Bosses for Babies

How This Boss Makes an Impact for Children in Florida

On behalf of the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County (JWB), I’m thrilled for the opportunity to be a Boss for Babies. I’ve always been passionate about improving the lives of children, both because they are the innocent who cannot control their circumstances and because, as a society, improving children’s lives today and into the future is simply a smart investment. I’m proud of the leadership role JWB has taken for children, especially babies and their families. I personally believe that the earlier we invest, the greater the return – for our children, their families, and our society.

This year, JWB will invest $106.8M in programs, initiatives, and campaigns aimed at strengthening the lives of Pinellas County children and families. A substantial portion of our funding supports families with infants and young children. These funded programs include infant and maternal health, infant mental health, childhood nutrition, early childhood screenings, parent education and support (home visiting), quality early learning, family stabilization, domestic violence supports, respite services, and more. In addition, JWB invests in campaigns and initiatives to support families of babies, such as our Turbo Babies Early Childhood Public Awareness Campaign, Children’s Mental Health Initiative, Sleep Baby Safely, and Fatherhood Collaborative.

JWB has implemented strategies to build organizational capacity in the birth-to-three space, including our 0-3 Think Tank, workforce stabilization, early childhood college scholarships, and no cost professional development trainings. For our JWB employees, we offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes no-cost medical, vision, and dental coverage, tuition reimbursement, and paid parental leave: up to six weeks of leave following the birth of an employee’s child or the placement of a child with an employee in connection with adoption or foster care. Plus, JWB is a breastfeeding-friendly workplace, ensuring accommodations are in place for nursing mothers returning to the office.

Bio

A staunch advocate and passionate champion for Pinellas County’s youngest citizens, Mr. Mikurak believes all children deserve the opportunity to fulfill their potential and achieve meaningful and purposeful lives. He also believes that, as a society, improving children’s lives today and into the future is simply a smart investment. 

Mr. Mikurak has 30 years’ experience in business strategy and supply chain management, is well known in the international business community, and retired from Accenture, PLC, in 2003 with Founder Partner status. He holds nearly two dozen patents and has authored articles for and been quoted in numerous business periodicals and management books. He currently serves on the St. Anthony’s Hospital Foundation Board, and has served on the boards of BayCare Health Systems, St. Anthony’s Hospital (St. Petersburg), Pinellas County License Board, and Early Learning Coalition of Pinellas County.
As a member of the JWB Board, Mr. Mikurak advocated for a new strategic result area focused on early childhood development. He championed the creation and launch of the JWB Turbo Babies campaign to keep babies on track from birth to three. 

“Turbo Babies promotes early connections, nurtures a baby’s natural drive to learn, and supports parents and caregivers as their children’s first and best teachers. It takes early brain science and the principles of early childhood development and makes them digestible. Moreover, the campaign offers evidence-based Turbo Tips and everyday activities anyone raising babies can do,” stated JWB Interim CEO Michael Mikurak. “What fascinates me most is breakthrough research that shows the sheer complexity and brilliance of babies’ brains. For years, babies were looked upon as “blank slates” or sponges passively soaking up information. But now we know babies’ brains are sophisticated supercomputers, outpacing any known machine, constantly sorting data feeds and running statistics to analyze their environment, millisecond by millisecond. This absolutely astounds and excites me, and confirms we are definitely on the right track!”

“As JWB’s CEO, I believe that JWB’s success for the next 80 years hinges on our organization’s steadfast commitment to investing very early in a child’s life,” continued Mr. Mikurak. “We must continue to prioritize early childhood development, quality early learning, and getting further upstream with primary prevention and early intervention strategies. I am proud of JWB’s reputation as a thought leader, advocate, and champion for babies. The earlier we invest, the greater the return – for our children, their families, and our society – and on behalf of the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County, I’m thrilled for the opportunity to be a Boss for Babies!”