Outstanding Achievement Award Recipient
College of Education and Human Development, August 11, 2025
Marti Farrell Erickson earned her PhD in educational psychology in 1984 from the University of Minnesota. She is a current participant in the U.S. State Departments’ Mandela Washington Reciprocal Exchange. At the University of Minnesota, she helped develop the STEEP (Steps Toward Effective, Enjoyable Parenting) program, an initiative for high-risk parents and infants. The program has supported families throughout the US, Europe, Africa, and other places around the world. In 1991, Dr. Erickson instituted the Children, Youth, and Family Consortium (CYFC) to share well-being expertise throughout Minnesota. Beyond her esteemed work at the University, she co-lead U.S. Vice President Al Gore’s Family Re-Union policy initiative for eight years and co-chaired Hillary Clinton’s National Task Force on Early Learning & the Arts. Dr. Erickson continues to share her expertise on NBC’s KARE-TV News and her Mom Enough podcast, which launched in 2010. In closing, former U.S. Vice President Gore stated in support of Dr. Erickson’s nomination, “Marti’s long and distinguished career has changed lives and strengthened families around the world.”
Biographies are as-of time of award presentation.