Please join top researchers and leaders in the movement to create Neuro Nurturing Ecosystems in support of maternal, infant, family and community health TODAY, March 14th, for an information-packed webinar co-sponsored, in part, by PACEs Connection and its fiscal sponsor, the National Prevention Science Coalition. REGISTER now to attend this free webinar, the second in a series that has received scores of five-star reviews. National leaders in early relational health, health equity, and more...

By Eric Hamilton, UF News, February 27, 2025 — In 1982, the Syrian government besieged the city of Hama, killing tens of thousands of its own citizens in sectarian violence. Four decades later, rebels used the memory of the massacre to help inspire the toppling of the Assad family that had overseen the operation. But there is another lasting effect of the attack, hidden deep in the genes of Syrian families. The grandchildren of women who were pregnant during the siege — grandchildren who...

Women’s Agenda By Lucia Osborne-Crowley February 2025 A new study has found that there could be a link between trauma and the development of endometriosis, and the study’s authors say it means we urgently need more trauma-informed care for those who suffer from the debilitating disease. While it has long been theorised that there is a connection between severe stress and endometriosis, a new study from Yale University shows a correlative link between endometriosis and both childhood...

Full disclosure: I n case there are questions as to why I’m posting this personal post and then subsequent blog posts from an organization called CHC: Creating Healthier Communities (CHC) and its CEO and president, Jean Accius, PhD., please allow me to explain. (Fellow volunteers Dana Brown, Rafael Maravilla, and me on a recent Zoom call about revitalizing PACEs Connection.) In addition to my volunteer role with PACEs Connection alongside fellow volunteers Dana Brown and Rafael Maravilla, I...

By Adrian Röbke, LinkedIn, Image: screenshot from article , January 27, 2025 The Hidden Role of the Body in Systemic Change We are living through a time of profound transformation. Climate breakdown, ecological devastation, and deepening social inequalities are not distant or abstract—they are experiences we feel in our bodies. That tightness in your chest The constant hum of anxiety The exhaustion that doesn’t seem to go away These aren’t just emotions or passing thoughts. They are your...

Image: Source Since April, 2024, Dana Brown and I have been working as volunteers to keep your social networking site – PACEs Connection – up and running. Gratefully, your donations supported raising $14,859 to pay CrowdStack, the learning management system platform on which PACEs Connection operates, in November, 2024. We are deeply grateful that a longtime PACEs Connection member was able to direct the Langeloth Foundation to make a $10,000 tax-deductible donation toward the total. That...

As the Trauma Resource Intitute (TRI) continues to connect with our Los Angeles community, we recognize the challenges this evolving situation presents and are so grateful for the outpouring of support we have received so far. We are writing to remind you of tomorrow’s free United for Healing Gathering , the first in a series of weekly online gatherings TRI will be hosting. These online gatherings are open to the public. Led by Elaine Miller-Karas and Dr. Michael Sapp, these 1-hour are...

Despite growing awareness of the prevalence and devasting impact of adverse childhood experiences, our society has yet to take action to address these issues. North Carolina can lead the way By Diana Fishbein and Maddy Jupina, Fayetteville Observer, January 12, 2025 As we step into 2025, it is imperative that we not let another year pass before addressing the ongoing challenges children face in North Carolina. Adverse childhood experiences — such as exposure to violence, parental addiction...

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy Urges Americans to Recenter Their Lives Around Relationships, Service, and Purpose Washington, D.C. – January 7, 2025 — Today, United States Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released his Parting Prescription for America - PDF , weaving together reflections on his personal and professional experiences having spent six of the last ten years as our nation’s Surgeon General. Throughout his service, the Surgeon General has sought to understand the root causes of pain...

REGISTER now and plan to join us Friday, January 10, 2025 from 2:00-3:00pm CT Research on investing in early childhood development shows it to be the most influential, productive, and cost-effective strategy for establishing children on a path to strong self-regulation, well-developed executive function, and lasting resilience that will improve, in countless ways, their lives across the lifespan. "The first three years of development, and especially the first two or three months, are...

Panelists present for the inaugural symposium included R.J. Gillespie, MD; Christina Bethell, PhD, MPH, MBA; Lisa Powell, PhD, and Anna Maria Wilms Floet, MD. “This is just the beginning” according to event leadership following their one-day event on “ Translating the Science of Positive Childhood Experiences into Practice and Connecting with Community Organizations”. Event chair Jill Obremskey, MD, a Nashville pediatrician, longtime child advocate, and leader in the All Children Excel PACEs...

Your three PACEs Connection volunteers, Dana Brown, Carey Sipp, and Rafael Maravilla, meeting December 23, 2024, about our business plan to revitalize the social networking site. Thank you for your invaluable engagement with PACEs Connection; we invite you to partner with us in preserving more than decade of ACEs science research, videos, tools – with your tax-deductible year-end gift here today ! Dear Friend of PACEs Connection, We wish you a safe, healthy, and prosperous New Year. As a...

