Can childhood trauma shape a person’s lifelong health? Dr. Nadine Burke Harris and Governor Josh Green reveal the powerful science behind Adverse Childhood Events (ACES), which can profoundly shape an individual’s development, increasing the risk for chronic physical and mental health conditions across their lifespan. Drawing on their backgrounds as both physicians and policy makers, Dr. Harris and Dr. Green discuss how trauma-informed care can heal communities in Hawaiʻi, California, and around the world.
Nadine Burke Harris is a pediatrician, author, and former Surgeon General of California. She began her work on the health effects of childhood trauma while working as a clinician in the underserved neighborhood of Bayview-Hunters Point in San Francisco. She went on to found the Bayview Child Health Center and the Center for Youth Wellness to push pediatric medicine to acknowledge the consequences of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and toxic stress on childrenʻs health. Her award winning book, The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity, details the clinical experiences in San Francisco that led her to these groundbreaking findings on the significance of childhood stress on lifelong health outcomes, and what we can do to break the cycle of toxic stress.
Dr. Josh Green is a physician and the current Governor of Hawai’i. Known for his affordable housing and trauma-informed healthcare policies, he has dedicated his time in office to advocating for all dimensions of public health. After being stationed in Hawai’i by the National Health Service Corps in 2000, Dr. Green began his career as an emergency room doctor in rural hospitals and clinics on the Big Island. He served in the Hawai’i State House of Representatives and the Senate before being elected Lieutenant Governor in 2018 and then Governor in 2022. Following his successful leadership during the pandemic, Dr. Green founded the nation’s first Office of Wellness and Resilience in 2023.
Robert Perkinson (moderator) is an associate professor of American Studies at UH Manoa and the director of the Better Tomorrow Speaker Series.
Yunji de Nies (interviewer) is a journalist, reporter, and TV host based in Honolulu, Hawaii.