2023 POLICY & AWARDS LUNCHEON

Event poster for the Rhode Island Coalition for Children and Families 2023 Annual Policy and Awards Luncheon, featuring a line drawing of people linking arms, with details about the date and location.

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About the Event

The Rhode Island Coalition for Children and Families is thrilled to bring together community human service and health providers with corporate, government, and philanthropic leaders at our 2023 Policy and Awards Luncheon. First initiated in 2018 and suspended during the COVID-19 epidemic, our event celebrates the work of our sector in promoting the safety, health, and success of children, youth, and families. This year’s luncheon will be an opportunity to hear from a dynamic leader in our field, honor elected leaders and lift up particular legislative actions and recognize the contributions of public sector and community champions.

RICCF is a statewide Coalition comprised of forty-two community-based organizations and allied groups providing or advocating for comprehensive and quality social and health services for children, youth, and their families in every community in Rhode Island (see list www/riccf.org/members). Our mission is to educate, advocate, and collaborate for transformational, equitable and just policies, practices, and resources to support and strengthen children, youth, families, and communities.

This year our keynote will focus on the lived experience of youth and families that have had contact with our systems and the importance of their inclusion in our work. Our keynote speaker is Sixto Cancel, Founder & CEO of Think of Us, a national organization working to reform the child welfare system.

This year we will be honoring the following individuals and groups:

Legislative Champion: Rhode Island House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi
Legislative Champion: Rhode Island Senate President Dominick Ruggerio
Champion for Children: Jennifer Griffith, Esq,
Public Service Champion: Kevin Aucoin, Esq.
Inaugural Heroes Among Us Award: Patricia Dedora- St. Germain

Thank you for your interest and we look forward to seeing you to celebrate our award recipients on October 30th.

Keynote Speaker

Sixto Cancel

Sixto Cancel is the Founder and CEO of Think of Us. Think of Us (TOU) is a Research + Design Lab driving systematic change in child welfare. Through focused projects and sweeping initiatives, TOU drives structural changes in child welfare policy and practice.

Sixto was named as Forbes Top 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneurs and is on the 2021 Forbes Under30 Lister Board. Sixto has been recognized by the White House as a “White House Champion of Change'', a “Millennial Maker” by BET, and named “Top 24 Changemakers in Government under 24” by the Campaign for a Presidential Youth Council and Sparkaction. Sixto has served as a Young Fellow at Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative since 2010 where he has played a key role in the initiative’s work of extending foster care permanency for older youth.

Sixto is a Clinton Global Initiative University Alum, a FastForward Alum, an Ashoka Fellow, a Board Member of Adventr – an interactive SMART video tech company – and most recently on the Advisory Board for Box, Inc. Sixto and the team at Think of Us are working to ensure that every person has the conditions they need to heal, develop and thrive.