Chief Impact Officer, ACE Resource Network

Award-winning physician and public health leader Dr. Nadine Burke Harris will draw on her groundbreaking research and experience as California’s inaugural Surgeon General to make the case for a paradigm shift toward prevention, early detection, and risk-based approaches to mental health and well-being. She will share lessons from building the ACEs Aware initiative, aligning Medicaid policy, provider training, and community-based networks to intervene earlier and more effectively—without overwhelming the mental health system. Dr. Burke Harris will introduce her newly launched organization, and its vision to help states move beyond fragmented efforts toward a coordinated system of secondary prevention capable of identifying risk early, assessing the whole picture, strengthening buffering factors, augmenting usual care, and connecting children and families to the right level of support before adversity becomes lifelong illness or intergenerational harm. Grounded in emerging data from California, she will demonstrate how this infrastructure can improve outcomes, accelerate referrals, and expand access for children and families who would otherwise go unsupported. She will conclude by highlighting the pivotal role philanthropy can play in catalyzing innovation, and building the connective tissue that’s capable of making both primary prevention and treatment efforts more effective.