Meet our 2025 Home Visitors of the Year Nominees

Celebrating home visiting & the professionals who make this field so special.

Celebrating our 2025 Home Visitor of the Year Nominees 

The call for nominees to name five national Home Visitors of the Year was heard loud and clear, far and wide. We were blown away by the quality and diverse range of home visitors nominated by supervisors, colleagues and friends of the industry.  

National Home Visiting Week (April 21-25, 2025)—the inaugural initiative to raise awareness of home visiting and the special people who make it so impactful —provided the perfect opportunity to celebrate some of the home visiting rockstars across the nation.  

While we made the very difficult decision to select five “winners,” it became clear that so many home visitors deserved this recognition. Get to know more about these fantastic, qualified home visitors through just pieces of their nominations.

What an impressive, compassionate and inspiring group of home visitors. Happy National Home Visiting Week!

Erica Ryan, Cape Head Start and Early Head Start (Evansville, IN) 

“Erica Ryan has excellent relationships with her families and is very dedicated to them and helping them excel. She goes above and beyond daily and has demonstrated great love, compassion, and support for not only the families she works with but also her community and coworkers.” 

Cierra Nicole Sweet, Merced County Department of Public Health (Merced, CA) 

“Cierra Sweet recently received her master’s degree in social work, and even with doing her graduate work, she took on additional responsibilities in her normal work schedule to help assist the families of our community. Cierra is essential to our team and brings with her an abundance of mental health and social work skills, not only to serve her clients but also to assist her fellow teammates. When conducting annual satisfaction surveys, parents commented, ‘She is very attentive, great at her job and has a great attitude’ and ‘she is quick with resources and always asking if we need anything.’ As you can see from the photo, Cierra does whatever it takes to bring support and positivity to the families she serves.”

Juan Olivera, Imprints Care (Winston-Salem, NC) 

Juan Olivera’s colleagues opted to share a visual representation of his impact as a long-time PAT parent educator.

Karen Ivette Rosas Aguilera, Nebraska Children's Home Society (Council Bluffs, IA) 

Karen Ivette Rosas Aguilera, Nebraska Children's Home Society (Council Bluffs, IA) 

“I would like to nominate Karen Rosas-Aguilera for her dedication, commitment, and integrity in working in home visiting. She can serve English and Spanish speaking families that enroll in the program. Karen has supported families in their parenting journey as first-time parents and families with multiple children who feel need extra support in their new parenting experience. One of her personal goals as a Family Resource Specialist is to ensure that families become self-sufficient and feel confident. One of her families shared that ‘Karen is such an amazing woman to work with. She is so uplifting and kind. There have been times when I thought my baby was behind on her skills and Karen constantly reminds me that I’m doing a great job as a mom.

‘Another one of her families described Karen as ‘comforting because I can speak to her in English and Spanish at the same time, and super-fast because that is just how I talk, and she can keep up with me. Karen ‘gets me.’ She always makes me feel better after we talk, and I always feel supported by her. I guess she is just ‘amazing.’”

Heather Sandlin, Mid Buchanan R-V (Gower, MO) 

Heather Sandlin, Mid Buchanan R-V (Gower, MO) 

“Heather Sandlin is a lone ranger in her school district, just like me in my school district. The first week of school she reached out to me via email and was so nice and welcoming. She told me to reach out anytime and suggested we collaborate on some group connections. When I needed to observe a visit, she was more than happy to let me tag along. Once we met up, she had a bag full of pamphlets, books, helpful links, websites and information for me. During the visit, it was clear she had taken the time to get to know the family well and had built a strong relationship with them. She went above and beyond to help me transition into my new role as a Parent Educator. She didn't have to reach out or offer up her time to help me, but she did. We all need to help build each other up and she is the perfect example of that.”

Robin Lloyd, Show Me Strong Families (St. Louis, MO) 

Robin Lloyd, Show Me Strong Families (St. Louis, MO) 

“As a PAT parent educator for nearly 30 years, Robin has dedicated her professional career to partnering with families, teens and young children in underserved and under-resourced communities in the St. Louis region. Within the last 4 years, she has become a certified full-spectrum doula, lactation educator, safe sleep educator, perinatal mood disorder and perinatal grief and loss specialist, as well as a national trainer in the Parents as Teachers model. 

