Maureen Templeman teaches gerontology — or aging — at Missouri State University in Springfield. She recently launched a new project called the Southwest Missouri CARE Collective that’s designed to create a new opportunity for mutual aid between caregivers.

According to the 2024 Missouri Student Survey, nearly 35% of school aged kids in the state report feeling hopeless at times.

Debbie Bennett and Kaylie Walker are both nutrition educators in northwest Missouri and for the past few years they’ve hosted an MU Extension podcast called “Truth or Trend” that examined online trends and claims about health and well-being.

Earlier this month, the newest version of Dietary Guidelines for Americans was released by the federal government — with a new inverted pyramid graphic that looks very different from the My Plate and Food Pyramid guides that have been used during the last few decades.

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.