About Us

Connected, We Thrive

Nurture Connection Origin Story

Nurture Connection, conceived by Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP), is an embodiment of two fundamental truths for human flourishing and progress: Connection and Collaboration.

The deep vault of early childhood research and understanding makes it clear that all children benefit from strong, positive, and nurturing relationships to grow and thrive. Healthy relationships in the beginning years of a child’s life are the building blocks upon which they create a healthy and productive life and a bright future.

Similarly, history shows that when human beings cooperate, they succeed. That need has never been greater than now. To solve our society’s increasingly complex issues, we must commit to building bridges and learning from, listening to, and trusting each other. Most critically, we must channel our interconnectedness to create a future that works for all of us.

Starting in 2010, early childhood leaders in research, child health, and public health increasingly recognize that children develop in the context of relationships, which optimizes health, development, and well-being, and also buffers against the negative effects of toxic stress. Relationships are also recognized as a new vital sign in pediatrics and public health.

Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP), guided by its mission to create a fair and just society in which all children and families thrive, becomes an early champion for Early Relational Health (ERH) and begins bringing together many interested early childhood leaders to listen and learn from each other.

CSSP in partnership with the FrameWorks Institute develops “Building Relationships: Framing Early Relational Health”, the strategic communication brief to bring public attention to and build understanding around ERH.

CSSP launches the ERH National Advisory Group, which includes a committed group of early childhood leaders and ERH champions from research, practice, policy, and systems leaders; this group represents the seed from which to grow a broader networked movement. The ERH National Advisory Group is reimagined as the National ERH Network.

CSSP, guided by leaders within the National ERH Network, builds a collaboration with Reach Out and Read (ROR) and the Nurture Science Program (NSP) at Columbia University Medical Center to promote ERH practice change.

Understanding that an equitable and just society that values and supports every family cannot be truly created unless we make a commitment to partner with families and learn from their lived experiences and wisdom, the Family Network Collaborative (FNC), an Early Relational Health parent leadership group, is formed by CSSP and other leaders to play a central leadership role in growing the movement.

CSSP, energized by the idea of an ERH movement bringing together all essential early childhood concepts, forms the movement’s Steering Committee to vet and formalize the ERH movement’s strategies and actions.

Alongside, ERH continues to gain growing interest from the philanthropic community and the ERH Funders Community is launched by CSSP and Einhorn Collaborative and now numbers 100 funders learning about and supporting ERH as being vital for the future health and well-being of children, families, and communities.

Combining the knowledge, commitment, and energy of the National ERH Network, the FNC, the Steering Committee, and the ERH Funders Community, CSSP launches Nurture Connection.

Now, working together under the Nurture Connection banner, families, doctors, doulas, community health workers, researchers, policymakers, communities, and all others who are deeply invested in the well-being of families are listening, learning, weaving, planning, and convening in new ways to center connectedness and belonging and make Early Relational Health possible for each and every child, family, and community.

Nurture Connection Family Network Collaborative (FNC)

Facilitating and leveraging parent leadership is a key equity strategy for Nurture Connection. Parent leadership empowers parents from underrepresented communities to directly speak for themselves and use their lived experience and expertise to guide ERH efforts to help ensure that their needs are met. The FNC leadership is composed of six parent leaders representing a diversity of experiences and cultural traditions, as well as underrepresented communities from across the country.

The parent leaders are part of the movement leadership group. Each parent leader further leads parent pods in their communities to gather guidance and input for all strategic actions. The hope is that this work continues to grow — both in terms of numbers of parents engaged in the FNC and as a model for local efforts seeking to support ERH. The group is facilitated by Bryn Fortune, Coordinator, Nurture Connection Family Network Collaborative.

"The Risks and Rewards of Sharing Power With Your Community"

Mia Halthon (FNC Parent Leader) and Ira Hillman (Einhorn Collaborative) share why building relationships with families is fundamental to achieving lasting results in the communities in the Chronicle of Philanthropy op-ed.

Read the article

FNC Network Composition

66 Parent Voices
85% Parents/Grandparents/Guardians of children ages 0–5
45% Poverty/Low Income
17% Immigrants
22% Fathers
24% Children with Special Health Needs or Disabilities

FNC U.S. Geography (Urban/Rural/ Suburban)

34% East
17% Midwest
17% South
17% Southwest
17% Northwest

Claudia Aristy, Reach Out and Read, Latinx Spanish-Speaking Immigrant Families, New York
Mia Halthon, Home Visiting, Black, Brown, African American, Michigan
Nicole Loveless, Indigenous Community, New Mexico
Tish MacInnis, Strengthening Families, Southern Families, Alabama
Steven Thibert, Fatherhood Council, Fatherhood Experience, Washington
Allysa Ware, Family Voices, Children with Special Health Care Needs, Maryland

National Early Relational Health (ERH) Network

The National ERH Network is composed of parents, practitioners, child health systems, thought partners, early childhood system builders, and policy and network champions committed to cocreating, innovating, testing, and disseminating strategic activities to advance an Early Relational Health frame.

