Appendix A - Expert Meeting Participant List and Bios

Promoting Optimal Child Development Expert Meeting Appendix A Participant List and Bios * Indicates member of Design Team Doreen Abubakar Moira Inkelas* Sean Pinnick Debbie Allen Carmen James Charles Purnell Shikha Anand* (NICHQ) Meghan Johnson (NICHQ) Tania Rivera Sarah Berg Margot Kaplan-Sanoff Ayesha Rodriguez Renee Boynton-Jarrett* Rob Kaufold Bernadette Sangalang Alma Carver (NICHQ) Portia Kennel* Phyllis Segal Charles Daniels Brian Kilkelly Nancy Settle-Murphy Nicole DeCario Perri Klass Jonathan Small (NICHQ) Mia Doces Smith Guillaume Hilton Lamothe Lauren Smith* (NICHQ) Sarah Donohue-Rolfe (NICHQ) Rachel Levine (NICHQ) Eli Stefanski Anne Douglass* Marisa Luse Dana Suskind Steven Dow Lisa Mayberry Kim Syman Fabienne Eliacin Joe McCannon* Jane Taylor Carol Emig Matthew Melmed Bonnie Thompson Juan Carlos Ferrufino Marianne McPherson* (NICHQ) Nana Twum-Danso* Elaine Fitzgerald (NICHQ) Mike Myers Tassy Warren Christina Flythe Amanda Norton* Martha Welch Atul Gawande* Flomen Nyambi Tendong Josette Williams Shari Gold Maureen O'Neill-Davis Renee Williams Keesha Hall* Quatia Osorio Beresford Wilson Rebekka Henriksen* Leigh O’Sullivan Karla Woodworth Ira Hillman JacQúese Patterson Cesarina Zabala Emma Hopkinson (NICHQ) Timeca Peters Elaine Zimmerman Lisa Hirschhorn* Cheryl Petersen Valerie Zolezzi-Wyndham Jenn Hoos Rothberg Gary Pinkney Jr Participant Bios Doreen Abubakar, mother of 5, has been very active as a visionary in her community She has worked in the medical field for over 25 years Her motto is, if you build it, they will come Her passion is parent engagement She has founded various initiative such as: The West River Water Festival an annual event that connects the urban community that surrounds the city’s Urban Watershed This is a family event packed with watershed education, free canoe rides for families and a place where they learn about stewardship opportunities As a Parentii co-Parent Researcher, Doreen wanted to expand the initial question of what parents need to nurture their children to focus on one underserved neighborhood where she organized and developed parent leadership and parent engagement opportunities and created a network of agency, organizations and stakeholders This initiative was named CPEN (Community Parent Engagement Network) and has components: Mentoring, Financial literacy, Health and Wellness, Entrepreneurship, and Education Over the past years she was able to establish Family Fitness on the Farmington Canal She registered the site as a Community-site with the Presidential Initiative, We Can! (Ways to Enhance Children's Activity & Nutrition), a national movement designed to give curriculum and material to parents, caregivers, and entire communities as way to help children to 13 years old stay at a healthy weight For more information, visit https://familyfitness.shutterfly.com/ Deborah Allen, ScD, has been Director of the Bureau of Child, Adolescent and Family Health at the Boston Public Health Commission since July, 2008 Bureau programs include Boston’s Healthy Start and Healthy Baby/Healthy Child programs, along with early childhood mental health, school health, youth development, and community and domestic violence prevention programs Bureau programs take a holistic approach, addressing mental as well as physical health Like all programs of the Boston Public Health Commission, they emphasize elimination of health disparities as a central goal Prior to coming to the Public Health Commission, Dr Allen was Associate Professor of Maternal and Child Health at the Boston University School of Public Health and Co-Principal Investigator for the national Catalyst Center on Financing of Care for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs Before BU, she worked for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Title V program for 13 years, overseeing state programs for children with special health care needs and adults with disabilities She has a doctorate in Maternal and Child Health and master’s degrees in MCH and Health Policy and Management from the Harvard School of Public Health Shikha Anand, MD, MPH, is responsible for strategic oversight of NICHQ's programs and evaluation and guides NICHQ's content and business development strategies from a community health perspective Shikha is a pediatrician with expertise in community health and the patient centered medical home She has over 10 years of experience championing children’s health and creating innovative programs to integrate community supports with healthcare resources for underserved children to improve care for children with obesity, autism, asthma, behavioral health concerns and special healthcare needs She created the Healthy Weight Clinic, a community health model for multi-disciplinary obesity care, and the Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program, a national program to provide healthy food access for underserved families She is a graduate of Union College, Albany Medical College and Boston University School of Public Health She completed her residency training at Yale New Haven Hospital and her fellowship in general academic pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine She is a community health center pediatrician, having served for five years as the Pediatric Director at the Whittier Street Health Center in Roxbury, Mass Since 2011, she has been providing care for vulnerable families at the Codman Square Health Center in Dorchester, MA She serves on the Board of Directors of Healthcare Without Harm and Chairs the Advisory Board for Wholesome Wave's Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program Sarah Berg has more than 20 years of experience innovating across sectors and domains to improve outcomes for children and youth, with a focus on social emotional learning and technology She co-founded a digital learning company and produced a line of multi-award winning technology-delivered social-emotional learning, prevention, and health promotion tools that have reached more than one million students across the US and Canada, been proven effective in third party randomized controlled trials, and are included on SAMHSA’s NREPP and the National Dropout Prevention Center model program lists She managed a series of HHS-funded RCTs in school settings, and co-authored two published articles looking at the impact of technology on child well-being and prevention She’s consulted with leading philanthropies, nonprofits, and school systems, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Aspire Public Schools She's currently consulting with Committee for Children, exploring possibilities for pediatric primary care-implemented, tech-delivered tools to build social-emotional skills for parents of young children She has a BA from Brown University Renee D Boynton-Jarrett, MD, ScD, is a practicing primary care pediatrician at Boston Medical Center and social epidemiologist and the founding director of the Vital Village Community Engagement Network (www.vitalvillage.org) Her work focuses on the role of early-life adversities as life course social determinants of health She has a specific concentration on psychosocial stress and neuroendocrine and reproductive health outcomes, including obesity and early puberty She is interested in social ecology and the role of neighborhood attributes in influencing health trajectory Specifically, she has studied the intersection of community violence, intimate partner violence, and child abuse and neglect and neighborhood characteristics that influence these patterns Her current work is developing community-based strategies to promote child well-being and reduce child maltreatment using a collective impact approach in three Boston neighborhoods She joined the faculty at Boston University School of Medicine in 2007 and is currently an Associate Professor of Pediatrics She received her AB from Princeton University, her MD from Yale School of Medicine, ScD in Social Epidemiology from Harvard School of Public Health, and completed residency in Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins Hospital Alma Carver is a Project Manager supporting the Texas Ten Step Star Achiever Breastfeeding Learning Collaborative project Prior to joining NICHQ, she served as an intern in the Reproductive Health and Research Department of the World Health Organization Alma received her BA in Economics and Anthropology from Washington University in St Louis She graduated with a Masters in International Healthcare Management, Economics, and Policy from SDA Bocconi School of Management in Milan, Italy and completed a Global Health Delivery Intensive Certificate program at the Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School in July 2014 Charles Daniels, CEO and Founder of Fathers’ Uplift, witnessed his mother’s struggles as a single parent So, why focus on supporting low-income fathers? When Daniels thought about his father, he took an unexpected approach: “I thought about the things he was going through that prevented him from remaining active in my life,” he says “Then I said to myself, ‘What if someone had been there to help him?’ It might have made a tremendous difference.” That’s exactly the sort of difference Fathers’ Uplift is designed to deliver In his words, “If we can identify the problems that are preventing men from being in their children’s lives, we can find ways to help them work through those problems and remain engaged.” Charles’ mentor, Dr Anthony Owens from Daytona Beach, Florida, dedicated his life to making sure Charles remained on the right track; “His commitment to making sure that the problems I had at home did not outweigh my success changed my life for the best I remember his words: ‘Don’t let your negative determine your future—keep pushing.’” This is the same message Fathers’ Uplift was created to relay—and this same support and therapeutic relationship-building—to fathers in low income communities Charles holds a Bachelor’s degree from Bethune-Cookman University and a Master’s of Social Work (MSW) from the Simmons School of Social Work Charles’s wife recently gave birth to a baby boy, Clayton Charles Daniels Charles is a proud a father and husband with a mission that is deeply rooted in love Nicole DeCario is Director of Special Projects at the Bezos Family Foundation and works closely with the leadership team and staff to develop and implement new projects and programs Guided by the belief that all children deserve an opportunity to achieve their full potential and make a meaningful contribution to society, the foundation supports rigorous, inspired learning environments for young people, from birth to high school, to put their education into action Prior to making the transition from the for profit sector by joining BFF in 2011, Nicole spent seven years at Coach in New York City where she served as Manager and Advisor to the North American retail leadership Nicole received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami and will graduate with a Master of Public Administration from the University of Washington in Spring 2016 Mia Doces is the Director of New Ventures at Committee for Children, where she is responsible for identifying and supporting new avenues for broadening the organization’s mission of fostering the social-emotional development, safety and well-being of children Prior to this role, she developed and produced social-emotional learning and anti-bullying curriculum, media and adult training that is used in more than 26,000 schools worldwide She has worked on state- and national-level youth initiatives, serving on the Washington State legislative anti-bullying work group and has advised on SEL content for organizations such as Sesame Workshop, the Born This Way Foundation and Harvard GSE’s Making Caring Common initiative Ms Doces holds a BA from Vassar College and a Master’s of Education from Western Washington University She has 15 years of media production experience with an emphasis on educational media, and her work was recognized with a 2011 CINE Golden Eagle award Ms Doces worked for five years in Seattle Public Schools as a teacher and school counselor From 2007–2011, she co-chaired Prevention Works in Seattle, a Drug Free Communities coalition Sarah Donohue-Rolfe is a Senior Project Manager at NICHQ (National Institute for Children’s Health Quality) where she manages the New York State Breastfeeding Quality Improvement in Hospitals Learning Collaborative, working with 12 hospitals to improve their maternity care practices She previously supported NICHQ’s national Best Fed Beginnings Collaborative, providing assistance and guidance to 89 hospitals pursuing Baby-Friendly designation Before joining NICHQ, Sarah was a program assistant at Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education Sarah received her BA from Connecticut College and graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude Anne Douglass, PhD, is Assistant Professor in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Massachusetts at Boston where she directs the Bachelor’s degree program in Early Education and Care in Inclusive Settings, and a Post-Master’s Certificate Program in Early Education Research, Policy, and Practice Her research focuses on early childhood policy implementation, professional and leadership development, quality improvement and change process, and the role of early education and care in supporting and strengthening families and preventing abuse and neglect Her current research includes a study of trauma-informed child care practices and systems in Boston, a study of informal child care providers involved with an urban school readiness initiative, and a study of early childhood educators returning to school to earn a Bachelor's degree Her other research includes an evaluation of Boston’s Thrive in Five school readiness initiative Dr Douglass received her PhD in social policy from the Heller School at Brandeis University, her master’s degree in education from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, and her bachelor’s degree in political science from Wellesley College Steven Dow has served as Executive Director of Community Action Project (CAP) Tulsa since 1992 CAP Tulsa embraces a two-generation anti-poverty strategy which focuses on providing high-quality early childhood education coupled with comprehensive family support services CAP Tulsa serves nearly 3,000 young children in center-based early education, an additional 400 families with home visiting and operates a sector-based workforce training effort which is preparing the parents of the young children it serves for careers in the health care sector CAP Tulsa was just named by the Non-Profit Times as one of the country’s best non-profits to work for, ranking 4th place among large non-profits Steven was an Aspen Institute Ascend Fellow He serves on numerous local, state, and national boards, including: Reach Out and Read, Center for Financial Services Innovation, Oklahoma Department of Human Services Citizens Advisory Panel, Avodah: The Jewish Service Corps, Tulsa Lighthouse Charter School, and Tulsa Housing Authority Photo Not Available Fabienne Eliacin [Bio not provided] Carol Emig has spent her career working at the intersection of public policy, programs, and research related to children and youth Since 2006, she has been President of Child Trends, an independent, nonpartisan research center Child Trends improves the lives and prospects of children and youth by conducting high-quality research and applying the resulting knowledge to public policies, programs, and systems From 2002 to 2006, Carol was Executive Director of the Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care, a blueribbon panel of child welfare experts Many of the Commission’s recommendations were enacted by Congress or adopted by state agencies and state Supreme Courts Prior to this, she was Vice President for External Relations at Child Trends, where she built the organization’s public policy communications department Carol’s other professional experiences include Deputy Director of the National Commission on Children; Senior Associate at the Center for the Study of Social Policy; director of a state children’s advocacy organization; and, research assistant to First Lady Rosalynn Carter Carol has an undergraduate degree in international relations from Georgetown University and a master’s degree in public policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University Juan-Carlos Ferrufino is passionate about working on challenging projects that have a long lasting impact on people’s lives and communities His professional background is in Business, Economic Development, Multicultural Affair and Macro & Micro Lending He is currently the East Boston Collaborative for Families Consultant at the East Boston Social Center Prior