative to secure and roll out Medicaid funding for evidence-based family home visiting. Dr. Busuito completed their clinical internship at Brown Medical School and received their Ph.D. in Child Clinical Psychology from the Pennsylvania State University. As a graduate student, Dr. Busuito was a Doris Duke Fellow for the Promotion of Child Wellbeing and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow. Dr. Busuito also spent nearly ten years as a community mental health clinician, working primarily with trauma-exposed children and caregivers.