Haglin retires from Northland Foundation

By Laura Butterbrodt Duluth News Tribune

Passionate. Caring. Thoughtful. Positive. Humble. Patient. Leader. Friend.

When people who know Lynn Haglin are asked to describe her, these words are repeated many times. After spending the last 29 years at the Northland Foundation as Kids Plus director, plus serving as vice president of the foundation for almost 25 years, Haglin retired July 1.

“My heart has been in this work, next to my family. My work is not just a job — it’s also my hobby,” Haglin said. “I’ve felt very fortunate to have this position over the years. It’s been a wonderful journey.”

In her nearly three decades of service to the Northland and the state of Minnesota, Haglin led the creation of 57 community-based coalitions for Kids Plus, Age to Age, Early Childhood Coalitions and the Duluth/Proctor/Hermantown Thrive Initiative. She also helped raise and administer $36 million to support and sustain community programs, plus leveraged an additional $60 million.

Haglin joined the Northland Foundation after teaching kindergarten and early childhood education, as well as working for the Duluth area’s Early Childhood Family Education program. She planned to become a principal or superintendent after raising her three sons with her husband, Reid. But when she attended the interview for the Kids Plus job, she said she immediately knew it was the job for her because it combined all of her skills, despite its requirements for long days of work and travel across the Northland’s seven Minnesota counties.

“I always felt like children were just at the heart of everything and we have to make sure that they get that good chance in life,” she said. “They need to get that good start and be supported. Every single child is valuable and matters, and that’s where my heart and focus has been all of the time.”

She helped introduce Kids Plus programming into 26 communities around the region by talking with people and hearing what the community needed. She wanted to introduce safe and healthy activities that could prevent children from facing challenges.

Tony Sertich, president of the Northland Foundation, said Haglin was one of the first people to advocate for children’s social, emotional and mental health. He credits her as the engine that brought these topics to the importance they’re regarded with today.

“She brings advocacy for the youngest of us, but then also for our region to make sure that these programs and policies work,” Sertich said. “We’ve been so fortunate to have worked with her because she has made this one of her life missions, to be a voice for groups who historically haven’t had a strong voice.”

When developing the community initiatives, Haglin wanted the programs to adapt over time as the communities’ needs changed. Some of those adaptations became separate initiatives, including the Age to Age initiative to connect youth, adults and elders in communities. She also spearheaded the volunteer Youth in Philanthropy program and the Youth Leadership Academy to empower ninth graders to get involved.

Zane Bail, chief operating officer of the Northland Foundation and longtime co-worker with Haglin, said her ability to form and keep relationships helped connect communities and organizations.

“When an opportunity comes up and Lynn puts out the call, everybody says ‘yes,’” Bail said.

Haglin heard area coordinators say they wanted more collaboration. Not only did she incorporate regular meetings with coordinators and bring Kids Plus programs together, but also Bail said the collaboration aspect is now incorporated into all of the Northland Foundation’s work to help share information and ideas across networks.

The director of the McGregor Kids Plus program, Cheryl Meld, started with the program close to the same time as Haglin. She said Haglin’s positive energy surrounding the job and her encouragement to stick with good ideas is part of what has kept Meld with Kids Plus all this time.

“We’ve got many students who now are doing amazing things because Lynn had the insight to make kids the focus and let them do the leadership,” Meld said.

Haglin said helping thousands of children learn that they have the power to be a leader has been one of her strongest driving forces. She remembers fondly all of the conferences Kids Plus participants were able to attend, where many children had their first opportunity to go to a nice dinner and hear from national speakers about youth leadership.

“The key is reaching out to young people that are the harder ones to find — the ones that are not already leading student council, are not already engaged in a million different things,” Haglin said. “It’s really about helping every young person figure out they have skills, talents and abilities that they can offer to the community and that they have leadership skills, they’re just not aware of it. Somebody’s got to encourage them and that’s what we do.”

Haglin has also been a leader for childhood development across the state of Minnesota, including helping develop the Parent Aware child care database and the Minnesota Early Childhood Initiative. She also attended national conferences where she, Bail and RaeJean Hansen, vice president of the Early Childhood Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, presented Minnesota programming as an example for other states to follow.

“She can listen and hear questions and concerns and answer them in a way that is very thoughtful and respectful, yet give a lot of really good, concrete information in a way that everybody can understand,” Hansen said.

Haglin has received several honors over the years, including the “Light a Candle” award from the Center for Early Education and Development, the Northland Newscenter Women in Leadership Award, and The Woman Today “Rosie” Leadership Award.

Haglin plans to spend her newly freed time with her family, and especially looks forward to seeing her seven grandchildren more often. She will continue to work part time for the Northland Foundation, where she will continue to build and sustain programs supporting communities. She will also continue to serve on Gov. Tim Walz’s Children’s Cabinet Advisory Council and the state’s Preschool Development Grant subcommittee. u