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Bright Start

Bright Start TN Annual ALIGN Summit

Wins and momentum were on display at ALIGN 2024!  Thank you to the 150+ Bright Start TN members who represented their communities for a great day! We hope you’ll plan ahead to be with us again at Align 2025.

During the “Partnership Wins” segment of our agenda, participants joined table “huddles” to dialogue with colleagues across the Bright Start network who are leading and innovating early childhood initiatives.

It was fantastic to welcome so many of our Bright Start TN partners to ALIGN 2024!

During the “Partnership Wins” segment of our agenda, participants joined table “huddles” to dialogue with colleagues across the Bright Start network who are leading and innovating early childhood initiatives. Thank you to the 20+ huddle leaders!

CLICK HERE is a list of the wins and innovations that were showcased. We’ll be updating this page throughout 2025 and look forward to keeping you posted.

Commissioners Panel

A special thanks to our panel of state commissioners who shared information and answered questions about departmental resources to support the Bright Start TN communities’ ECE plans. We truly appreciate these incredible leaders taking time out of their busy schedules for conversation with us.

Commissioner Marie Williams

Commissioner Marie Williams
Dept. of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services

Commissioner Brad Turner

Commissioner Brad Turner
Dept. of Disability and Aging

Commissioner Deniece Thomas

Commissioner Deniece Thomas
Dept. of Labor and Workforce Development

Stephen Smith

Stephen Smith
Director of TennCare

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