to that he was the City Wide Community Based Strategies Consultant at Thrive in where he was responsible for coaching, mentoring and providing technical assistance to parent and agency leaders in the implementation of community projects In his position as the Business Development & Training Specialist for the Center for Woman & Enterprise, Juan-Carlos was responsible for the management of 28 programs, including outreach, logistics and achieving program goals JuanCarlos was also the Chairman of the education committee for the FDIC’s initiative, the Alliance for Economic Inclusion’s Education Committee, whose mission is to enhance the economic well-being of lowand moderate-income immigrants Juan-Carlos holds a BA in Business Administration from de Universidad mayor de San Andres in Bolivia and a Certificate from Boston University - School of Management JuanCarlos is originally from Bolivia, loves playing Zampona (a Bolivian pan-flute) and is the proud dad of two boys Randy and Yazi Elaine Fitzgerald, DrPH, MIA joined NICHQ is 2012 and currently serves as the Project Director for the Infant Mortality CoIIN expansion and was previously the team lead for the Texas Breastfeeding Learning Collaborative She came to NICHQ with extensive experience in domestic and international settings working in operations, research, program design, grant management, and quality improvement Elaine completed her doctoral work at Boston University School of Public Health with a focus on infant and early childhood health Her dissertation utilized quality improvement methodology to improve the capacity of perinatal home visitors to promote and support nursing mothers Elaine was the clinical supervisor for randomized clinical studies testing a community-based, cognitive intervention to reduce maternal depression among mothers with young children with special needs In addition, she directed a SAMSHA funded initiative to develop and implement an early childhood system of care in Connecticut Prior to transitioning to domestic children's health, Elaine earned her Master’s in International Affairs from Columbia University with a focus on children's rights and economic development, which led to her work with UNICEF Elaine is also a Veteran after serving as an officer in the U S Coast Guard Christina Flythe is the Senior Program Coordinator for the Parent Leadership Initiative (PLI) and National Parent Leadership Training Institute (PLTI), Long Island Originally form Nassau County, Christina comes to PLI with a passion for community She is a Huntington PLI Graduate from 2011 and brings her personal love for the program along with her expertise Christina holds a Master’s in Education from Adelphi University and a Bachelors in Psychology from Lincoln University She has gained an extensive administrative background through research and development during undergrad and while employed by the Town of Hempstead and Winthrop University Hospital She has become active in Huntington community through PLI Christina is a NPLTI Phase I Facilitator and currently volunteers as a mentor for at risk youth Christina is a member of various organizations and initiatives throughout Long Island In her personal life she is wife and mother, as well as a licensed minister Atul Gawande, MD, MPH, is a surgeon, writer, and public health researcher He practices general and endocrine surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and is professor in both the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public Health and the Department of Surgery at Harvard Medical School He is Executive Director of Ariadne Labs, a joint center for health systems innovation, and Chairman of Lifebox, a nonprofit organization making surgery safer globally Atul has been a staff writer for The New Yorker magazine since 1998 and has written three New York Times bestsellers: Complications, a finalist for the National Book Award in 2002; Better, one of the 10 best books of 2007 by Amazon.com; and The Checklist Manifesto He has won two National Magazine Awards, AcademyHealth’s Impact Award for highest research impact on healthcare, a MacArthur Fellowship, and the Lewis Thomas Award for writing about science His latest book is Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End Keesha Hall is a highly engaged mother of four who has taken an active role in advocating for early childhood and special education services because of the profound impact they have had on her family In recent years, Ms Hall has formalized her advocacy efforts by assuming a leadership role within an alumni network specifically formed to strengthen and amplify the social network of families whose children formerly attended Educare Early Learning Center in Chicago Although her children left the program operated by The Ounce of Prevention Fund several years ago, Keesha remains connected through the Educare Chicago Alumni Network (ECAN) to provide mentorship to parents as their children enter the elementary education system, encourage families to share resources and knowledge throughout the network/city and to continue to evolve as a parent leader Rebekka Henriksen is a graduate of Smith College, and after a varied career, is now a stay at home mother to three young boys, ages 6, and almost In addition to acting as Mother Faculty for the Breastfeeding Quality Improvement in Hospitals initiative that NICHQ is overseeing for New York State, she volunteers as a La Leche League leader A long time meditation instructor in the Shambhala Buddhist tradition, she has lead a mindful parenting group since the birth of her eldest son Mindful, positive parenting and transforming familial patterns of dysfunction and trauma are a source of daily inspiration and work for her Ira Hillman leads the Einhorn Family Charitable Trust's parenting and early childhood portfolio, working closely with current partners and identifying new partners who share the Einhorn Family Charitable Trust’s vision for building nurturing environments that foster social and emotional learning among young children and their families Through his career and personal volunteer activities, Ira has worked with organizations to transform their operations, develop new strategies, and build stronger collaborations among stakeholder groups Prior to joining the Trust, Ira spent a decade and a half in Washington DC where he was the Chief Operating Officer and Chief of Staff for the National Breast Cancer Coalition following his tenure as the Managing Director of Round House Theatre Ira has also worked for the University of Pennsylvania, his alma mater, where he continues to serve as President of his undergraduate class and as a steering committee member for initiatives that promote multicultural outreach and engagement among Penn alumni Ira lives in New York City with his husband Jeremy and their two young children Lisa Hirschhorn MD, MPH, is Director of the Implementation and Improvement Science Platform at Ariadne Labs In this role, Lisa helps to scale-up and expand the implementation of the effective interventions developed by the programmatic research at Ariadne Labs and develop innovative approaches to measuring and improving care In addition, Lisa is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Associate Physician at the Division of Global Health Equity, and Visiting Scientist at Harvard School of Public Health Over the last 20 years, her work as focused on monitoring, evaluating, and improving access, utilization, and outcomes of care in the United States and internationally Jennifer Hoos Rothberg, is the Executive Director of the Einhorn Family Charitable Trust (EFCT) As the Trust’s Executive Director, Jenn leads the foundation’s efforts to fulfill its mission of helping people get along better Jenn oversees all aspects of the Trust, including setting its strategic priorities, monitoring progress towards goals, and building relationships with key partners to advance the foundation’s vision Jenn became the Trust’s first fulltime staff member in 2007, where she led the development of the foundation’s strategy and partnership approach to grant making Before joining the Trust, Jenn served as the development director at a nonprofit where she helped double the organization’s annual campaign and spearheaded efforts to build the organization’s development operations Jenn received her Masters Degree in Regional Planning, with a focus on community development and nonprofit