Rev. Alton Coles is a long-time member of the Healthy Start Coalition Board of Directors and currently holds the position of Vice Chair. He represents the AME Ministers Alliance. He shares his role in preventing infant mortality:

Rev. Coles identifies his care for the health of all people and desire to educate on improved lifestyles and behaviors as his reason for involvement with the Coalition’s Board of Directors. He has been involved with numerous Coalition and other health initiatives throughout the region.

Rev. Coles participated in a local Community Research Advisory Board and worked with the Mayo Clinic on an initiative to increase African American participation in cancer research. He also helped bring a Vitamin D screening and education event to the Magnolia and Azalea projects.

Beyond his officer position, he was the long-time chair of the Coalition’s Florida KidCare Steering Committee, focused on guiding outreach activities and spreading the word about the children’s health insurance program.

But Rev. Coles sees the Coalition’s greatest success as being more inclusive of men and dads in the goals of Healthy Start. Rev. Coles has advocated for establishing and growing the Coalition’s Responsible Fatherhood program and including fathers and father figures as a key component of Coalition services.