Melinda Gulick and Angela Rabago-Mussi with First Things First E32
From birth to age 5, children’s brains develop faster than any other time in their lives and set the foundation for future learning. That’s why Arizonans created First Things First—a voter-initiated state agency that funds early childhood programs and services to prepare young children to succeed in kindergarten and beyond.
Local regional councils, staffed by community volunteers, help decide how funds are spent to ensure the best outcomes for Arizona’s young children.
First Things First invests in programs and services that support the healthy development of young children and help to support professional development of people who serve young children.
This is done through grants to community organizations that provide services at no cost to young children from birth to age 5 (before kindergarten) and professionals.
Everything done at FTF is designed to help more Arizona children learn, grow and thrive.
Melinda Morrison Gulick joined First Things First as the organization’s Chief Executive Officer in March 2022. Melinda is an active contributor to community and business organizations, and has focused her passion and energy on education, young children, healthcare, a strong local economy and the environment.
Before joining FTF, Melinda led a management consulting firm focused on strategic planning, governance, fundraising, communications and sustainable business planning primarily for nonprofit organizations and periodically served in Interim CEO and Executive Director roles.
Prior to that, she served on the executive team at DMB Associates for 14 years responsible for operations, communications, marketing, human resources and community affairs.
She lives in Phoenix with her two young sons, Zane and Jace, and three rescue dogs, Liberty, Beau and Nigel.
Angela Rabago-Mussi is Chief External Affairs Officer for First Things First. Angela leads the government affairs, tribal affairs, communications, community outreach and strategic partnerships and investments efforts of the organization.
These efforts are implemented at both the statewide level and at the regional level in local communities.
Angela has been part of these public awareness-building efforts for twelve years working at both the regional and statewide levels.
As a fourth-generation Arizonan, Angela worked previously as a reporter and freelance writer for various publications covering topics such as education, Latino issues, and local municipalities.
Follow First Things First on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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About Your Host
Thomas Barr is the Executive Director for Local First Arizona, the largest coalition of local businesses in North America. He advocates for a strong local business community that contributes to building vibrancy, equity, and prosperity across the state. A proud Arizona native and graduate of Arizona State University, Thomas leads the business coalition of Local First Arizona by advocating for the economic and cultural benefits provided by building strong local economies.
Thomas steers the strategic direction of LFA’s major programs and initiatives as well as the engagement of over 3000 businesses across Arizona. As Executive Director, Thomas guides a team of statewide senior directors overseeing the execution of LFA’s communication strategy, major initiatives and key partnerships, as well as the collaboration of over 30 staff implementing work in entrepreneurship programs, small business advocacy, local food initiatives, sustainability, urban development and community building. He frequently speaks to groups locally and nationally, presenting the impact of Local First Arizona and the importance of local economy work in building prosperity.
Outside of Local First Arizona, Thomas has participated in volunteering his time to many causes and organizations throughout the Valley including Young Nonprofit Professionals – Phoenix, Equality Arizona, Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits, Arizona Commission on the Arts, Heritage Square Foundation and Phoenix Legal Action Network. Additionally, Thomas is a 2018 Phoenix Magazine 40 Under 40 honoree, alumni of Arizona Leading for Change, and current participant in Valley Leadership Institute’s 40th cohort.
Connect with Thomas on LinkedIn and Twitter.