management, and a B.S in Urban and Regional Studies with Honors, from Cornell University She currently serves on the board of Repair the World, and previously served on the Family Philanthropy Committee for the Council on Foundations and the board of Cornell Hillel Jenn and her husband Jonathan live in New York City with their son Elliott Emma Hopkinson is a Project Coordinator at NICHQ She is the Project Coordinator for the Texas Breastfeeding Learning Collaborative as well as for the Programs Department Before NICHQ, Emma was the Social Media and Program Coordinator at The Newton Partnership, a nonprofit advocating for at-risk young adults She graduated from the University of Denver in Denver, CO in June 2014 At Denver, Emma received a BA in International Studies, specializing in International Organizations, Security and Human Rights She also minored in Spanish and Marketing During her time in school, Emma spent a semester abroad in San Jose, Costa Rica, studying language, culture and human rights in Latin America While in school, Emma was a Project Management and Commerce intern for Softcard, a mobile technology company in NYC for two years At Softcard, she was able to file a provisional patent Before that, Emma worked for GE Capital as a marketing intern for two years 10 Smith Guillaume Hilton Lamothe, is a student at Eastern Nazarene College He works at Boston Medical Center Prior to that, he worked as a Public Relations, Clinical Health Educator and Program Coordinator in the Greater Boston Area He has worked as a Case Manager, Residential counselor, and in the health sector in different capacities He and his wife live in Boston and are the proud parents of three young boys Smith is active in the Haitian American Community of Boston where he is a board member of Haitian American United, Inc (www.HAUinc), he is also a member of Family Ministry in Action (http://www.famainc.org/) where he serves as an Assistant Executive Director He is a collaborator for Echo Evangelique (http://www.echoevangelique.org/) Aside from his personal and profession endeavors, Smith sees his faith as a conduit to serve others and as a social mandate, Glorifying God by serving others (A servant Leader Mindset) Smith is originally from Haiti, a place that gave him his first taste for community service and involvement through the work of his mother and his involvement in Christian Service Brigade (www.CSB.com) His passion is to be a change agent in the social justice, political and health field Rachel Levine is a public health researcher and evaluator with a strong interest in maternal and child health She designs and conducts qualitative and quantitative evaluation studies, including creating data collection tools such as surveys, interviews, and focus group protocols for process evaluation She is currently a Senior Analyst in the Department of Applied Research and Evaluation at NICHQ Among other projects, she is currently leading the evaluation of a national effort to reduce infant mortality She has past experience with both academic research studies and community based program evaluations In addition to conducting evaluations, Rachel has also coached and guided program staff in their own evaluation efforts Prior experience includes research on physical and mental health of low-income post-partum women and evaluating educational programs Rachel holds a Master’s Degree from the Department of Maternal and Child Health at the Harvard School of Public Health and a Bachelor’s Degree from Harvard College with a concentration in anthropology Marisa Luse is the mother of an amazing 18-month old who loves jazz, airplanes, wheels, laughing, apples and bananas Marisa has dedicated her personal life and professional career to social and economic justice, education and health equity, family engagement, violence prevention and intervention; and arts and culture for neighborhoods of Boston Utilizing her skills as a community connector and programming expert, Marisa has been effective in bridging neighborhoods within the city of Boston through social media and service learning opportunities, as well as developing effective systems and protocols for trauma response, city and state-wide Since becoming a first-time mother of an active and creative boy, she is committed to advocating for accessible and equitable early learning services, supports and spaces from birth to Marisa is a proud parent-participant of Countdown to Kindergarten program at the Trotter Elementary School in Roxbury, MA She is also a board member of Boston Association of Childbirth Education & Nursing Mother’s Council, and working with a group of visionaries to open a birth center in Roxbury, MA Photo Not Available 14 Photo Not Available Lisa Mayberry [Bio not provided] Joe McCannon co-founded the Billions Institute Before that, he was an appointee in the Obama Administration, serving as Senior Advisor to the Administrator at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in the U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) There he rolled out major pieces of the Affordable Care Act and was part of the founding leadership team at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), directing its Learning and Diffusion Group Before this, he was Vice President and faculty on large-scale improvement at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, leading the organization’s major domestic initiative to improve patient safety, the 100,000 Lives Campaign, and starting its work in Africa He has supported large-scale transformation in several nations, including Canada, Denmark, England, Japan and South Africa, and consulted on the topic for a number of organizations, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Health Organization and Community Solutions (100,000 Homes Campaign) He started his career in the publishing industry with roles at Fast Company, The Atlantic Monthly, and Outside magazine He is a graduate of Harvard University and was a Reuters Fellow at Stanford University Marianne McPherson is Senior Director of Programs, Research and Evaluation at NICHQ In that role, she leads new program design, existing program implementation, and mixed methods program evaluation She applies diverse methods and frameworks (including mixed methods research techniques, collective impact, collaborative innovation, advocacy, improvement science) to address complex social problems related to NICHQ's mission of improving children's health She has expertise in aligning improvement science, health services research, and program evaluation Marianne received her BA in Psychology and Women’s Studies from Harvard College, her MS in Public Health from Harvard School of Public Health, her MA in Women’s and Gender Studies from Brandeis University, and her PhD in Social Policy from the Heller School at Brandeis University 15 Matthew Melmed, JD, Executive Director of ZERO TO THREE is an internationally recognized leader and tireless advocate devoted to promoting the health and development of infants and toddlers Bringing together the perspectives of many fields and specialties with cutting-edge research about the importance of early experiences and relationships, Mr Melmed is committed to translating what we know into what we for very young children and their families Since 1995 he has guided the growth of the organization’s activities to enhance early social emotional development through promotion, prevention and treatment strategies Mr Melmed is also Chair of the Board of Generations United which promotes intergenerational collaboration for the enduring benefit of all and is the is the immediate past Board Chair of the Food Research and Action Center, the nation’s leading domestic anti-hunger policy organization He served as the first elected Chair of the Children’s Leadership Council, a coalition of 55 leading national organizations working together to improve the health, education and well-being of children and youth He is a Trustee of the Turrell Fund, has been a Director on such boards as the I Am Your Child Foundation, and is the recipient of multiple community, state, and national honors Michael M Myers, Ph.D., is Professor of Behavioral Biology in Psychiatry & Pediatrics and Research Chief of Developmental Neuroscience at the New York State Psychiatric Institute He is Co-director of the Nurture Science Program in the Department of Pediatrics Dr Myers’ research is guided by the principle that