MNAFEE Awards
We are thrilled to announce the recipients of the 2023 MNAFEE Awards - Lois Engstrom Leadership Award, Emerging Leader Award, and Friend of the Year Award. These outstanding individuals and organization have made significant contributions to the field of early childhood and have demonstrated significant visionary and cutting-edge work to transform practices, policies, and systems at the local and state level. They reflect our mission to promote, advocate for, and strengthen parenting education, Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE), and early childhood programming in public schools.
Susan Stoner, Retired Early Childhood Program Coordinator, was chosen as the Winner of the Lois Engstrom Leadership Award for 2023. Ms. Stoner’s career spans forty years beginning in the University of Minnesota Lab School where she worked first as a teacher and then director. In 1979 she became an early childhood teacher and parent educator in the Mounds View CQE (Council on Quality Education) project. Four years later she became coordinator and continued her work until her retirement.
She has also demonstrated her commitment to parent education, Early Childhood Family Education and/or early childhood programming in public schools through her involvement in The Minnesota Association for Family and Early Education (MNAFEE) where she was a board member since the early years of the organization. She has served on the Advocacy Committee and continues her work with MNAFEE on the Conference Committee because she believes that the best way to offer excellent programming to families is to provide administrators, parent educators, and early childhood teachers with the latest research and information and the opportunity to network and learn from others. She also served on other state organizations including the Minnesota Council on Family Relations where she was part of the group who published Ethical Thinking and Practice for Parent and Family Life Educators, and the Minnesota Community Education Association. She served on the MDE Curriculum Committee and was instrumental in developing the Parent Education Core Curriculum Framework.
Learn more as you read the press release about the 2023 Lois Engstrom Leadership Award.
Susan Stoner, Retired Early Childhood Program Coordinator, was chosen as the Winner of the Lois Engstrom Leadership Award for 2023. Ms. Stoner’s career spans forty years beginning in the University of Minnesota Lab School where she worked first as a teacher and then director. In 1979 she became an early childhood teacher and parent educator in the Mounds View CQE (Council on Quality Education) project. Four years later she became coordinator and continued her work until her retirement.
She has also demonstrated her commitment to parent education, Early Childhood Family Education and/or early childhood programming in public schools through her involvement in The Minnesota Association for Family and Early Education (MNAFEE) where she was a board member since the early years of the organization. She has served on the Advocacy Committee and continues her work with MNAFEE on the Conference Committee because she believes that the best way to offer excellent programming to families is to provide administrators, parent educators, and early childhood teachers with the latest research and information and the opportunity to network and learn from others. She also served on other state organizations including the Minnesota Council on Family Relations where she was part of the group who published Ethical Thinking and Practice for Parent and Family Life Educators, and the Minnesota Community Education Association. She served on the MDE Curriculum Committee and was instrumental in developing the Parent Education Core Curriculum Framework.
Learn more as you read the press release about the 2023 Lois Engstrom Leadership Award.
Amal Omar-Samatar was honored with the Minnesota Association for Family and Early Education 2023 Emerging Leader Award. The award identifies rising leaders employed under five years in the fields of parent education, Early Childhood Family Education and/or early childhood programming in public schools in Minnesota.
Ms. Omar-Samatar is an exemplary rising leader in the field of parent education, serving as a licensed parent educator in the Minneapolis Public Schools ECFE program for four years. She currently teaches all classes for Somali families including home visits and phone consultations as well as outreach to increase enrollment. She has taken on projects such as developing a new parent education curriculum and serving on the bargaining team for Minneapolis Federation of Teachers. Prior to this she worked in her local community for more than 15 years supporting families and children in organizations such as Lyndale Neighborhood Association and People’s Center Clinics and Services.
Ms. Omar-Samatar sees her future role in the field to be a changemaker and cultural broker for all families. She would also love to create culturally relevant curricula and authentic spaces where equity and inclusion are best practice. We are so pleased that she is part of our future.
Learn more as you read the press release about the 2023 Emerging Leader Award.
Amal Omar-Samatar was honored with the Minnesota Association for Family and Early Education 2023 Emerging Leader Award. The award identifies rising leaders employed under five years in the fields of parent education, Early Childhood Family Education and/or early childhood programming in public schools in Minnesota.
Ms. Omar-Samatar is an exemplary rising leader in the field of parent education, serving as a licensed parent educator in the Minneapolis Public Schools ECFE program for four years. She currently teaches all classes for Somali families including home visits and phone consultations as well as outreach to increase enrollment. She has taken on projects such as developing a new parent education curriculum and serving on the bargaining team for Minneapolis Federation of Teachers. Prior to this she worked in her local community for more than 15 years supporting families and children in organizations such as Lyndale Neighborhood Association and People’s Center Clinics and Services.
Ms. Omar-Samatar sees her future role in the field to be a changemaker and cultural broker for all families. She would also love to create culturally relevant curricula and authentic spaces where equity and inclusion are best practice. We are so pleased that she is part of our future.
Learn more as you read the press release about the 2023 Emerging Leader Award.
The Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) was chosen as winner of the Friend of the Year Award for 2023. SMIF's entire region has a population of over 755,000 which covers the 20 counties of Southern Minnesota (Blue Earth, Brown, Dodge, Faribault, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Houston, LeSueur, Martin, Mower, Nicollet, Olmsted, Rice, Sibley, Steele, Wabasha, Waseca, Watonwan, and Winona.) The programs, grant making and technical support are given throughout the 20 county region which includes approximately 100 school districts. The focus is on developing effective strategies to address the needs of the region which include high quality training, technical assistance, grants, funding and the necessary resources to support the early childhood care and education field.
SMIF invests over $1.5 million annually to support a variety of early childhood development projects and programs. They clearly see the connection between investing in our youngest children – to prepare them to be the workers, entrepreneurs, and leaders of tomorrow. An example of that is the New Prague school district which received over $50,000 from SMIF to help fund projects that positively impact families with young children. Their support provided: social emotional learning bags, parent resources totes, equipment for our gym, parent resource website, tuition money for scholarships to service more students, children's books for low income families, screening, little libraries in area businesses, kick off to kindergarten activity kits and this is just one school district! Their support has made a positive impact with thousands of families with young children not only in New Prague but across the southern region of Minnesota.
The dedication and commitment of Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation helps ensure that the quality of the programming and services we provide to families of our youngest children continues for years to come.
Learn more as you read the press release about the 2023 Friend of the Year Award.