Healthy Teen Network is pleased to announce that Miki Rutledge has been selected to receive the Healthy Teen Network 2018 Outstanding Former Teen Parent Award.

Miki has been the Maternity Group Home Specialist at Project Oz in Bloomington, Illinois, since 2015, serving 18-23 year-old mothers experiencing homelessness. Her role in the transitional housing program provides opportunities for pregnant and parenting youth to reach their full potential by becoming increasingly self-sufficient through individual and group case management. Miki first began her professional career as a high school teacher and later found her passion to empower and connect with youth through human services. She has worked with low income, at-risk youth for over 10 years and has developed a strong network of supportive community partners. Miki’s passion for making a difference in the lives of teen moms stems from her personal experiences, and she continues leading by example while raising her daughter, a 19 year-old college student athlete.

A friend and colleague sums up beautifully why Miki deserves recognition for her tireless efforts on behalf of young parents:

“Miki has taken her own personal trials, struggles, challenges, and successes, and transformed these instances into a life of helping youth persevere through their own adversity and celebrate their own worth.  As the Healthy Teen Network seeks to honor and give recognition in the form of this Outstanding Teen Parent Award, I can truly think of no greater individual to nominate – not only because she has persevered in such a way as to realize her own success, but even more so because she lives her life and has dedicated her profession to ensuring young people who experience similar struggles have the same, and greater, opportunities to realize this same achievement for themselves.”

And as another colleague puts it, “Miki truly deserves to be recognized as the outstanding Teen Parent Award recipient.  And if you don’t agree, I challenge you to contact one of her clients that she has helped in her life, and they will prove you wrong!”

Healthy Teen Network is honored to celebrate Miki and present this year’s Outstanding Former Teen Parent award on Tuesday, October 23, 2018, during the awards luncheon at the Hyatt Mission Bay Spa & Marina in San Diego, CA.