experiences of early life have both immediate impact on biology and behavior, and profound effects lasting well into infancy and beyond Adverse and positive early life events, interacting with genetic background, shape brain development and modulate vulnerability and resilience to a wide range of mental and physical disorders His early research was conducted in animal models, but is now focused on translational studies in human infants This work is investigating the impact of early mother-infant nurturing interactions on autonomic control, electro-cortical activity, and behavior of infants and their mothers Dr Myers completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Connecticut, B.A., in 1971 and received his M.S in 1974 at the University of Connecticut in Biobehavioral Sciences He completed his doctoral degree in Biobehavioral Sciences at the University of Connecticut in 1976 He completed fellowships in Neuroscience at the University of Vermont College of Medicine and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine He has been on the faculty at Columbia since 1984 Amanda Norton is a quality improvement consultant with experience in healthcare system redesign, individual practice change, evaluation and measurement system development Over the past several years Amanda’s work has focused on improving self-management, care coordination and access to high quality, equitable healthcare for children, individuals with chronic illnesses, and older adults She is a dedicated educator and coach focused on mentoring and advising improvement focused healthcare professionals Amanda has a Masters Degree of Social Work with a Certificate of Advanced Study in Health Services Management and Policy from Syracuse University 16 Maureen O’Neill – Davis is a member and volunteer Legislative Committee Advocate for the Attachment & Trauma Network, Inc (www.AttachTrauma.org), a PLTI Parent Leader, a member of Connecticut’s Children’s Behavioral Health Action Committee, a former small business owner, marketing professional and Realtor, and a married mother of three adopted children, ages 10, 11 and 13 (next month) Maureen is active in her children’s schools and her community’s early childhood collaborative She facilitates a caregiver support group, is a DCF Community Review Panel participant and is active in CT NAMI’s Keep the Promise Children’s Coalition Maureen is working on a B.A in public administration at the University of Southern New Hampshire (online) and through specialized programs at the University of Notre Dame (online) Raised in Connecticut, Maureen’s family provided addiction & duel diagnosis treatment services, in-patient and out-patient, throughout the Northeast over 22-years That education, into how early life experiences can adversely impact many long into adulthood, has proven valuable in her parenting of traumatized children and in advocating for reform on the fronts of child mental health care delivery, expanding access to postadoption services for all adoption-formed families, and promoting CPS policy reform to engage practices that support ‘forever family’ placement preservation Leigh O'Sullivan Flannery attended Smith College and studied American Studies and Education It was in school that she realized that teaching and educating very young people is one of the best ways to help change society and societal norms After a few years in politics and advocacy, she entered into teaching She received her MAT at Brandeis and has taught infantsearly elementary school in both Chicago and the Boston area Her current school, The Children's House of Cambridge combine two home preschools for children 15 months-5 years She created the school bringing together different philosophies and incorporating them together into one program The goals of the school include giving children open space and time, encouraging teachers to approach their teaching both intellectually and from the heart, and to follow the child All food for the school is bought from local producers or grown on site; and Leigh is very passionate about connecting the children to where and how food gets to their plates She has worked with many farms in the area, and loves having conversations with year-olds about bees and crops and how the world feeds us and how we must steward the world 17 Jacquese Patterson is the mother of two youth; a 19 year old with an intellectual disability as well as a 16 year old She graduated from Quinnipiac University with a BA in Legal Studies and English Jacquese is currently employed at Favor, Inc (a statewide advocacy agency) as the Family System Manager for the South Central Region Her focus is on working with the DCF Regional System Development Manager to analyze system needs, monitor system functioning, and promote and sustain system improvements across the regional service network Jacquese is charged with advancing the health and well-being of children, youth, and families within her region Jacquese has provided mentoring, training, and support to family members and youth for several years in different capacities by assuring that they have accurate, understandable, complete information, and the training necessary for meaningful participation in service system activities Current interests and focus areas are promoting family driven and youth guided practices and principles throughout the regional service system as well as identifying and engaging family members & youth from diverse backgrounds and communities to join, participate, and become leaders in the regional service system of Connecticut Timeca Peters is a proud mother of loving year old, Tené Timeca is currently an assistant teacher for the Greater Hartford YMCA She is also a co-researcher for Parentii ( parent inquiry initiative) The initiative is funded through the Graustein memorial fun and is being administered through the University of Hartford Timeca's goal is to continue to engage in different communities and help families be aware of the resources available to them Cheryl Petersen currently lives in Torrington, CT and is a wife and a mother to seven children that range from ages to 23 years old She also has two granddaughters She is the current co-chair for TECC (Torrington Early Childhood Collaborative) for the parent side She also has been working with Parentii as a co-researcher; which is supported by the University of Hartford and Graustein Memorial Fund The vision of the group is to make sure all parents have what they need to help the children of this world 18 Gary Pinkney Jr is the father of a year old boy named Jaedyn Pinkney He had Jaedyn when he was 17 years old and he does not regret it or anything about it at all It has taught him many things about life Two things that stand out to him the most are not giving up on your dreams and always to be there for your child no matter what happens It taught him to never give up on what he wants in life because he is what drives me to success Jaedyn is the reason Gary continues to chase after his dreams and Gary hopes to show Jaedyn that no matter what is thrown at him, he can accomplish anything He enjoys watching his son grow from an infant to the good kid he is today To watch his personalities come together and his characteristics come together One characteristics that has stuck with Gary most about his son is his smile and being a prankster Sean Pinnick was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts He is a committed and proud father of three sons and a grandfather to nine children Mr Pinnick was Fathers’ Uplift’s first Uplifting Coach and continues to contribute to the mission of uplifting fathers and strengthening families Uplifting Coaches are experienced mentors, and father figures that assist fathers in overcoming significant barriers in their life that almost prevented them from remaining in their children’s lives Sean has assisted men in obtaining permanent housing, understanding the disease of addiction, and developing positive supports Mr Pinnick is a certified recovery coach, and experienced carpenter with over 30 years of services In his words, “children need their fathers and I will make sure that happens.” Charles Purnell is a sixty year old father, grandfather, great grandfather, and husband to his beautiful wife for thirty five wonderful years He is a retired chef and house painter He currently is involved in Men’s Health and Recovery, and peer to peer recovery programs at the Boston