Dr. Talia Hatzor: 2025 Emily Fenichel Award Honoree

Each year, the New York Zero-to-Three Network honors an unsung hero in the early childhood field with the Emily Fenichel Award. At our 2025 Annual Conference, we proudly presented this year’s Sixteenth Annual Emily Fenichel Award to Dr. Talia Hatzor, a gifted educator, mentor, innovator, and champion for New York State’s youngest children and their families.

[Continued from newsletter]

Nominated by her colleague Dr. Miriam Steele, Dr. Hatzor is a psychologist and psychoanalyst whose work spans clinical care, education, and global advocacy. She leads the Parent Infant Psychotherapy (PIP) training program at Columbia University, preparing professionals worldwide to support families in vulnerable contexts—from war zones to NYC shelters. Through her leadership at Early Starters International, she has created trauma-informed support programs for migrant mothers and babies, offering healing and hope through psychodynamic frameworks.

Dr. Hatzor’s lifelong dedication reflects the spirit of the award’s namesake, Emily Fenichel—an energetic pioneer, nurturer of leaders, and longtime editor of Zero to Three Journal. We are honored to recognize Dr. Hatzor for her extraordinary commitment to strengthening the earliest relationships and lifting up families through innovation, compassion, and expertise.