The Child Advocate Award honors an individual who has demonstrated a continued commitment to the well-being of children and families in the community as well as to the advancement of children’s issues through volunteer or professional services and/or public advocacy. Local advocates are nominated and a winner is selected by a committee comprised of a previous winner, a ReadyKids board member and stakeholder, and a community practitioner/partner.
ReadyKids Child Advocate Award
Jessica Carter
2025 Winner
From correctional officer to counselor, from juvenile detention centers to community programs, Jessica has been a fierce advocate for at-risk youth. In 2019, she co-founded a therapeutic mentoring business supporting families across Virginia. Then, in 2020, she launched HER SPORTS, breaking barriers for girls in athletics—because every young woman deserves a shot.
Sara Robinson
2024 Winner
Sara Robinson has served youth and families in a variety of settings, from an alternative-to-incarceration program in the Bronx, to intensive in-home services at Region Ten CSB, and later as outpatient clinician at Charlottesville High School. She sits on the steering committee of the Greater Charlottesville Trauma-Informed Community Network, and serves as the Vice-Chair of the Board for the Virginia Community Response Network. Currently, Sara is the Director of Child & Family Outpatient and Crisis Services, as well as Director of Adult Access and Clinical Services at Region Ten and lecturer at UVA.
Destiny Moore
2023 Winner
Destiny Moore is the founder of Growth Mindsets, a youth mentorship program. Founded in 2021, Growth Mindsets’ immersive programs provide unique personal growth and development opportunities. Through a holistic, community-engaged approach, Growth Mindsets helps youth develop their talents, encourages a “can-do attitude,” and teaches self advocacy. Moore created this organization to provide youth with mentoring opportunities and social- emotional support from people who look the same, sound the same, and have the same lived experiences as they do.
Mary Sullivan
2022 Winner
Mary A. Sullivan, M.Ed. directs adolescent advocacy, education, and outreach efforts for the UVA Teen and Young Adult Health Center. She is appreciated for providing clinical care with competence and compassion. Mary strives to connect teens and young adults (and those who care for and about them) with the varied resources and services they deserve and need.
Due to COVID, there was no lunch in 2021. We got to celebrate our 2020 and 2022 winners at our 2022 Community Lunch.
Valerie Goodman
2020 Winner
Valerie Goodman is an IBC Lactation Consultant at UVA. Prior to becoming a IBCLC in 2005, Valerie worked as a nurse in the NICU. She was a founding member of the UVA Breastfeeding Medicine Program and has supported families to reach their feeding goals in challenging hospital settings.