Please help us save the Resource Center with your tax-deductible gift today, here . With the December 31, 2024, deadline looming for payment to maintain the PACEs Connection Resource Center , we hope you’ll help protect this invaluable benefit of your free membership and put supporting PACEs Connection at the top of your list. “There’s not another resource like this,” said Dana Brown, one of two former PACEs Connection employees working as volunteers to keep the site going since it was...

We’re still here, and grateful to generous members that the PACEs Connection social networking site is still up! Generous donations by 22 PACES Connection members — including one large gift from the Jacob and Valeria Langeloth Foundation as directed by long-time supporter Lori Dorfman, DrPH — means PACEs Connection met the deadline to stay afloat for another couple of months before one of its important assets, the Resource Center, and its carefully curated database of journal articles,...

A movement to motivate the incoming administration to proclaim the next 10 years as the DECADE OF THE CHILD is being led and launched by the National Prevention Science Coalition to Improve Lives , (NPSC) with support from PACEs Connection and a growing list of research, public, behavioral, and mental health-oriented organizations, as well as nonprofits supporting child advocacy, policy, and social justice. "Our nation is failing its children. Despite our economic power, millions of children...

Former PACEs Connection employees Dana Brown (L) with Vincent Felitti, MD, co-author of the 1998 Adverse Childhood Experiences study, and Carey Sipp (R) in San Diego in January, 2024. The last few months have been quite challenging, but we pushed, persevered, and didn’t give up hope. The “we” is Carey Sipp and Dana Brown. We were long-time staff members of PACEs Connection determined to reinstate the website and the resources and information we provide to communities after the platform went...

(Author’s note: Photo is of Jeff Linkebach, EdD, founder of The Montana Institute , and me following a three-hour long brainstorming lunch recently at the Whole Foods in Bozeman, Montana. I’d gone to visit my two adult children in the area. Linkenbach and his family have made their home there for more than 30 years. Linkenbach and I connected several years ago via PACEs Connection as he is one of the co-founders of the HOPE (Health Outcomes from Positive Experiences) research. The Montana...

BOOK REVIEW “How to Handle with Care”, a new book by author Wendy Samford, PhD, is step-by-step instruction manual to create — in your community — a best practice that can help end the racially-motivated school-to-prison pipeline one child at a time, and quickly! How? By addressing the trauma of each child individually, with a cross-sector approach to supporting hurting children that has law enforcement working with educators all across the United States. ( www.handlewithcarewv.org ) Simply...

This week PACEs Connection will air an encore of Ingrid Cockhren, CEO of PACEs Connection, and Mathew Portell, director of education & outreach, speaking with Dr. Robert Sege . Robert Sege, MD, Ph.D. and p rofessor of pediatrics and medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, where he directs the Center for Community-engaged Medicine, and is a core faculty member of the Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute. Sege is also a Senio r Fellow at the Center for the Study of...

How traumatizing is it when something that is supposed to be a support ends up evoking trauma? Tune into this Thursday’s History. Culture. Trauma. podcast at 1 p.m. PT; 4 p.m., ET, when guest Janyne McConnaughey, PhD, will talk with hosts Ingrid Cockhren, CEO of PACEs Connection, and Mathew Portell about how shame and blame theology, and the stigmatization of mental health supports, can inflict trauma. “A supportive community can serve as a primary catalyst for healing individual and...

From left, Mallory Grossman, Nigel Shelby and Gabriel Taye. (Family photo; Nigel Shelby; Courtesy of Cornelia Reynolds) By Donna St. George, The Washington Post, November 10, 2023 Gabriel Taye was a slight boy who wore button-down shirts and neckties to his Cincinnati elementary school. Just 8 years old, he loved learning and made the honor roll. But other students often bullied him — punching, shoving and kicking him during incidents that dated back to first grade, according to court...

(NOTE: Copy below comes directly from promotional email. ) Nobody can “treat” abuse, rape, molestation, or any other horrendous event. What has happened cannot be undone. But what can be dealt with are the imprints of the trauma on body, mind, and soul. Join Bessel van der Kolk, MD, along with Licia Sky, BFA, LMT, in a transformational clinical trauma training. Attend and learn from one of the most renowned trauma experts - one who has spent decades working both as a researcher and...

A headline earlier this year said it simply: Social Media is Devastating Teen's Mental Health. Donna Jackson Nakazawa, an award-winning science journalist and the author of seven books exploring the intersection of neuroscience, immunology, and human emotion, is featured in this week’s encore episode of History Culture. Trauma. Jackson Nakazawa explains the crisis facing today’s girls as being a biologically -rooted phenomenon, and more, and offers solutions to the crisis that has many...

