In collaboration with the 2024 Advocacy Dinner and Awards Ceremony Partner, Aetna Better Health® of Florida, we presented the inaugural Children's Week Florida™ Chiles Advocate Award on February 26, to Dr, Phyllis Kalifeh for her unparalleled work on behalf of children and families across the state.

Dr. Phyllis Kalifeh retired from the Children’s Forum in 2022 after serving as the President/CEO for 22 years where she advocated for young children, their families, and the early childhood/school-age workforce. Before her tenure at the Forum, she served as Executive Director of Early Childhood Services in Panama City for 21 years overseeing Head Start, Early Head Start, child care subsidy programs, parent education, and many other services. She began her career as a teacher, inspired by her own preschoolers at the time. She later owned a private school and understands the challenges of running a business with a passion for providing the best experiences for children.

She currently serves as adjunct faculty for the University of North Florida teaching graduate students in the early childhood education leadership program with a deep commitment to help prepare future leaders. Throughout her career, she served in many leadership positions at the local, state, and national levels advocating for sound policies and systems to improve outcomes for children.

She graduated from the University of West Florida with her undergraduate degree in education and received her master’s degree in educational leadership and doctoral degree in educational leadership, policy, and evaluation from Florida State University. She has received several awards recognizing her leadership and advocacy on behalf of children. She and her husband are parents to six sons and grandparents to 11 amazing grands (seven granddaughters and four grandsons), ages 2 to 24. They reside in Tallahassee.