Help Me Grow National Center Joanna Bogin Award

The Help Me Grow National Center Joanna Bogin Award honors individuals who have made valuable contributions to the experiences of families with young children by working to make improvements and change at the community, state, and/or national-levels through: 

  • Development of strategic partnerships;
  • Enabling cross-sector efficiencies;
  • Promoting recognition of the need for system-level solutions;
  • Advancing policy improvements; and/or 
  • Centering equity to promote positive outcomes for all children, especially those from families that are furthest from access and opportunity. 

HMG National Center Joanna Bogin Award 2025 - Nomination RFA
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Winner of the 2023 HMG National Center
Joanna Bogin Award

Barbara Leavitt, HMG Utah

Barbara Leavitt, described by her nominators as “the greatest champion for children and families in Utah”, was honored with the inaugural HMG National Center Joanna Bogin Award at HMG National Forum 2023 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Upon moving to Utah, Barbara recognized the need to better support families with young children in her area, and she single-handedly began advocating to bring HMG to her community. Despite repeated funding setbacks and challenges bringing HMG to her state, Barbara’s tireless work paid off, and HMG Utah was born.

In her decades of experience in the early childhood system-building field, Barbara’s passion for including families at all stages of their child’s development was palpable to her colleagues and prominent in her work at the local, state, and even federal-levels. Notably, she also spearheaded the Celebrating Stages project, which is the first universal system of screening in Utah to be unanimously approved by Utah’s Early Childhood Utah, State Advisory Council, and the Governor’s Early Childhood Commission.

Barbara worked from a place of love, purpose, vision, and inclusion to improve services for children and families in Utah, and HMG National was thrilled to recognize her for her transformative work in this ever-evolving field.