Rhonda Rairden-Nelson serves as the Project Director for Iowa’s Project LAUNCH initiative, a federal grant that supports young children’s social and emotional development. She has worked at the Iowa Department of Public Health for ten years, providing leadership for workforce development efforts in the field of infant and early childhood mental health and trauma informed care. She is endorsed as an Infant Family Associate, and represents early childhood mental health on numerous local, state and national committees with a focus on promoting policies that support children’s healthy mental development. She is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Social Work at the University of Iowa. She lives in Des Moines with her husband. Together, they have six children and three grandchildren.