MEGAN ROSE

CEO & FOUNDER, BETTER TOGETHER, NAPLES

Better Together empowers parents across 27 Florida counties to overcome crises without losing their children to foster care. Florida has one of the largest foster care systems in the country, with many children entering due to preventable neglect. Better Together’s volunteers have served more than 9,000 children while helping parents find jobs, homes, treatment and more. It has 48 employees, and Rose has been leading the organization since 2015. “We catch families before they fall,” Rose says. “We are expanding our work and family programs across Florida to connect helpers to the hurting, one person and one family at a time.”

EDUCATION: Liberty University (BS, MA)

IF I WERE GOVERNOR: My priority would be foster care reforms focused on keeping families safely together, whenever possible. My background is in child welfare, and there was never enough time to give families what they really needed. Too many cases on the caseload, too much paperwork and red tape, too many children being shuffled around the system. The best way to fix foster care is to reduce the need for it in the first place.

MENTOR: I grew up in a home with two loving parents, but my dad struggled. My mother was brave enough to ask for help when our family needed it. As a single mother, she started her own company and worked hard to provide for us. She gave back to the community, served others, and has a generous heart. She was gracious and loving with my father, and present with us kids. She did it all.

LISTENING: Masters of Scale (a podcast)

MOTIVATIONAL MANTRA
“A pastor once told me, ‘Growth and comfort never coexist.’ If it feels hard, it’s probably worth doing.”