‘Robin is an excellent trainer, mentor and relationship builder. The work of home visiting is founded on trust; Robin is so successful in her work because she is able to build trusting relationships with families when they are often at their most vulnerable. She offers resources and guidance, always meeting families where they are, and makes sure to let the families lead their interactions, valuing and respecting each individual family’s norms, values and culture. Robin is very well respected by her peers and is an incredibly hard worker. Finally, we should note that Robin’s journey as a breast cancer survivor has deeply influenced her commitment to making a lasting impact. Her battle with cancer was a turning point—one that fueled her passion for supporting families.” 

Susan Reinhardt, Hickory Schools (Conover, NC) 

“Susan is always encouraging and motivating, not only to the families she serves, but also to our staff. She had a vision over 5 years ago for our program to have a playgroup program. She wrote up the proposal to our funder, wrote grants, visited existing playgroups and pursued this dream for our program. Today, we have three weekly playgroups in various locations in our county. Susan has been instrumental in growing this outreach and providing a welcoming environment each week. She is dedicated to the weekly playgroups while serving a full caseload as a home visitor. Susan has touched countless lives and improved parenting practices and outcomes for even the most at-risk families and children. The quotes below serve as just a few examples of Susan’s impact in our community:” 

‘Even on my worst days as a parent when I knew I was failing miserably and felt like giving up, Susan made me feel seen, empowered and like I was Super Mom!!! Susan had a profound impact on the mother and woman I am today, and she will forever be a special part of our lives.’ 

Tracy Robinson, LSR7 (Lee’s Summit, MO) 

“Tracy Robinson is always willing to lend a helping hand or provide advice or feedback. As a newer parent educator, I have a lot of questions, and Tracy is always warm, welcoming and happy to answer. Tracy is also incredibly organized and keeps our monthly audits and group connections running smoothly! Our program is incredibly lucky to have her passion, dedication and commitment.

‘Tracy has been an amazing support for our family. We have been with her for three years, and she has worked with all four of our kids. She answered questions when we weren't sure what to do, listened to us when we were going through tough phases and reassured us that we continue to be great parents. We know that we can call or text her at any time, with anything we might need, and she will offer whatever assistance she can! When our twins were in the NICU, she even dropped off a meal for our family. Being a Parent Educator is more than just a job for her! She truly cares about her families.”

Hannah Colvin, LSR7 (Raymore, MO) 

“Hannah is a third-year Parent Educator at Lee’s Summit’s Parents as Teachers Program and is a fluent Spanish speaker. Since joining our team, she has taken on additional responsibilities to help our ELL families feel welcome, supported and an important part of our community. Hannah is able to help families understand educational processes in a way that helps parents feel confident that they have a part in their child’s education without a language barrier. She is present at all our group connections to make sure our Spanish speaking families feel welcome and comfortable, as well as connecting them to other families in the community who speak the same language.” 

Gaby Farias, Kirkwood Parents as Teachers (Kirkwood, MO) 

“I have worked with Gaby for over 8 years and continue to learn every day from her. Not only does she go above and beyond with our community families, but English is her second language, and she goes above and beyond working with Spanish speaking families. She is always going the extra mile and is such a creative problem solver for the unique challenges these families face. She works tirelessly to make sure these families are connected to the resources they need and that they feel like they belong. She is also a lifelong learner and is currently going through the certification process for Home Visitors. Most importantly, Gaby does all of this with a smile and huge heart.” 

 

Selena Hanus, NCHS (Omaha, Nebraska)

“I have supervised Selena for 2.5 years, and I strongly believe she is a prime candidate because of her dedication and commitment to the families on her caseload.

For example, Selena currently has a family who is set to graduate from the Healthy Families America program this summer when the child turns five. However, Selena wanted to support the parent as her child transitions to kindergarten. She has asked if this family could stay enrolled for a few more months past the child’s fifth birthday to support the parent with school readiness, transitions and routines. Selena also feels very enthusiastic about safe sleep, which is a great fit for the program’s Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) committee.

Additionally, she has a family whose daughter has been diagnosed with autism and was referred to Pre-K special education services. The parents shared they do not believe their child is autistic but have let their daughter attend anyway. Selena touched base with a child behavior therapist and the Pre-K teacher for tips in supporting the parents in understanding how their daughter’s brain works, reminding them this is not a “bad” diagnosis but that her brain just processes information differently.”

What an impressive, compassionate and inspiring group of home visitors. Happy National Home Visiting Week!