The intersection of Market and Eagle streets, where Black Asheville’s cultural and financial center once stood before it was razed during urban renewal policies. Photographer: Brentin Mock By Brentin Mock, Bloomberg CityLab + Justice, November 1, 2023 Roughly 200 people gathered at the University of North Carolina at Asheville recently to discuss the city's commitment to local reparations. It was the first summit of its kind and an important step in Asheville's plan to compensate Black...

The Rev. Deanna Hollas is the gun violence prevention ministry coordinator with the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, a founding member of the Everytown for Gun Safety Interfaith Advisory Council, and the co-founder of Retreat House Spirituality Center. Her congregation is in Dallas, TX. In light of the recent mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine —this week’s “History. Culture. Trauma.” podcast is an encore episode of the conversation between Hollas and PACEs Connection CEO Ingrid Cockhren on June...

By Danielle Ellis, Image: from article, News Medical & Life Sciences, October 27, 2023 Childhood trauma is a key risk factor for future substance use disorder, overdose, and suicide. This is particularly problematic in rural areas where children experience higher rates of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). ACEs are commonly defined as physical and emotional abuse and neglect, sexual abuse, parental separation or divorce, intimate partner violence, and having household members with...

In this scene from the Book of the Dead, an ancient Egyptian collection of funerary spells (circa 1250 BC), Ani (standing to the left of the upright support of the balance, center) is being judged on his worthiness to enter the afterlife. His heart has been placed on a pan to determine its weight. If it is heavy, it will be consumed by a monster (lower right), and Ani will be denied entry to the afterlife. If it is as light as the feather resting in the opposite pan, Ani will be welcomed...

University of Nevada, Reno principal investigator, Kristen Clements-Nolle and University of Nevada, Las Vegas co-principal investigator, Amanda Haboush-Deloye By Brittany Flores, Nevada Today (University of Nevada, Reno), October 24, 2023 Researchers from the University of Nevada, Reno, School of Public Health and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Public Health teamed up to secure nearly $2.5 million dollars in funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Adolescent girls are experiencing extreme levels of trauma and adversity, especially African American, Hispanic/Latina and Indigenous girls, as we discussed with author Donna Jackson Nakazawa last year when her book “ Girls on the Brink—Helping our Daughters Thrive in an Era of Increased Anxiety, Depression and Social Media. ” launched. This week host Ingrid Cockhren, CEO of PACEs Connection, will touch on those topics and more with guest Vernisha Crawford, who discusses the lives of girls...

Kate Speer, a mental health advocate and TikTok creator, with her service dog, Waffle, works with Harvard University social scientists to inject evidence-based content into TikTok feeds.Credit...Sarah Blesener for The New York Times By Ellen Barry, The New York Times, October 16, 2023 One day in February, an invitation from Harvard University arrived in the inbox of Rachel Havekost, a TikTok mental health influencer and part-time bartender in Seattle who likes to joke that her main...

Candice Valenzuela, whose 2022 podcast was among the most popular episodes last year, joins hosts Ingrid Cockhren, PACEs Connection CEO, and Mathew Portell, director of education and outreach, this Thursday at 1 p.m. PDT; 4 p.m. ET , to discuss the importance of healing intergenerational trauma. “How can parents ensure that generational issues do not continue to impact future generations?” is one of the questions to be addressed in this live episode. “This topic is especially important for...

While in many early reports it sounded as though babies born during the Pandemic would likely be affected by developmental delays , n ewer research shows mixed or fewer concerns. There is no denying, though, that for families having new babies, or adopting, or providing foster care for babies during the Pandemic, there were additional stresses. Join PACEs Connection for a free webinar October 19 from 12 p.m to 1:30 p.m. ET/ 9 a.m. - 10:30 PT, to explore how leaders in one state, and two...

Pilot is for DEIB professional development with Yolo County, California, Division of Health and Human Services As the first phase of PACEs Connection’s consulting engagement with Yolo County, California, draws to a close, CEO Ingrid Cockhren is announcing the launch of the organization's Sustaining Resilient Communities (SRC) initiative, expanding services to include consulting and professional development for counties, cities, corporations, and government agencies. “We’ve branched into a...

By Arash Emamzadeh, Photo: ikon/Pixabay, Psychology Today, Ocotber 6, 2023 Consider different groups of children who have experienced adversities, be it extreme poverty, a parent’s death, maltreatment, physical or sexual abuse , or bullying . If you were to predict which groups will develop a psychological disorder, would you rely on subjective self-reports ? Or on objective evidence , such as information obtained from multiple informants, crime records, and reports from child protection...

Earlier this year, the Vatican responded to Indigenous demands and formally repudiated the "Doctrine of Discovery," which has its origins in 15th-century papal bulls, or decrees. Gregorio Borgia/AP By Jason DeRose, National Public Radio (NPR), October 6, 2023 Each Sunday, Culver City Presbyterian Church Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau begins the worship service with these words: "As we gather for worship this day, we acknowledge that the land on which we gather was for many generations...

