Once a month we present a snapshot of the travel, presentations, and honors received by the talented and dedicated staff of the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health from the previous month.
Vicky Coffee, director of foundation initiatives, took part in the “Look Good, Feel Good” Mental Health Education Symposium on October 12 in Austin. This interactive learning experience provided an evening of fashion, fun, and empowerment to encourage self-love and acceptance. The fashion show featured the creative designs of talented students and emerging fashion designers aimed at celebrating #BodyPositivity, #BodyDiversity, and #BodyAppreciation.
Vicky also represented the Hogg Foundation at the 10th Annual Healthy Minds Healthy Families Conference on October 25 in Houston. With support from a Hogg Foundation Varner-Bayou Bend Heritage Fund grant, the Harris County Department of Education’s Healthy Minds Healthy Children project provides families and caregivers with tools and resources to training initiative to increase knowledge of children’s mental health among non-mental health professionals who work with children in Houston and Harris County. This year’s conference theme was “Wellness Jubilee: Celebrating a Decade of Strengthening Minds and Families.”
Rick Ybarra, senior program officer, conducted a site visit at the Children’s Grief Center of El Paso (CGC) to meet with executive director Kathy Revtyak and program director Janine Gallinar. CGC is a grantee partner in our Communities for Children (CFC) initiative which supports the enhancement or expansion of existing programs focused on positively impacting well-being, improving academic achievement, and providing relief from COVID-19 for students of color and their families. The CGC’s impact on the well-being of children in the El Paso community continues to grow. In recent years, the organization has built out a more robust continuum of care, developed new relationships and strengthened existing partnerships in the El Paso community, and seen tremendous growth in the number of clients and families served.
Crystal Viagran, director of foundation administration, Lexi Arons, grants coordinator, and Amy Loar, assistant director of the Texas Grants Resource Center, participated in the 2024 Austin-Central Texas Grant Professionals Association Funders Forum, “The Impact of Philanthropy: Grants, Giving, and Social Change” on October 18. Crystal served on the panel “The Impact of Foundations and Social Needs” with Amy Merida, executive director of the Central Texas Community Foundation and Victoria Threadgould, grants director of Ascension Seton Foundation. Lexi and Amy led the Relationship Relays with area funders, four sessions of forty minutes answering questions and sharing information with Central Texas area non-profits.
Alison Mohr Boleware, director of policy, spoke on behalf of the Hogg Foundation at the 75th annual Philanthropy Southwest conference on October 17. Together with Perri Rosheger, vice president of community engagement at the H. E. Butt Foundation, she addressed “Philanthropy’s Footprint in Policy: Foundations Engaging in State Legislature,” highlighting the Hogg Foundation’s Mental Health Policy Fellows and Policy Academy and policy engagement with Texas legislators.
Alison also helped organize the 2024 Behavioral Health Policy Summit cosponsored by the Hogg Foundation and the Texas Coalition for Healthy Minds on October 10. The gathering brought together experts in the field of behavioral health policy to learn more about upcoming mental health and substance use disorder priorities for the 89th Texas Legislature, providing a unique platform to exchange ideas and shape the future of behavioral health policy.