Health Commission on Albany St at Boston Medical Center He is currently training to become a recovery coach and is trying to teach the younger generation not to go down the wrong road, to finish school and to guide them in the right direction, including not to drugs and not to drink because they will either end up in jail, if they’re lucky or end up dead He hopes to catch them as young as possible by maintaining a healthy environment and establishing after school programs, and mentoring father figures for kids without dads He hopes to make a difference in their lives Photo Not Available 19 Quatia Osorio is from Providence, RI and the mother of five, who enjoys gardening and reading She is the owner of a local cloth diaper service, Mama Blu Diaper Service Quatia is also the Project Coordinator for the RI Baby Café ~Southside in Providence, which provides drop in for the breastfeeding community to promote and support breastfeeding in partnership with the RI Health Department, Rhode Island Breastfeeding Coalition, National Coalition of 100 Black Women – RI Chapter, and the Doula Collective In addition, she is a recent Birth & Postpartum Doula with Our Journ3i Doula Service, which recently acquired a grant with Minority Health Office in the Department of Health of Rhode Island to partner with the National Coalition of 100 Black Women – RI Chapter and the Family Home Visiting program to service African American families in need of birth and postpartum doula services Quatia’s educational background includes a Bachelor’s Degree from Bryant University, Smithfield, RI and certification in Perinatal Anxiety and Mood Disorders from the Indiana University supported by the Postpartum Support International, Inc Quatia is also currently studying to become a Childbirth Educator Additionally, she will be a graduate the Parent Leadership Training Institute in June of 2015 Tania Rivera is an accomplished manager and public servant, with over 18 years of Human Services experience in a variety of settings and sectors, including health, education, and government She brings a wealth of knowledge and skills in the areas of program management and development, social services, community engagement, group facilitation techniques, and relationship building In her current position at the Vital Village Network at BMC, Tania plays a critical role in shaping and implementing the vision of the program and continues to foster business partnerships and to work with diverse community groups As a long time Boston resident and family-oriented professional, Tania hopes to continue to dedicate her life to supporting children and families and strengthening communities Ayesha Rodriguez is a graduate of Simmons college with over 20 years of experience in family engagement and the promotion of holistic wellness She has worked extensively within the Cape Verdean, Latino, African American, and West Indian/Carribean communities and speaks several languages Additionally, she has worked with children, adults and teens in a multitude of learning capacities Ayesha is a proud mother, grandmother and grandmother to be who humbly brings professional and personal experience to the table of learning One of her all time favorite proverbs, “They tried to bury us They didn’t know we were seeds,” speaks to her belief in the power of resiliency that exists within us all as individuals as well as a collective 20 Bernadette Sangalang, PhD, is a Program Officer for the Children, Families, and Communities (CFC) program She is responsible for grantmaking in both the early learning and health portfolios, and oversees evaluation and learning across CFC Bernadette has worked for nearly 20 years in support of children and families, with a focus on evaluation and applied research She has held various positions, including consulting with foundations and nonprofits on evaluation and research, and as evaluation director at a large communitybased health services nonprofit She previously served for four years as the evaluation officer at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, working with program staff on monitoring and evaluating grantmaking strategies Bernadette has worked at several major American universities conducting applied research and evaluation in the areas of maternal and child heath, child welfare, family well-being, and health and social services for vulnerable children and families Bernadette received her PhD in social work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and received postdoctoral training in public health at the University of California at Berkeley She also holds an MSW from University of Washington and a BA from University of California at Berkeley Phyllis Segal, Vice President of Encore.org, leads an initiative to mobilize adults in their encore stage of life to improve the prospects of vulnerable children and youth now and in future generations The aim is to harness their experience, time and passion for the essential work that only people can to make a difference in kids’ lives Segal’s work includes developing pathways and high-impact opportunities for encores (paid and unpaid) in non-profits and government This builds upon her extensive experience leading organizations, advocating for social justice, teaching and practicing law In addition, Segal serves on the boards of the JFK Library Foundation, Heller School for Social Policy and Management, ReServe and The Conversation Project and as Chair of the Eli J Segal Citizen Leadership Program at Brandeis University She served until 2014 as a member of the Board of the Corporation for National and Community Service, appointed by President Obama and confirmed by the U.S Senate In her earlier career Segal was founding Legal Director (and then President) of the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund, Massachusetts Deputy Attorney General, Chair of the Federal Labor Relations Authority, and Chair of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence 21 Nancy Settle-Murphy, President of Guided Insights in Boxborough, MA, plans and facilitates productive working sessions, both onsite and virtually, working with a range of organizations around the world Nancy also consults in the areas of change management, virtual team leadership, and strategic communications planning, and teaches facilitation skills and cross-cultural literacy to organizations ranging from Fortune 25 companies to newlyemerging nonprofits Nancy’s clients span many industries, including hospitals, healthcare nonprofits, energy consortiums, government agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, pharmaceuticals, high-tech and biotech She has had the pleasure of working with NICHQ for the past few years A frequent author on effective facilitation and remote collaboration, Nancy’s first book, Leading Effective Virtual Teams, was published by CRC Press in 2013 She is a frequent speaker for the Boston Facilitator’s Roundtable and the International Association of Facilitators (IAF) Within her community, Nancy is a volunteer facilitator working with non-violent offenders as part of the state’s largest Communities for Restorative Justice Program She also teaches facilitation skills in the local schools With 15-year-old twin girls, Nancy can attest to the joys and challenges parenting can bring Jonathan Small, MBA, is NICHQ’s Senior Director of Marketing, Communications and Technology He sets and oversees the implementation of NICHQ’s marketing, communications and technology strategies in alignment with NICHQ’s strategic plan His team is responsible for advancing NICHQ’s reputation, increasing its visibility, expanding its customer base, and managing its technology systems Previous to coming to NICHQ, Mr Small served as Vice President of Marketing and Communications for the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and Director of Communications for Harvard Pilgrim Health Care (HPHC) He is a graduate of the Yale School of Management and Oberlin College Lauren A Smith, MD, MPH, is a pediatrician and public health leader whose research and policy career has focused on health disparities and the impact of public policies on child health and wellbeing Dr Smith is an Executive Project Director at NICHQ (the National Institute for Children’s Health Quality) She served as the Interim Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health until May 2013 after serving as the Medical Director and Chief Medical