Higginbotham wins 2026 Carolyn C. Mattingly workplace mental health award

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and The Luv u Project named Higginbotham the 2026 winner of the Carolyn C. Mattingly Award for Mental Health in the Workplace. Five other organizations received honorable mention, and the awards will be presented Nov. 19 in Maryland.

Why it matters: - The award highlights employers that are treating worker mental health as a business issue, not just a benefits perk. - The recognition spotlights organizations using workplace programs to support employee well-being and organizational resilience. - The award program is meant to give other employers a model for mental health support at work.

What happened: - Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and The Luv u Project announced the 2026 winners of the Carolyn C. Mattingly Award for Mental Health in the Workplace on Sept. 23, 2026. - Higginbotham, a Fort Worth, Texas-based insurance and financial services firm founded in 1948, was named the year’s award winner. - Five organizations received honorable mention: Baltimore City Police, Harris Health, McGohan Brabender, Norton Healthcare and Union Bank & Trust. - The awards will be presented at The Luv u Project’s annual event, An Evening of Luv, on Nov. 19, 2026, at Bethesda Country Club in Maryland.

The details: - Higginbotham is employee-owned and customer-inspired. - Higginbotham’s Healthy HIGG wellness program is designed to “promote, protect, and enhance the quality of life for our family of employees through leadership, accountability, and support.” - The company built a workplace mental health strategy focused on reducing stigma and supporting both individual well-being and organizational culture. - The program encourages self-awareness and open discussion of mental well-being at work. - Baltimore City Police was established in 1784 and serves as the primary law enforcement agency for Baltimore. - Harris Health is a community-owned, public academic health care system and the designated safety-net provider for Harris County, Texas. - McGohan Brabender is a benefits broker with home offices in Dayton, Ohio. - Norton Healthcare serves Greater Louisville, Southern Indiana, Kentucky and beyond. - Union Bank & Trust is a locally owned Midwestern bank. - The Mattingly Workplace Award was established by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and The Luv u Project in 2022. - The award is housed at the NIOSH-funded Johns Hopkins P.O.E. Total Worker Health® Center in Mental Health. - The award recognizes organizations that advance worker mental health and well-being and serve as role models for other employers.

Between the lines: - The award committee is elevating companies that pair culture change with measurable action on mental health. - K. Andrew Crighton, chair of the award committee, said the recognized organizations take an active role in understanding workforce mental health issues and responding strategically. - Ron Goetzel of BSPH pointed to research from the University of Oxford and Harvard University, saying employee well-being was positively associated with company profitability and stock market performance in a 2023 study of employees at 1,600 publicly listed companies. - The framing suggests workplace mental health is increasingly being tied to productivity and financial performance, not only employee experience.

What's next: - The award presentation is set for Nov. 19 at Bethesda Country Club. - More information about the Carolyn C. Mattingly Award for Mental Health in the Workplace is available here. - For questions, BSPH listed Ron Goetzel at 202-768-6236 or rgoetze1@jhu.edu, and The Luv u Project listed Rich Mattingly at 240-614-7766 or crichmatt@theluvuproject.org.

The bottom line: - Higginbotham and the honorable mentions are being recognized for turning workplace mental health into an operational priority with cultural and business impact.