Sherri L. Alderman, MD MPH, IMH-E®, FAAP, Board-Certified Developmental Behavioral Pediatrician
Tyson Barker, PhD, Chief Science and Innovation Officer, Institute for Child Success
Lee Beers, MD, FAAP, Medical Director, Community Health and Advocacy, Children’s National Hospital
Moushumi Beltangady, Director of Tribal Early Childhood Development and Program Manager of Tribal Early Learning Initiative, Office of the Administration for Children & Families, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Scott D. Berns, MD, MPH, FAAP, President and CEO, National Institute for Children’s Health Quality (NICHQ)
Debra Best, MD, FAAP, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Duke University
Brenda Blasingame, MA, vavCollab
Rahil D. Briggs, PsyD, National Director, HealthySteps
Lindsey Burghardt, MD, MPH, FAAP, Fellow at Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University
Shayla Collins, Family Partner
Dani Dumitriu, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (in Psychiatry); Attending Physician, Well Baby Nursery; Director, Nurture Science Program, Departments of Pediatrics and Psychiatry, Columbia University
Ellie Erickson, MD FAAP, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Duke University School of Medicine; Medical Director, Family Connects Durham
Amy Fine, MPH, Early Childhood Systems Consultant
Phil Fisher, PhD, Professor in the Graduate School of Education, Stanford University
Bryn Fortune, Coordinator, ERH Family Network Collaborative
Monique Fountain Hanna, MD, MPH, MBA, Chief Medical Officer/CQI and Innovation Advisor, U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services
Cynthia A. Frosch, PhD, IMH-E®, Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Science, Auburn University
Andrew Garner, MD, PhD, FAAP, Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, Case Western Reserve University and Private Practice of Pediatrics, Partners in Pediatrics
Rachel Gilgoff, MD, Clinical and Science Senior Advisor, Aurrera Health Group
Linda Gilkerson, PhD, LSW, Professor, Erikson Institute
Claudia M. Gold, MD, Pediatrician; Author; Faculty on the ERH Fellowship, University of Massachusetts – Chan Medical School
Janice Gruendel, PhD, Research Professor at the University of North Carolina — Charlotte in the Academy for Research in Community Health, Engagement, and Services (ARCHES)
Mia Halthon, Parent Leader, ERH Family Network Collaborative
Patsy Hampton, Senior Associate and Director, EC-LINC, Center for the Study of Social Policy
Cyndie Hatcher, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Attending Physician in Primary Care Pediatrics; Practice of the Future Clinical Champion in the Center for the Urban Child and Healthy Family, Boston Medical Center Pediatrics, Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Cynthia Hayes, BS, eCID, CLC, Doula; Project Director, Doula Advocacy Team, Doulas 4CT Coalition
Neal Horen, PhD, Director, Early Childhood Division, Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development
Karen Howard, JD, Founding Partner, Crossover Partners, LLC
Kay Johnson, MPH, President, Johnson Policy Consulting, LLC
Rachel Lettieri, MS, MPH, Director, Care Coordination at Pediatrics Northwest
Alicia Lieberman, PhD, the Irving B. Harris Endowed Chair in Infant Mental Health and Vice Chair for Academic Affairs at the UCSF Department of Psychiatry, and Director of the Child Trauma Research Program
Dina Lieser, MD, Senior Adviser at HRSA’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau’s Division of Home Visiting and Early Childhood Systems
Junlei Li, PhD, the Saul Zaentz Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education
Annika List, Program and Research Assistant, Center for the Study of Social Policy
Dayna Long, MD, FAAP, Pediatrician and Codirector, Center for Child and Community Health, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland
Darcy Lowell, MD, IMH-E®, Founder and Chief Officer, Child First; Associate Clinical Professor, Pediatrics and Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine
Tish MacInnis, Alabama Strengthening Families Coordinator, Alabama Partnership for Children (APC)
Kimberly Martini-Cavell, MA, Executive Director, Help Me Grow National Center
Mary Mackrain, MEd, IMH-E® (IV), Managing Director, EDC
Alan Mendelsohn, MD, Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrician, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Population Health, PlayReadVIP National Center, NYU Grossman School of Medicine and Bellevue Hospital
Cynthia Minkovitz, MD, the William H. Gates, Sr. Professor and Chair in the Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health; Professor of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University
Tanesha Mondestin, Research Associate, Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy’s Center for Children and Families
Kaitlin Mulcahy, Associate Director, Center for Autism and Early Childhood Mental Health at Montclair State University
Colleen Murphy, Vice President of the Early Childhood Knowledge Navigator, Ounce of Prevention
Geoffrey Nagle, MSW, MPH, PhD, Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Tulane University; Founder, Alliance Strategic Advising and Research
Darcia Narvaez, PhD, Professor of Psychology Emerita at the University of Notre Dame
Cailin O’Connor, Senior Associate, Center for the Study of Social Policy
Jennifer Oppenheim, Cofounder/Codirector, Thriving Together LLC
Cynthia Osborne, PhD, Executive Director, Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center; Professor of Early Childhood Education and Policy at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development
Joy Osofsky, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics, Psychiatry, and Public Health, Head, Division of Pediatric Mental Health, LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine
Anthony Queen, Parent Liaison, Great Start Collaborative in Kent County, MI
Carrie Quinn, MD, Executive Director, The Mount Sinai Parenting Center Assistant; Clinical Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Usha Ramachandran, MD, FAAP, Associate Professor of Pediatrics; Associate Director, South Asian Total Health Initiative, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School; Medical Director, Reach Out and Read New Jersey; Early Childhood Champion, NJ Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics
Dorothy T. Richardson, PhD, IECMH-E, Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Pediatrics at University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School; Executive Director and Core Faculty, Fellowship in Early Relational Health, Lifeline for Families Center
Jessica Riggs, PhD, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan
Sarah Rock, Principal, Rock Results
Kate Rosenblum, PhD, IMH-E® , Clinical and Developmental Psychologist; Professor of Psychiatry, Obstetrics, and Gynecology, University of Michigan
Anne Seery, PhD, Director, PlayReadVIP National Center, NYU Grossman School of Medicine and Bellevue Hospital
Robert Sege, MD, PhD, Co-Director, Community and Stakeholder Engagement; Lead Navigator Tufts CTSI
Daniel Shaw, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh and Director of the Center for Parents and Children and the Pitt Parents and Children Laboratory
Hoda Shawky, Maternal/Child Health Consultant
Nikki Shearman, PhD, Chief of Strategic Initiatives, Reach Out and Read
Tyiesha Short, Associate Director for Science and Policy, Office of the Surgeon General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Sara Silverio Marques, DrPH, MPH, Cofounder and Principal, Health+ Studio
Dana Suskind, MD, Founder and Codirector, TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health, Director of the Pediatric Cochlear Implant Program, and Professor of Surgery, Pediatrics, and Public Policy (affiliated), University of Chicago
Lynlee Tanner Stapleton, PhD, Public Health Analyst, HRSA’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau in the Division of Home Visiting and Early Childhood Systems
Steven Thibert, Parent Leader, ERH Family Network Collaborative
Joe Waters, Co-Founder + CEO, Capita
Dana M. Winters, PhD, Director of Simple Interactions and Academic Programs at the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media at Saint Vincent College
David Willis, MD, FAAP, Senior Fellow, Center for the Study of Social Policy
Kelly Woodlock, Vice President, National Home Visiting, Start Early
Mary Ann Woodruff, MD, FAAP, Pediatrician, Pediatrics Northwest; Member of Leadership Team, Bridge of Hope; Member of the American Academy of Pediatrics
Jabeen Yusuf, Cofounder and Principal, Health+ Studio
Barry Zuckerman MD, Chair and Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine; Co-Founder of Reach Out and Read; Founder of Healthy Steps; Founder of Medical Legal Partnership; Co-Founder of Small Moments Big Impact; Co-Founder of Health Leads