Officer of the Department since 2007 She provided senior clinical leadership for policy, planning and programs, including initiating and leading the Department’s joint launch of the Massachusetts Perinatal Quality Collaborative to improve birth outcomes and overseeing the Department’s infant mortality and maternal mortality review efforts Prior to that, Dr Smith was on the faculty at Boston University School of Medicine and served as a pediatric hospitalist for more than 10 years at Boston Medical Center, where she was the Medical Director of the Pediatric Inpatient Unit for four years 22 Eli Stefanski is Chief Market Maker at the Business Innovation Factory, where she leads BIF's real world Experience Labs in health care, education, government Through the labs, Eli is leading the research, development, and testing of new models capable of transforming complex social systems With over a decade of experience in building and leading social ventures, Eli is an accomplished social innovator and designer She believes in putting people at the center of innovation and working at the system level to affect wide scale change Dana Suskind, MD, author of the upcoming book, Thirty Million Words: Building a Child’s Brain, (Dutton, September 2015), is a pediatric otolaryngologist who specializes in hearing loss and cochlea implantation She directs the Pediatric Hearing Loss and Cochlear Implant program Dr Suskind is the founder and director of the Thirty Million Words Initiative Based on scientific research that shows the critical importance of early language exposure on the developing child, Thirty Million Words helps parents enhance their home language environment in order to optimize their child's brain development and, therefore, his or her ability to learn An evidence-based intervention, Thirty Million Words is supported by a broad coalition of public and private partnerships and is an extension of Dr Suskind's Project ASPIRE, which she created to assure that her patients from disadvantaged backgrounds reached their full listening and spoken language potentials Dr Suskind's ultimate goal, and that of her dedicated team, is to help all children reach their full potentials and to close the ever-widening achievement gap She attended medical school at the University Of Missouri School Of Medicine and her internship and residency at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Her fellowship was completed at Washington University Children's Hospital, St Louis Kim Syman is a Managing Partner at New Profit where she leads efforts to combine the power of New Profit's network with organizational learning about how social innovation grows She oversees field-building, communications and convening strategies, which accelerate social problem solving by bringing together social entrepreneurs with leaders in government, philanthropy, business, and the media She also co-leads New Profit’s emerging early childhood portfolio domain She was a member of the founding team that helped conceptualize and design New Profit in 1997 and 1998 23 Jane A Taylor, EdD, is an improvement Advisor for The National Institute for Children’s Healthcare Quality and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement She is committed to improving health and wellbeing for children and families and has advised over 70 learning collaboratives Work that relates to this expert meeting include Improving Healthcare for those in Foster Care, Reducing Childhood Obesity, Improving Immunization Rates, Creating the Medical Home, Improving Care for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs, The CHIPRA Medical Home Learning Collaborative, the COIIN to Reduce Infant Mortality, Improving Transitions in Care to Adulthood, Improving Care for those with Autism, Expert meeting for Children and Youth with Spina Bifida, Improving Care for those with Sickle Cell Disease, Depression Screening for Moms in the Pediatric Setting, Early Childhood Screening, Early Childhood Screening in the Minneapolis and Saint Paul School Districts and others Jane is interested in the intersection of improvement, clinical care and adult learning, specifically transformation learning to accelerate transformational change Over the past 20 years, she served in hospital operations as a hospital CEO and as a quality improvement professional Dr Taylor has published articles in the field of quality improvement and adult learning For fun, she is a competitive ballroom dancer and amateur violinist Flomen Tendong is a mother of two children She has been actively involved in advocating for early childhood and special educational services by advocating for her children She has been working hand-in –hand with Dr Renee Boynton Jarrett of Boston Medical Center, who referred the children to early childhood and special educational services She has seen a great changed on her family since the children started receiving early childhood and special educational Early education and special education is the best foundation every parent should fight for the child As a beneficiary of these services, she took the lead to educate other African parents who could not advocate for their children through community talking Today, she is excited to say that, the first child is exceeding expectations in K2 and will be starting 1st grade in August 2015 Bonnie Thompson is the parent of a teenage daughter with hemiplegic cerebral palsy, and many other gifts Starting with Early Intervention Bonnie has gained valuable experience navigating the health care and other systems of support She started her family advocacy when her daughter was young and has had many opportunities to learn and grow her leadership skills along the way She currently works with Mass Family Voices at the Federation for Children with Special Needs sharing her experiences to assist families on their journey and influence improvements in health care Until recently she worked on the MA CHIPRA grant, collaborating with grant partners to increase family engagement throughout the grant activities She is currently a member of the Executive and Steering Committee on the System Integration Project with the Department of Public Health and is Co-Chair of the Catastrophic Illness and Children Relief Fund She is also prior LEND (Leadership in Neurodevelopmental Disability) Family Fellow at Boston Children’s Hospital/ICI and a Family Scholar with AMCHP (Association Maternal and Child Health Programs) 24 Dr Nana A Y Twum-Danso is a public health and preventive medicine physician with 15 years of experience in global health policy, strategy, program design, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and research She has expertise in continuous quality improvement (CQI), large-scale change management, health systems strengthening, community health, maternal, neonatal and child health (MNCH), and parasitic disease control Dr TwumDanso is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of MAZA, a social enterprise that seeks to provide reliable and affordable transportation for health emergencies in rural Ghana Before MAZA, Dr Twum-Danso was a Senior Program Officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation where she was responsible for managing grants to improve MNCH outcomes at scale and providing guidance on CQI strategies and adolescent health Prior to that, she led Project Fives Alive!, a nationwide CQI initiative that partnered the Institute for Healthcare Improvement with the two largest health service providers in Ghana to reduce child mortality She has also held leadership positions at the Task Force for Global Health which provides strategic and technical support to national parasitic disease control programs across Latin America, South Asia and Sub ‐Saharan Africa She received her undergraduate and medical education from Harvard University and her public health and preventive medicine training from Emory University Tassy Warren, Ed.M, is the Chief Program Officer at the Center on the Developing Child She is responsible for the Center’s work to build an R&D platform, which includes efforts to conduct and align new research, generate and test new ideas, and connect a multidimensional learning community She has been at the Center since 2007 Before joining the Senior Leadership Team, Tassy was the project director of the Frontiers of Innovation initiative, which was created to generate new strategies that achieve substantially greater impacts on