Ginger Ward

Ginger Ward is the founder and chief executive officer of Southwest Human Development. Founded in 1981 with a staff of only six serving 175 children and families, Southwest Human Development has grown to be Arizona’s largest nonprofit dedicated to early childhood development with 900 employees, serving 140,000 children, families and professionals each year.

Under Ginger’s direction, the agency has established a national reputation for leadership and high-quality services in the early childhood fields of education, mental health, family support, disabilities services and professional development. Ginger has made a significant contribution to the early childhood field in Arizona by ensuring that the latest best practices and research are used to create programs and educate parents, professionals and policymakers about the importance of children’s earliest years to later development.

Ginger sits on a variety of boards and committees charged with forming policy and improving services for children and families, including the Alliance for Early Learning Success, Arizona State Alliance Team, Child Care Advisory Committee-State of Arizona, Educare Arizona Board of Directors, Educare Governance Council, Governor’s Council on Child Safety and Family Empowerment Prevention Subcommittee, Healthy Families Steering Committee, Maricopa County Family Support Alliance Steering Committee and the ZERO TO THREE National Board of Directors.