In this Thursday’s episode, Agnes Woodward uses her knowledge of historical trauma and the healing power of the arts to raise awareness of the adversity Indigenous women face. She also discusses how indigenous women can heal themselves, their families, and future generations. About Agnes Woodward: Beginning in 2013, Agnes Woodward often awakened in the middle of the night to check that all doors in her house were locked and her five children were safe. Thanks to knowledge about the science...

By Jennifer and Michael, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), September 20, 2023 A sister and brother share how their child rights activism led them to help their hometown become the first UNICEF Child Friendly City in the U.S. Jennifer, 20, a rising junior at Stanford University, and her brother, Michael, a 17-year-old senior at a Houston high school, are just like any other siblings in many ways. They are best friends, and even though Michael is three years younger, he's always...

From Sierra Sun Times, Photo: Victoria Regen/Pixabay, Sierra Sun Times, October 2, 2023 To build a future worthy of our children’s highest aspirations, we must ensure they have the resources and support they need to thrive. This Child Health Day, we recommit to helping our children live healthy lives so they can reach their highest potential. Our most fundamental obligation to our children is to keep them safe. The devastating truth is that firearms are the leading cause of death for...

By Laura Newberry, Illustration: Patrick Hruby/Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, October 3, 2023 Every once in a while, I write a newsletter that evokes a lot of emotion in readers. I know that’s the case when I get a flood of emails from you all sharing your thoughts and experiences. Last week’s edition of Group Therapy, “ AA isn’t the only way to change your relationship to alcohol ,” was one of those newsletters. Readers sent us their stories of redemption and relapse, of bottoming...

Christina Bethell, Ph.D, MBA, MPH, founder of the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative (CAHMI), principal author of the groundbreaking study on positive childhood experiences, and creator of the free Well Visit Planner, among other innovations. Two internationally-respected leaders and innovators in complementary aspects of early relational health and childhood and maternal health equity recently launched a partnership they believe will benefit everyone from newborn babies and...

Can empathetic, healing centered workplaces change the entire culture of a community? A nation? What would a healing centered workplace look like, offer, and change? Katherine Manning, author of “The Empathetic Workplace - Five Steps to a Compassionate, Calm, and Confident Response to Trauma on the Job ” joins, Mathew Portell, PACEs Connection director of education and outreach, and Carey Sipp, director of strategic partnerships, to discuss what it would take to create empathetic,...

Visionary social systems scholar Riane Eisler at her home in Carmel, Calif. Credit: Don Eddy By Madhusree Mukerjee, Scientific American, September 28, 2023 Why are some societies warlike, and why are some peaceable? New scholarship suggests that societies can be arranged in a spectrum ranging from domination-based to partnership-based. Every relationship in a dominator society, whether between parent and child, husband and wife, political leader and citizen or citizen and noncitizen, is...

According to estimates, up to 70,000 daycare facilities could close, causing three million child care slots to vanish. Credit: Camilla Forte/ The Hechinger Report by Lisa M. Hamilton September 28, 2023 (Opinion) The Hechinger Report (Lisa M. Hamilton is the president and chief executive officer of the Annie E. Casey Foundation.) Millions of working parents will face a child care emergency after pandemic-era federal funding ends Sept. 30, just two days from now. Whether you are one of the...

The National Training and Technical Assistance Center for Child, Youth, and Family Mental Health ( NTTAC ), is a PACEs Connection partner in the important discussion of healing-centered youth engagement. This week Joshua Smith, a juvenile justice advocate and peer support expert for NTTAC joins History. Culture. podcast hosts Ingrid Cockhren, PACEs Connection CEO, and Mathew Portell, director of education and outreach, to discuss the latest healing-centered approaches and how they are the...

A file photo shows the construction of Downtown Emergency Service Center's housing complex in Seattle's Rainier Valley, Aug. 12, 2019. The organization also received funding from the state's Office of Apple Health and Homes to build housing in Seattle's Interbay neighborhood. (Photo by Matt M. McKnight/Crosscut) By Laurel Demkovich, Crosscut., September 15, 2023 Washington is trying something new when it comes to housing: treating it as health care. Apple Health and Homes is a multi-agency...

Don't Die of Ignorance billboard, part of an Aids awareness campaign from 1987. Photograph: Ltd/REX/Shutterstock By Mabel Banfield-Nwachi, The Guardian, September 16, 2023 C ancer charities and health campaigners are calling for a return to hard-hitting advertisements – common in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s – to help tackle public health problems. Below are some of the key public health ads of past decades. The 1987 Aids awareness campaign, Don’t aid Aids, was the Thatcher government’s...