the lives of young children whose needs are not being fully met by existing investments through stimulating creativity, supporting experimentation, encouraging risk-taking, and learning from failure Before joining the Center, she worked at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, for the City of New York, and on the 2004 presidential campaign Tassy received her B.A in economics from the University of Virginia and her Ed.M from the Harvard Graduate School of Education Martha G Welch, MD, is a recognized international authority on improved child development and repair of disorders of behavior regulation She is a specialist in treating disturbed interpersonal relationships, whether between parent and child or husband and wife Dr Welch is a Diplomat of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology She received her Medical Degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and her postgraduate training in both General and Child Psychiatry at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine Dr Welch currently serves as Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City, where she has received a grant to investigate the neuroradiologic and neurophysiologic brain state changes created by the Welch Method She is a practicing psychiatrist specializing in child development and parent-child attachment Dr Welch is Clinical Director of The Martha Welch Centers for Family Treatment, with treatment facilities in New York City, Greenwich, CT, and Chautauqua, NY 25 Josette Williams is a proud mom/first teacher to her smart and talented thirteen year old daughter It has been her life’s mission to advocate and empower the voiceless in communities As an early childhood educator, it is more important than ever to participate in the work that will support and encourage others by way of united work and advocacy My lifelong mission is to continue to make an impact on the systemic issues in underserved communities, especially in the lives of our youngest civilians to ensure they are given true access and opportunity in order to thrive and end years of equities and disparities Josette currently works with Boston Medical Center on the Trauma Informed Initiative in Pediatric Primary Care, is Co-founder and President of the Vital Village Community Partnership resident group, as well Advisory Board President of First Teacher and Program Manager for Countdown to Kindergarten/Boston Public Schools Renee Williams is the proud mother of four who after her son was diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder became a strong advocate for children with disabilities She completed the Parent Consultant Training Institute in 2005 and continues to attend, organize, and present special education related trainings In addition to her previous four year term as President of the Special Needs Advocacy Network, she is the founder of Olive Branch Advocacy, and currently serves as the Recruitment and Outreach Specialist for the Special Education Surrogate Parent program (RTSC) a project of the Federation for Children with Special Needs Her other passions include gardening, exercising and enjoying time with her family Beresford S Wilson Jr has been a Connecticut resident for the past 56 years, growing up and living in Hartford he is a product of the Hartford public school system Earning an athletic Scholarship and attending Virginia Union University where he majored in Theology and Political Science and participated on the universities football team He also served proudly in the US ARMY Stationed in Mainz, Germany for two (2) years Upon returning to the Hartford area, he decided to start a family His first child (Christ Wilson) was born months early weighing 1lb 2oz subsequently diagnosed with autism and intellectual disability, a life changing moment in any one’s life Beresford started his present career as a founding member of AFCAMP (African Caribbean American Parents of Children with disabilities) working his way up from a stipend volunteer to the lead advocate and presently holding the position of Assistant Director of the State wide family support organization, Known as Favor Inc 26 Karla Woodworth is a resident of Torrington, CT She is a single parent of an 11 year old son Harrison She has volunteered with her local childhood collaborative, Unity ministry and local community theater for the past years She is currently a self employed artist and photographer She has been instrumental in bringing community messengers and Spanish language classes to her community She has been trained and has worked as a facilitative and enlightened leader, a community messenger, and People Empowering People facilitator She is also a co-researcher for Parentii (Parent Inquiry Initiative.) This initiative is funded by the Graunstein Memorial Fund and is administrated by the University of Hartford Parentii has two goals: (1)To build parents capacity to drive community-specific actions by: helping parents get the information they need, access resources and networks to support parents and by coconstructing and collaborating between communities and (2) To use parent leadership to transform systems by: providing transparency of the processes, value parent knowledge through co-production and by shared accountability She believes all should be nurtured in their strengths to be of service rather than trained into servitude Cesarina Zabala is the face of LUPUS (Learning, Understanding, Promoting, Uniting, Supporting) and a parent leader in my community She is also a single mother of two and works full time She taks care of others; gardens; loves life She tries to overcome her fears and has lupus She will not let lupus define her, even though it is a chronic autoimmune disease that is affecting her kidneys, heart and lungs In May 1999 she was diagnosed with SLE, as recently as these past few months, she has been diagnosed with Discoid as well Through her research she has discovered that she is not alone and that many people have lupus and may not be aware of it She believes one voice can spark change and build awareness and wants to start the conversation about lupus Even though she is coping with the diagnosis, she hopes to ignite others to care and be informed Her hope is that we find a cure for Lupus; one step at a time will make a difference She wants everyone to learn, understand, promote, unite, and support all patients with Lupus Elaine Zimmerman is executive director of the Connecticut Commission on Children Ms Zimmerman reviews children's policy and reports to the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of state government with recommendations for children's legislation She is recognized for her policy acumen and commitment to community capacity She brings in broad and unexpected stakeholders to child policy discussion and ensures strong media dissemination to advance public information for families Keenly focused on both civics and public policy, she weaves the two together in her leadership role for Connecticut children 27 Valerie Zolezzi-Wyndham is the managing attorney at Community Legal Aid’s Worcester office She co-founded and manages a medical-legal partnership that works to redress the health-harming legal issues negatively impacting the heath of low-income families Her clinical partners are family medicine and pediatric practitioners at federally qualified community health centers and a large health care institution in central Massachusetts She approaches her work with a race and health equity lens and is an advocate for collaborative inter-sector interventions – as they are critical to successfully addressing the negative social determinants of health She has a J.D., from Boston University School of Law and a B.A., in Political Science and French Literature, from Boston College She was born in Mexico City and is a native Spanish speaker 28 ... 100,000 Lives Campaign, and starting its work in Africa He has supported large-scale transformation in several nations, including Canada, Denmark, England, Japan and South Africa, and consulted... programmatic research at Ariadne Labs and develop innovative approaches to measuring and improving care In addition, Lisa is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Associate... conducting applied research and evaluation in the areas of maternal and child heath, child welfare, family well-being, and health and social services for vulnerable children and families Bernadette