BATON ROUGE, La. — Women in Government Relations (WGR) honored two members of the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children (LPIC), a nonpartisan research and policy organization, at its 2026 Excellence in Advocacy Awards, presented Sept. 3 during the organization’s Leadership & Advocacy Conference in Washington, D.C.
Mattilyn Karst Batson, LPIC’s Policy and Research Director, received the Advocate on the Rise award, given to those with fewer than eight years in the field whose early work is already shaping outcomes.
Victoria Gudino, LPIC’s Communications Manager, received the award for Excellence in Communications in an Advocacy Campaign for her work on Louisiana Early Ed Month.
The Excellence in Advocacy Awards are selected by peer review, with WGR members scoring nominations against a standard matrix. This year’s honorees came from national trade associations, federal issue campaigns, and state coalitions across the country. Two of the eight went to Louisiana, and both to the same team.
“What a national panel recognized that evening is what we see in Mattilyn and Victoria every day,” said Libbie Sonnier, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children. “Mattilyn is precise with the facts and thoughtful in her approach. Victoria is creative in how our work travels and is consumed, so that more of Louisianians can reach it.”
“Excellence is being recognized here because excellence is the standard,” Sonnier said. “We are a research and policy organization, and Louisiana’s children deserve analysis that holds up under scrutiny and communication that informs communities and families, and shapes the policy that follows.”
Batson directs the organization’s policy work, the analysis that supports LPIC’s legislative agenda, and its public reporting of the state of early childhood education in Louisiana.
Gudino directed the communications strategy for Louisiana Early Ed Month, LPIC’s statewide annual campaign for investment in early childhood education. The fifth annual observance included 12 in-person and virtual events, child care center tours across six regions, a parent advocacy training, the release of a statewide poll of Louisiana parents, and a business briefing on child care and the state economy.
