Speaker Presentations and other Materials from the ACEs Conference 2019 are now available!
This year on June 13 and 14, Family Centre, in affiliation with the Inter-Agency Committee for Children and Families and CURB, presents its second annual ACEs Conference to educate the Bermuda public on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and their long-term effects. The 2 day conference will focus on Understanding & Addressing Racial Trauma and the hidden wounds associated with it, and The Economics of ACEs – the high cost of ACEs on individuals, families and the community. Registration is open NOW at https://www.ptix.bm/aces!
ACEs Bermuda Survey
Family Centre, along with the Bermuda Health Council, are currently conducting research on ACEs in Bermuda, and plan to present our findings at the ACEs 2019 conference. The ACEs survey is open to all adults who spent any part of their childhood in Bermuda, and is currently accepting responses.
O Bermuda Health Council está realizando pesquisas em colaboração com o Family Centre; um estudo sobre experiências adversas na infância. Esta pesquisa recolherá informações dos adultos na Bermuda sobre eventos que eles experimentaram durante os primeiros 18 anos de suas vidas e das suas vidas atuais.
Family Centre’s ACEs Conference 2019 will follow up on last year’s event, ACEs 2018 – Awareness & A Call to Action, which was targeted to healthcare and social service professionals. The 2019 confererence will speak to the effects of ACEs on employees and their families, and by extension, ACEs’ effects on the economy. Additionally, an entire day of this 2 day conference will be dedicated to understanding and addressing racial trauma. Racial trauma is a vital topic that needs to be explored in the Bermuda context. The subject was touched on briefly at the 2018 conference, and followed up with Family Centre’s ongoing ‘Shedding Light on Blind Spots within Therapeutic Relationships’ workshops. Family Centre thank Citizens Uprooting Racism in Bermuda (CURB) for their partnership in presenting ACEs Day 1, Understanding & Addressing Racial Trauma.
ACEs Conference 2019
Day 1 – Understanding & Addressing Racial Trauma
Thursday, June 13, 2019 | 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM
HSBC Bank Bermuda
The purpose of Day 1 is to help the community understand the connection between racial trauma and ACEs.
Day 1 is designed to be a time of reflection, renewal, self-care, and healing for those who are committed to addressing issues of race, racial oppression, and Adverse Childhood Experiences and their consequences.
Day 1 – Understanding & Addressing Racial Trauma is presented in partnership with Citizens Uprooting Racism in Bermuda (CURB) and Inter Agency Committee for Children and Families (IAC).
Audience: Everyone!
ACEs Day 1 Presenters:
Kenneth Hardy, Ph.D.
Christiana Ibilola Awosan, Ph.D. LMFT
Dr. Kenneth Hardy is an internationally recognized clinician, author, and Trainer. He is also the Director of the Eikenberg Institute for Relationships in New York City where he maintains a private practice specializing in working with traumatized and oppressed populations. Dr. Hardy is the former Director of the Center for Children, Families, and Trauma at the Ackerman Institute in New York City, and formerly served on the faculty at Syracuse University where he held numerous positions including Director of Clinical Training and Research, as well as Chairperson of the Department of Child and Family Studies.
He has won considerable acclaim for the contributions that his publications and videotapes have made toward challenging our society to think critically about the hidden but significant connections that often exist between trauma and issues of oppression. In addition to his own writing, Dr. Hardy serves on the editorial boards of six publications including the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, the Journal of Family Psychotherapy, the Journal of Divorce, the Journal of Couples Therapy, the Psychotherapy Networker, and the Journal of Family Counseling. He is a frequent contributor to the popular print media such as the USA Today, Jet Magazine, and Good Housekeeping. Dr. Hardy’s work with children and families has earned him considerable public acclaim, including appearances on the Oprah Winfrey Show, ABC‘s 20/20, Dateline NBC, and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).
He has published prolifically and is the co-author of the following books:
- Minorities and Family Therapy
- Teens Who Hurt; Clinical Interventions for Breaking the Cycle of Violence
- Previsioning Family Therapy: Race, Class, Gender and Culture
Christiana I. Awosan, Ph.D.,is a Licensed Marriage/Couple and Family therapist, educator and researcher. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Marriage and Family Therapy Program at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey and is an Associate Faculty of the Eikenberg Academy for Social Justice in New York, New York.
