Thrive Dispatches

In this episode, Dr. Matt Biel speaks with Secretary Elizabeth Groginsky, who leads New Mexico's Early Childhood Education and Care Department, the first cabinet-level department of its kind in the country. When she arrived in New Mexico in 2019, the state ranked 50th in many national measures of child wellbeing. Now they're building what many see as a national model for early childhood systems change.Secretary Groginsky shares her journey from program evaluator to systems change leader, exploring how she launched a new department during the pandemic and how New Mexico uses population-level data to drive community action. At the heart of their approach is a fundamental insight: you can't expect different results when the people delivering care can barely support their own families.The conversation reveals how New Mexico has transformed its approach to early childhood through bold investments in workforce compensation, creating wage parity for pre-K teachers, establishing comprehensive wage scales across all early childhood programs, and providing free college for early childhood professionals. These aren't incremental improvements but represent a fundamental shift in how a state values its early childhood workforce.

Dr. Susan Swick, Executive Director of the Ohana Center for Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health, shares her innovative approach to youth mental health on California's Monterey Peninsula. She emphasizes a community-centered model that integrates prevention and treatment, rejecting traditional hospital-centric methods. Dr. Swick discusses creating welcoming spaces to foster curiosity and reduce stigma. She highlights the importance of family involvement during crises and her vision for a holistic mental health ecosystem, offering valuable insights for systemic change.

Dr. Maya Coleman, Director of Hand in Hand Parenting and a clinical child psychologist, explores the emotional intricacies of caregiving. She discusses how communities can support children's thriving through care, belonging, and responsive relationships. Maya emphasizes the emotional nature of working with young children, revealing that navigating these feelings is tied to adults' own histories. She introduces five listening tools that foster connection and trust, demonstrating how expressing emotions can strengthen relationships and support caregivers.

In the first episode of season 2 we’re talking about video games. More specifically we’re speaking with Dr. Lynn Fiellin Play2Prevent Lab about how their video games are used as tools for substance use prevention in adolescents and health education.Through five games developed with young people as co-designers, Dr. Fiellin's team creates virtual environments where teens can experience the consequences of their choices safely and develop an understanding of risk, build refusal skills while maintaining social standing, and recognize that one mistake doesn't define their path forward.This episode explores how gaming combined with research and youth partnership, can transform prevention science—meeting young people where they are and speaking their language to promote not just survival, but thriving.

Thriving isn’t a solo act. In this closing conversation, host Matt Biel looks back on 11 episodes that help shape how Thrive Center pursues its mission.Anchored in Dr. Jack Shonkoff’s insight that thriving is “the match (or mismatch) between what’s unique about each child and the environment that child is living in,” Matt revisits the season’s most resonant lessons on collective transformation.From Maria Vasquez on communities forging resilience before systems catch up, to Jen Drake Croft’s philosophy of walking alongside rather than leading from above, and Jason Lembeck’s call to “shrink that time to community,” the episode traces a clear through-line: relationships are our greatest asset when resources are tight and systems are strained.Listen in as Thrive Center recommits to its role as a connective tissue that honors local expertise, resists scarcity thinking, and creates intentional spaces for collaboration and mutual support. The closing question for every listener: in times of disruption, how do we build something better together?

Louise Langheier, founder of the Luminary Impact Fund and co-founder of Peer Health Exchange, dives deep into reimagining mental health care. She emphasizes the critical role of families in mental health, sharing personal stories that illustrate both resilience and the significant obstacles faced. The discussion reveals how traditional funding models overlook family-centric care, while highlighting innovative leaders breaking barriers. With a focus on collective action and tailored approaches, Louise inspires hope for a future where family mental wellness is prioritized.

In this insightful conversation, Kim Kee, a passionate community advocate from Clacato, Arizona, Charnielle Desiderio, a principal social service representative from Sanders, Arizona, and Jennifer Drake-Croft, an expert in early childhood mental health, delve into the power of culturally grounded partnerships. They discuss the significance of traditional practices like cradleboarding and Positive Diné Parenting in nurturing infants. The trio emphasizes the importance of community collaboration, cultural humility, and adapting mental health initiatives to support the well-being of Indigenous children.

What does it really take for children to thrive—not just individually, but within families and communities? In this episode of Thrive Dispatches, host Dr. Matt Biel speaks with Dr. Jack Shonkoff, renowned pediatrician and funding director of Harvard's Center on the Developing Child, about what he calls Early Childhood Development 2.0.Together, they unpack how decades of developmental science point beyond parent-child relationships to include broader community and environmental factors. From systemic inequities to housing stability and even air quality, Dr. Shonkoff argues for a radically expanded approach to early childhood policy and practice.Listen in as they discuss:Why responsive relationships are necessary but not sufficientThe shift from “being nice” to grounding care in cutting-edge scienceHow public investment and real-world impact can—and must—alignThe urgent need to adapt programs for the children they’re not yet reachingThis is a rich conversation for anyone working in child health, education, social policy—or who just wants to understand how to build a world where all children can thrive.

Jason Lehmbeck, Director of the Innovation Hub at the Thrive Center, and Kinsley Cuen, Program Manager, discuss their journey in fostering collaboration among innovators tackling child and family mental health. They share insights from their first cohort, emphasizing matchmaking between entrepreneurs and experts. The innovative 'science fair-style' Solutions Fair is revealed, showcasing fellows' projects through interactive demonstrations. Their vision emphasizes human-centered approaches in early childhood education, looking to bridge research and practice for impactful solutions.

This week, Dr. Matt Biel speaks with Dr. David Willis, a pediatrician who dedicated his career to understanding how relationships shape child development and wellbeing and putting in places policies and support structures to enable these relationships to flourish.David brings a unique perspective shaped by his experiences as a developmental and behavioral pediatrician, academic scholar, leader of federal policy in early childhood, and founder of the Nurture Connection Network.The discussion explores the evolution of pediatric care beyond individual treatment toward a more holistic understanding of children within their relational ecosystems—families, neighborhoods, schools, and communities.David shares evidence and case studies on how communities across the country are successfully implementing locally-tailored relational health initiatives that honor families' values while addressing isolation and fostering connection - as well as the results these programs deliver including Bridgeport, Connecticut's "Baby Bundle" initiative that has improved developmental outcomes in Head Start by 15% in just four years.For questions, comments, or ideas for future episodes, please email us at: thrivecenter@georgetown.edu.