- Stress and the brain.
Overview
The Think Tank was held on February 9, 2017 at the Eli and Edythe Broad Stage at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center. It continued the tradition of convening a group of 500 stakeholders from fields including education, business, philanthropy, and medicine who directly impact policy and practice in early child development, and serving as a platform to showcase cutting-edge neuroscience research related to children ages 0-3. The theme was “Stress and the Brain: The Value of Early Relationships and Self-Regulation.”
Desired Impact
The 2017 Think Tank featured a diverse group of neuroscientists speaking on different topics related to early relationships and self-regulation, including:
- The role of adult self-regulation in shaping a child’s experience of the world
- Goldilocks parenting and how it helps build executive functioning skills
- What practitioners can do to support parents, caregivers, and communities in ensuring that children build the skills needed to perform to the best of their ability
The Whole Child Award was expanded in 2017 to 3 separate awards: Medical, Community, and Visionary. Whole Child Awards were presented to Ben Danielson, MD (Medical); Alicia Lieberman, PhD (Community); and Jack Shonkoff, MD (Visionary).
2017 Think Tank Speakers
Stephanie Carlson, PhD
Professor at the Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota
Topic: Shaping Executive Function Skills: What Can Caregivers Do?
Ruth Feldman, PhD
Simms/Mann Professor of Developmental Neurogenetics, Reichman University
Topic: How Parent-Infant Synchrony Supports Children’s Regulatory Capacities
Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek, PhD
Stanley and Debra Lefkowitz Distinguished Faculty Fellow in the Department of Psychology and Director of the Temple Infant and Child Laboratory at Temple University
Topic: Play: Rethinking How We Educate Our Children
Patricia K. Kuhl, PhD
Bezos Family Foundation Endowed Chair for Early Childhood Learning, Co-Director of the University of Washington Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences
Topic: Music and the Baby Brain
Andrew Meltzoff, PhD
Job and Gertrud Tamaki Endowed Chair, Co-Director of the University of Washington Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences
Topic: Bodies, Brains and Emotions in Infant Development
Jonathan Mooney
Founder and President of Project Eye-To-Eye, a mentoring and advocacy non-profit organization for students with learning differences
Topic: Different Kinds of Minds
Catherine Monk, PhD
Associate Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry, and Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Director for Research at the Women’s Program, Columbia University Medical Center
Topic: The Mother-Infant Relationship Before Birth and Why it Matters
Pat Levitt, PhD
Simms/Mann Chair in Developmental Neurogenetics at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
Topic: When Does Baby Brain Development Start?
Harmony Zhu
Concert Pianist and recipient of the Simms/Mann Aspen School of Music Piano Fellowship 2017, 2018, and 2019
Topic: Piano Performance Followed by a Conversation with Dr. Pat Levitt
2017 Whole Child Award Winner
Jack Shonkoff, MD
2017 Whole Child Award Winner – Visionary
Director, Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University
Ben Danielson, MD
2017 Whole Child Award Winner – Medical
Senior Medical Director of Odessa’s Children’s Clinic
Alicia Lieberman, PhD
2017 Whole Child Award Winner – Community
Director, Child Trauma Research Program, UCSF