Dr. Awosan conducted workshops, seminars, and all-day institutes at several national and international conferences on issues related to effective therapeutic strategies with Black individuals, families and couples. She is author of “Coupling processes and experiences of never married heterosexual Black men and women: A phenomenological study” and maintains a practice in New Jersey and New York, New York.
View Dr. Christina Awosan’s presentation from the ACEs 2018 Conference here: ACEs within the context of Racial Trauma by Dr. Christiana Awosan, PhD., LMFT (.pptx)
ACEs Day 1 – Key Details:
ACEs Conference Day 1: Understanding and Addressing Racial Trauma
Date: Thursday, June 13, 2019
Time: 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM
Location: HSBC Bank Bermuda, 37 Front Street, Hamilton HM 12
6th Floor Hamilton Room – Front Street Entrance
Bank doors are open to the public at 9:00 am.
Event attendees are requested to use the Front Street entrance only.
Space is limited.
Registration is open NOW at https://www.ptix.bm/aces!
Thank you to our sponsors: Bank of Bermuda Foundation, ABIC, ABIR, Australia Japan Cable (AJC), Butterfield & Vallis, Gosling’s, Kitson Group of Companies, and Lindo’s Group of Companies! We also wish to thank HSBC Bank Bermuda for the use of their space.
ACEs Conference 2019
Day 2 – The Economics of ACEs
Friday, June 14, 2019 | 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Hamilton Princess Harbourview Ballroom
The aim of the conference is to bring together business leaders, insurance professionals, policy analysts, and key stakeholders to share the science behind adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). The business community will gain an understanding of how childhood trauma could translate into low productivity, high turnover, sinking morale and rising health care costs. Our goal is to strengthen cross-sector collaboration and explore ways we can work together to promote greater awareness of the potential impact of ACEs on business productivity.
Day 2 – The Economics of ACEs is presented in partnership with Inter Agency Committee for Children and Families (IAC).
Audience: Business leaders, insurance providers, donor community, policy analysts, social service providers, educators, human resources managers, and other professionals.
ACEs Day 2 Presenters:
Opening Remarks by Premier the Hon, E. David Burt, JP, MP.
Vincent J. Felitti, MD, Clinical Professor of Medicine at University of California, Co-Principal Investigator of the Landmark Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Study – Afternoon Keynote Speaker (via Web Conference)
Mark A. Cloutier, MPP, MPH, Chief Executive Officer of Caminar – Morning Keynote Speaker
Dr. Bessel van der Kolk (ACEs Introductory Video)
Kenneth Hardy, Ph.D.
Charles Hunt, The Audacity Firm – Journey from Trauma to Resilience
Tara Hines, Bermuda Health Council – Co-Principal Researcher of Bermuda ACEs Survey
Shanell Vaughn – Shambhala Yoga and Healing Centre Bermuda
Margaret Giloth – Phenomenal People – presenting on “The Lost Father”
Kimberley Fisher – Graphic Recorder
Tiffany Paynter – Conference Host
A renowned physician and researcher, Dr. Vincent J. Felitti is one of the world’s foremost experts on childhood trauma. Leading the charge in research into how adverse childhood experiences affect adults, he is co-principal investigator of the internationally recognized Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study, a long-term, in-depth, analysis of over 17,000 adults. Defying conventional belief, this study famously revealed a powerful relationship between our emotional experiences as children and our physical and mental health as adults. In fact, the ACE study shows that humans convert childhood traumatic emotional experiences into organic disease later in life. Revolutionary at its inception, Felitti’s groundbreaking research remains extremely relevant to today’s healthcare models.
