
Help Me Grow National Forum Week 2023
Co-Hosted with HMG North Texas
The HMG National Forum is an exciting opportunity for HMG affiliates and their partners to network, learn from one another, and develop new and supportive connections across the HMG community. Now in its 14th year, HMG National will embrace all of our experience hosting the Forum both in-person and virtually, offering the best of all worlds.
Introducing HMG National Forum Week 2023
including two exciting offerings:
1. In-Person Summit | October 11-13 | Fort Worth, Texas
2. Virtual Event | October 17 | Virtual Attendee Hub
Choose from two different Forum Week offerings, or join us for both!
In-Person Summit | October 11-13 | Fort Worth, TX
Co-hosted by the HMG National Center and HMG North Texas, the In-Person Summit will feature professional development intensives, offered by leading organizations around the country and HMG National Center staff. Learning intensives will provide training and skill-building intended to develop capacity to take our HMG system-building work to the next level.
The In-Person Summit will also include: networking, keynote address, co-host reception, HMG National Center update, activities around Fort Worth, informal discussion with National Center leadership, closing remarks from Dr. Paul Dworkin, and more.
The In-Person Summit is perfect for anyone from the HMG community looking for an intensive experience and embraces the opportunity to serve as an ambassador of new knowledge and skills to teams at home. The In-Person Summit is well-suited for individuals leading HMG at the state and community-levels, as well as others from HMG systems who will find value in the learning intensives, such as lead evaluators, and policy and advocacy leads.
The In-Person Summit kicks off at 12:00 pm Central on Wednesday, October 11, 2023 and concludes at 12:00 pm Central on Friday, October 13, 2023.
Virtual Event | October 17 | Virtual Attendee Hub
The Virtual Event will offer the affiliate-led breakout sessions we know and love, as well as role-based networking, HMG National Center update, keynote address, speed networking, and more. The Virtual Event aims to share affiliate-led strategies, ideas, tips, tricks, and cautionary tales, with breakout sessions focused on showcasing how HMG systems around the country are implementing the Model. Everyone across the HMG community is encouraged to attend the HMG Virtual Event, and it is especially valuable for those working for HMG systems, community partners, and all those interested in gaining more knowledge around HMG implementation strategy.
The Virtual Event will be held on Tuesday, October 17, 2023.
Introducing Help Me Grow National Forum Week 2023
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In-Person Summit
October 11-13
Fort Worth, TX
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Virtual Event
October 17
Virtual Attendee Hub
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Who
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HMG leaders seeking to go deep and invest in professional development to accelerate impact and outcomes of their HMG.
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Everyone who contributes to HMG’s operations, impact, and outcomes across the HMG National Affiliate Network.
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What
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Limited number of learning intensives facilitated by HMG National and key national partners leading the way in advancing system-building.
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Affiliate-led content that highlights strategies, enhancements, ideas, and Model implementation approaches that advance HMG.
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Why
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The HMG National Center is investing in ambassadors to champion learning, skill-building, idea-sharing, and impact within their HMG system.
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HMG National embraces the whole HMG community and aims to spotlight the diverse strategies affiliates use to build and improve child-serving systems.
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Registration
Registration for Forum Week 2023 is now open. Attendees have the option to register for the In-Person Summit, Virtual Event, or both through an All Access Pass. Due to limited seating capacity at the In-Person Summit, the National Center initially opened registration with a protected two-week period for HMG leads, staff, and direct partners. Registration is now open to all.
Important Dates
- Protected registration for HMG leads, staff, and direct partners ended Wednesday, July 26
- Early Bird registration ended Tuesday, August 15
- In-Person Summit registration closes Friday, September 22
- Room block reservations for In-Person Summit attendees must be made by Wednesday, September 20
- Virtual Event registration remains open through Tuesday, October 17
In-Person Summit
This fall will be our first Forum back in-person since 2019, and the experience will be new and fresh. The In-Person Summit will take place on October 11-13, 2023 in Fort Worth Texas, co-hosted by HMG North Texas.
The Summit will offer people leading HMG and their system-building partners devoted time to spend together learning from national experts, building skills critical to system change, and working on specific objectives. The Summit will also help develop deep understanding and build powerful investment in HMG among system partners from your community/state specializing in:
- Measurement and evaluation
- Grant-writing, business, and development
- Messaging, marketing, communications
- Diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice
- Policy and advocacy
Click here to learn all about the new In-Person Summit, including:
- Full agenda
- Six event themes
- Learning intensives
- Who should attend
Sponsor HMG National Forum Week 2023
The Forum Week will bring together upwards of 700 HMG affiliates and partners from across the country to connect and create new partnerships that offer insight into the direction and aspirations within the field of early childhood health and system-building. Now in its 14th year, HMG National will embrace all of our experience hosting the Forum both in-person and virtually, offering the best of all worlds through two exciting offerings:
- In-Person Summit | October 11-13 | Fort Worth, Texas
- Virtual Event | October 17 | Virtual Attendee Hub
The HMG Forum provides national visibility and an opportunity to connect with hundreds of people in early childhood system-building leadership roles across the nation, as well as with six leading national-level organizations partnering with us for this year’s event: Othering & Belonging Institute, Collective Impact Forum, Institute for Child Success, Voices for Healthy Kids, The Bridgespan Group, and Manatt Health.
