Honorees in Practice, Policy, and Research leading the way for innovation in infant and early childhood mental health

The Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) Emerging Leadership Awards acknowledge the efforts of early and mid-career professionals with 5-15 years of experience who have made significant contributions to the field of infant and early childhood mental health. Recipients demonstrate significant visionary and cutting-edge work to transform practices, policies, and systems at the local, state, or national level in promoting IECMH.

ZERO TO THREE will present the Emerging Leadership Awards on September 14th, 2022 at the organization’s virtual

LEARN Conference.

Practice Award: Erin Henderson Lacerdo LCSW, IMH-E® Clinical

Erin Henderson Lacerdo is the first executive director for the Association for Infant Mental Health (AIMH) in Hawai‘i, where she was responsible for creating the state’s first agency focused on promoting IECMH. She previously sat on the AIMH Hawai‘i Board of Directors for eight years, where she co-developed and led the Promising Minds Fellows Program, the only statewide program aimed at building an IECMH-focused direct service and consultation workforce. Her model focuses on creating capacity for early childhood providers to understand and embrace the basic tenets of IECMH, building a system of consultants able to provide support to those working with the 0-5 age group, and collaboratively support the work in perpetuity. She is recognized for her deep clinical experience in infant and early childhood mental health and dedication to promoting and integrating infant mental health practices in state systems and policy.

Research Award: Dr. Holly Hatton-Bowers, PhD

Dr. Holly Hatton-Bowers is an assistant professor in child, youth, and family studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and an early childhood extension specialist. Dr. Hatton-Bowers is recognized for her career in co-creating and implementing programs, such as the Cultivating Healthy Intentional Mindful Educators (CHIME) program, that aim to enhance the quality of early childhood development and care, with a focus on mental health, emotional well-being, and social-emotional development. These programs cultivate reflective practice, resilience, mindfulness, and compassion among caregivers, helping professionals and families while addressing issues of systemic inequities in early care and education. With Dr. Hatton-Bowers’ leadership, these programs have been implemented in early childhood programs across the state of Nebraska, and in several other locations across the country, as well as in Brazil, such that over 3,000 early childhood professionals have been trained in mindfulness and reflective techniques that decrease stress and enhance self-regulation to facilitate sensitive and responsive interactions with children.