Healthy Teen Network mourns the loss of a true advocate for youth, Barbara Huberman. Saturday, May 17, 2014, Barbara passed away peacefully, with her family by her side, after battling cancer. A legend in the field of adolescent sexual and reproductive health, Barbara dedicated her career, over a 50-year span, to empowering youth to lead healthy sexual and reproductive lives.

Barbara was a nurse, certified sexuality educator and counselor, and one of the first Lamaze childbirth instructors and trainers in the U.S. She was an accomplished author, publishing books, curricula, and tools on topics such as organizational sustainability, adolescent sexual and reproductive health, parent-child communication about sex, state councils on teen pregnancy prevention, and European approaches to adolescent sexuality. Well-known for founding the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Campaign of North Carolina (APPCNC) in the late 80s, Barbara also served as invaluable resource for Healthy Teen Network (then, the National Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Parenting, and Prevention, or NOAPPP) Board of Directors from 1987 to 1990.

Barbara played many other founding roles, as a board member for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, as well as initiating two public education campaigns, National Month to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, held in May, and Let’s Talk Month—an international campaign held each October to support parents and families in their roles as sexuality educators of their children. Barbara worked tirelessly with many states to found coalitions on teen pregnancy prevention, building their capacity to better support youth. Barbara closed her career as the National Director of Education and Outreach for Advocates for Youth and the coordinator of the Rights. Respect. Responsibility. national campaign, based on the lessons learned from conducting annual study tours to Western Europe. In homage to her vast contributions to improving youth health and well-being, Healthy Teen Network recognized Barbara with the 2013 Carol Mendez Cassell Award for Excellence in Sexuality Education.

It is with sadness but also awe that we remember Barbara. Listing her accomplishments fails to illustrate the tremendous impact she has made on our field. Barbara was a real personality, whether sharing her famous condom bag, or teaching others to knit. Barbara always had a smile and a helping hand to give. It is her warmth, as well as her wisdom, that we will miss.