Your organization has the opportunity to showcase its products and services to a broad audience of passionate advocates, including physicians, social workers, public health and child development professionals, researchers, and others.
We welcome your participation in this event as a sponsor. There are a limited number of sponsorship opportunities for this event, so please register early, and no later than September 20, 2023.
Joanna Bogin Award
Nomination period now closed.
This award recognizes those 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:
- Developing strategic partnerships;
- Enabling cross-sector efficiencies;
- Promoting appreciation for and investment in 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.
Award recipients are individuals whose efforts and advocacy have effectuated system-level advancements with appreciable and evident impact on families with young children. One individual will be selected to receive the 2023 Help Me Grow National Center’s Joanna Bogin Award.
This award honors Joanna Bogin, dear friend, beloved colleague, and first-ever manager of the HMG National Center by recognizing in others the extraordinary qualities that characterized her spirit:
- Inspirational relationship-building and interpersonal skills;
- Exceptional capacity for empathy and sensitivity;
- Keen ability to carefully listen in an open-minded manner; and
- Capacity to enable the trust and respect necessary for authentic, collaborative, impactful partnerships.
Virtual Event Call for Proposals

The Call for Proposals has closed for HMG Forum Week’s Virtual Event on October 17, 2023.
Forum Planning Committee
Every year, the HMG Forum Planning Committee (FPC) helps shape what the Forum will be and how it will run. The FPC is composed of individuals from across the HMG National Network who volunteer to represent the affiliate perspective and ensure that the Forum experience will provide maximum value to HMG affiliates.
Members of the FPC will assist the HMG National Center and our North Texas co-hosts to consider and make decisions about key elements, such as breakout session content, focuses for networking, and keynote selection.
The members of the 2023 Forum Planning Committee are:
Carmen Wenger, HMG Alaska
Kelly Annelli, Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence
Liz Randall, HMG Florida
Jessica Wood, HMG Maine
Mellody Buzalski, HMG Cass County, Michigan
Maureen Schmidt, HMG Ottawa, Michigan
Summer Merrick, HMG Onondaga, NY
Abigail Sharp, HMG North Texas, TX
Miranda Holmes, HMG North Texas, TX
Tiffini Smith, HMG North Texas, TX
Jodi West, HMG Utah
Keri Nguyen, HMG Washington
Jackie Litzau, HMG Washington
Susan Steinhofer, HMG Wisconsin
Keynote Speakers
Check back for more information coming soon!
More from Previous Help Me Grow Forums
Help Me Grow Virtual Forum 2022
Annual Help Me Grow
Virtual Forum | September 21-23, 2021
Co-Hosted with HMG Florida
The 13th Annual HMG National Virtual Forum consisted of four half-days of presentations, featuring 94 speakers and 64 sessions. Co-hosted by Help Me Grow Florida, the agenda featured HMG affiliate-led content sessions, national speakers, poster presentations, and networking opportunities.
Help Me Grow Virtual Forum 2021
Annual Help Me Grow
Virtual Forum | September 21-23, 2021
Co-Hosted with HMG Indiana
The 12th Annual HMG National Virtual Forum consisted of four half-days of presentations, featuring 107 speakers and 72 sessions. Co-hosted by Help Me Grow Indiana, the agenda featured HMG affiliate-led content sessions, national speakers, poster presentations, exhibitor booths and networking opportunities. Sessions this year included content focusing on advancing equity, Infant mental health principles, strategies for universal developmental screening, and the importance of centering parents and families in our collective work. In addition, this year’s Forum featured three Keynote and Plenary Addresses: Dr. Dina Lieser from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Dr. Wendy Ellis of the Center for Community Resilience, and Dr. David Williams from the Harvard School of Public Health.
As a safe alternative to coming together in person, the HMG National Center hosted a Virtual HMG Forum on September 20-23, 2021.
Help Me Grow Virtual Forum 2020
Annual Help Me Grow
Virtual Forum | August 10-12, 2020
The 11th Annual HMG National Virtual Forum consisted of three half-days of presentations, featuring approximately 12 hours of content. Sessions this year included content focusing on Child Health Provider engagement, Infant mental health principles, Strategies for connecting with and supporting indigenous and tribal communities, and the importance of centering parents and families in our collective work. In addition, we were delighted to welcome again, our 2019 HMG National Forum Keynote, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, for an engaging, moderated session to provide her expertise in the context of our current public health crisis, COVID-19, and our national movement for a more equitable society, in the context of Help Me Grow.
As a safe alternative to coming together in person, the HMG National Center hosted a Virtual HMG Forum on August 10-12, 2020 via Zoom Webinar. Access the recordings, slides, and materials from all sessions below.
Materials and recordings of the 2020 Virtual Forum are available to affiliates of the HMG National Network here.
Help Me Grow Forum | Archives
Questions about HMG Forum Week 2023?