I am extremely pleased to share the results of our national search to fill this new leadership position at the Help Me Grow National Center. Please join me in welcoming Kimberly Martini-Carvell, MA, as our new Executive Director.
Meet Kimberly Martini-Carvell
Kimberly most recently served as Associate Vice President, Programs for The Village for Families and Children in Hartford, CT, where she was responsible for creating and managing prevention and early intervention programs for families and children.
Before joining The Village, Kimberly served as a child and family development consultant for the United Way of Central & Northeastern Connecticut, and director of the CT Family Development Institute of the Children’s Trust Fund. For the University of Connecticut (UConn), she served as an adjunct professor in the School of Family Studies and manager of the CT School Readiness Implementation Evaluation.
Kimberly also served on the national Zero to Three Policy Committee, the national Childhood Traumatic Stress Network’s Birth-6 Workgroup, and the leadership team of the Connecticut Parent Educators Network. She was a fellow at the National Council on Family Relations and a facilitator for the Family Development Credential.
Kimberly earned a Master’s in human development and family relations from UConn, completing a graduate project that involved the design, piloting and statewide implementation of an infant/toddler teacher professional training program. She earned a Bachelor’s in child development from California State University, Northridge.
Kimberly led the National Center’s partnership with The Village in the design, evaluation, and dissemination of Mid-Level Developmental Assessment and presented MLDA at our HMG National Forum. She also presented work on MLDA at the 2014 World Infant Mental Health Congress in Scotland.
The Executive Director Position
We created this position to ensure that the National Center can deliver on our top priorities
- We want to embrace and leverage the extraordinary opportunities to accelerate the pace of national dissemination of Help Me Grow.
- We want to support the diffusion of innovations throughout the affiliate network.
- We want to support our affiliates and our state and federal partners in advancing key public policies in support of children’s healthy development.
Under the leadership of Lisa Honigfeld, our search committee included strong participation from HMG partners from across the country, such as Amy Fine, Des Kelly, and Kareena DuPlessis. The committee evaluated a rich and talented pool of candidates, using a rigorous process that assured informed decision-making. The considerable strengths of the candidates made the selection all the more challenging!
Roles at the National Center
While we are fortunate to have Kimberly join us, we are delighted that Joanna Bogin will continue to serve the National Center, albeit in a part-time position. Joanna will focus her efforts on affiliate relations and technical assistance, while spending much desired time with her expanding family.
I will support Kimberly and our staff through my continuing roles as Founding Director of the HMG National Center and Executive Vice President for the Office of Community Child Health at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center.
My thanks to our search committee, the talented individuals who honored us with their interest in our opportunity, and all who contributed to a successful search outcome.