Dr. Artika Tyner Honored With Nancy Latimer Award for Early Literacy and Justice Work

Dr. Artika R. Tyner, the award-winning author, educator, attorney and founder of Planting People Growing Justice Leadership Institute (PPGJLI), has received the Nancy Latimer Award at the 2026 Little Moments Count Annual Conference.

The award honors Minnesota early childhood champions whose leadership reflects Nancy Latimer’s legacy of service, innovation, advocacy, mentorship and commitment to the well-being of the state’s youngest children.

Tyner, a nationally recognized literacy advocate and founding member of the African American Babies Coalition, has built a career around advancing educational equity, expanding access to early childhood literacy and dismantling the cradle-to-prison pipeline. Her work is grounded in a single conviction: Every child deserves the opportunity to read, lead and succeed.

“I’m truly honored to receive this award,” Tyner said. “This award represents a remarkable legacy, the legacy of Nancy Latimer. It is a legacy of service, a legacy of commitment and a legacy of hope for the future. As we invest in early childhood education by leveraging our time, our talent and our treasures, we are inspiring hope for generations to come.”

Transforming Lives Through Early Literacy

As founder and executive director of PPGJLI, Tyner has built a movement focused on promoting literacy, cultivating leadership and creating educational opportunities for children and families. Programs such as Leaders are Readers bring generations together through community reading circles, culturally relevant children’s books and family-centered literacy enrichment.

Over the past decade, PPGJLI has distributed more than 50,000 books and reached more than 12,000 children and families, working to close literacy gaps and expand access to educational resources.

“In my work at Planting People Growing Justice Leadership Institute, we create change one book at a time and one child at a time as we help promote early literacy and build intergenerational reading circles,” Tyner said.

As a founding member of the African American Babies Coalition, Tyner has also championed efforts to improve outcomes for African American infants, young children and families, emphasizing investment in children during their earliest years and addressing the systemic inequities that limit educational opportunity.

Breaking the Cradle-to-Prison Pipeline

Tyner’s commitment to early childhood education connects directly to her broader mission of dismantling the cradle-to-prison pipeline. Growing up in St. Paul’s historic Rondo community, she saw firsthand how systemic inequities in education and the criminal justice system shape the lives of children and families.

As an attorney and educator, she recognized the connection between literacy, educational opportunity and justice. That understanding led her to build community-centered solutions designed to address literacy disparities before they become lifelong barriers.

Her approach is prevention-focused, placing early literacy, family engagement and educational equity at the center of community-building work. Investing in early childhood education, she argues, is an investment in justice, opportunity and the future of entire communities.

Making HOPE an Action Verb

In accepting the award, Tyner challenged conference attendees to turn hope into action.

“My leadership challenge for you today is that we reclaim the very essence of HOPE by seeing it as an action verb that compels us to build a brighter future for our children,” she said. “A commitment that we won’t wait for tomorrow, but TODAY we will invest in their health, their education and their overall well-being. This award represents my commitment to that mission.”

About Dr. Artika R. Tyner

Tyner is an award-winning author, educator, attorney and internationally recognized leadership scholar. A fifth-generation native of St. Paul’s historic Rondo community, she is the founder of Planting People Growing Justice Leadership Institute and the author of more than 40 books. Her work focuses on literacy justice, educational equity, leadership development and community empowerment.

About Planting People Growing Justice Leadership Institute

PPGJLI is a St. Paul-based nonprofit dedicated to planting seeds of social change through education, training and community outreach. Through early literacy initiatives, intergenerational reading circles, culturally relevant books and leadership development programs, the organization works to help children and families build brighter futures, one child and one book at a time.

Learn more at ppgjli.org.

Dr. Artika R. Tyner writes the First Educator column for the MSR.