Nurture Connection Steering Committee

Composed of parents, pediatricians, researchers, policy and systems leaders, funders, and nonprofit leaders, the Steering Committee provides strategic and action leadership for the initiative. This group is helping build and expand the ERH movement through two critical actions:

Furthering the movement’s understanding of the problems families and communities are facing;
Uncovering solutions to best support more families to experience ERH and emotional connection.

Brenda Blasingame, MA, Principal and Founder at Vav Amani Consulting LLC
Dani Dumitriu, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (in Psychiatry); Attending Physician, Well Baby Nursery; Director, Nurture Science Program, Departments of Pediatrics and Psychiatry, Columbia University
Bryn Fortune, Coordinator, ERH Family Network Collaborative
Monique Fountain Hanna, MD, MPH, MBA, Chief Medical Officer/CQI and Innovation Advisor, U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services
Mia Halthon, Parent Leader, ERH Family Network Collaborative
Cynthia Hayes, BS, eCID, CLC, Doula; Project Director, Doula Advocacy Team, Doulas 4CT Coalition
Ira Hillman, Strategy Lead, Bonding, Einhorn Collaborative
Karen Howard, JD, Partner, Crossover Partners
Allison Logan, BS-ED, MS, CEO and Founder, Logan Consulting & Company, LLC; Co-Founder of CT 359
Dayna Long, MD, FAAP, Pediatrician and Codirector, Center for Child and Community Health, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland
Susan Notkin, Executive Vice President, Center for the Study of Social Policy
Usha Ramachandran, MD, FAAP, Professor of Pediatrics; Associate Director, South Asian Total Health Initiative, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School; Medical Director, Reach Out and Read New Jersey; Early Childhood Champion, NJ Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics
Nikki Shearman, PhD, Chief of Strategic Initiatives, Reach Out and Read
Steven Thibert, Parent Leader, ERH Family Network Collaborative
David Willis, MD, FAAP, Senior Fellow, Center for the Study of Social Policy

A mother and child being playful together

Early Relational Health Explained

Early Relational Health — or the state of emotional well-being that grows from emotional connection between babies and toddlers and their parents and caregivers when they experience strong, positive, and nurturing relationships with each other — is critical to creating healthy children, healthy families, and healthy communities.

Why Early Relational Health Matters