Two Cortex District Leaders Awarded with Missouri Foundation for Health’s 2026 Spark Prize

Four St. Louisans are among the six recipients of the Missouri Foundation for Health’s Spark Prize this year, an award the foundation launched last year to recognize and invest in locals leading innovative work to improve health and well being in the state.

St. Louis recipients include Jessica Gaines, who founded Kendall Developments and is the chief construction officer of Dream Builders 4 Equity; Mike Milton, the founder and executive director of Freedom Community Center; Charli Cooksey, the founder and CEO of WEPOWER; and Blake Strode, ArchCity Defenders’ executive director. Rounding out the awardees are Heather Lyons-Burney and Maurice Theriot, who are based in Branson and Cape Girardeau, respectively.

The prize comes with $200,000 in unrestricted funding for each individual awardee, designed to further the work they’re pursuing in their communities over the long term. 

Both WEPOWER and Freedom Community Center are Cortex-based nonprofits, and Milton was selected in 2024 as a We Are Cortex ambassador.