Founder of the Department of Preventive Medicine for Kaiser Permanente, Felitti served as the chief of preventive medicine for over 25 years. Under Dr. Felitti’s leadership, his department provided comprehensive medical evaluations to 1.1 million individuals, becoming the largest single-site medical evaluation facility in the western world. During this time, Felitti’s revolutionary health risk abatement programs incorporated weight loss, smoking cessation, stress management, and a wide range of cutting-edge efforts to reduce patient risk factors. Dr. Felitti is Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, and a Fellow of The American College of Physicians. He is currently Senior Editor of The Permanente Journal and on the International Editorial Board of the Swiss medical journal, Trauma und Gewalt. Dr. Felitti has served on advisory committees of the Institute of Medicine, the American Psychiatric Association, the Committee of the Secretary of Health and Human Services for Healthy People 2020, and the Advisory Committee on Women’s Services at SAMHSA. A noted expert on the genetic disease hemochromatosis, as well as obesity, he educates audiences around the country on these two very common, deadly maladies.
An engaging speaker, Felitti has traveled the world speaking with audiences and various policy leaders about his research. A well versed medical expert, Felitti also uses his knowledge to speak out against domestic violence and other forms of childhood trauma. Drawing on his years of experience, he has become an important voice advocating for the wellbeing of children everywhere. While time may not heal all wounds, Felitti helps show audiences how we can understand these physical and mental traumas, and ultimately, prevent them.
Bessel van der Kolk (born 1943) is a Boston-based Dutch psychiatrist noted for his research in the area of post-traumatic stress since the 1970s. His work focuses on the interaction of attachment, neurobiology, and developmental aspects of trauma’s effects on people. His major publication, the New York Times bestseller, The Body Keeps the Score, talks about how the role of trauma in psychiatric illness has changed over the past 20 years, what we have learned about the ways the brain is shaped by traumatic experiences, how traumatic stress is a response of the entire organism, and how that knowledge needs to be integrated into healing practices.
Dr. van der Kolk will present a video introduction to Adverse Childhood Experiences.
Mark A. Cloutier, MPP, MPH has dedicated his career to increasing access to quality health and supportive services and improving communities’ overall health and well-being.
Mark says, “Improving the health of communities begins with understanding the role of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and social determinants of health in predisposing individuals, families and communities to poor mental health and physical health outcomes.
He is currently CEO of Caminar, a nonprofit community based agency that empowers and supports individuals and families to move towards resilience, wellness and independence, reaching some 20,000 people each year in California.
Previous leadership roles include Horizons Services, San Francisco Foundation, the Center for Youth Wellness, Kaiser Family Foundation, and San Francisco AIDS Foundation.
Charles Hunt is a Resilience Expert, Educator, and speaker. Adept at leveraging transparency to inspire and get results, this former College Recruiting, Talent Management, Diversity, and Supply Chain leader left the corporate world to fulfill his vision of building unbreakable spirits and cultivating resiliency for those who, like him, have The Audacity to Succeed. He helps students, young professionals, business and thought leaders build resilience while harnessing our most important resource in resilience…our minds. Charles’ TEDxTalk “What Trauma Taught Me About Resilience” has attracted international acclaim.
View Charles Hunt’s presentation from the ACEs 2018 Conference here: ACEs – A journey from Trauma to Resilience by Charles Hunt, The Audacity Firm (.pptx)
Tara Hines is the Project Associate for Data and Outcomes Research at the Bermuda Health Council. Ms. Hines background includes a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology, with minors in Microbiology, Chemistry, and Mathematics, as well as a certificate in Political Science. She also has a Master’s of Science in Public Health, in International Health, in the Global Disease Epidemiology and Control track, with a Vaccines Sciences certificate. Professionally, Tara has worked as a mixed methods analyst at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and with the US Food and Drug Administration. In addition she has served as an adjunct professor in the Nursing and Natural & Computational Sciences divisions of Gwynedd Mercy University and most recently as the Executive Director to a regional emergency medical service. Her research interests span the intersection of social determinants, health economics, and community disease burden.
View Tara Hines’ presentation from the ACEs 2018 Conference here: ACEs – Bermuda ACES Research & Data by Tara Hines, Healthcare Data Analyst, BHeC (.pptx)
Shanell Vaughn is the owner of Shambhala Yoga and Healing Centre Bermuda.
Her experience has taught her that profound and life-changing shifts can happen if one stays open and learns to trust their own higher wisdom. She offers individuals the opportunity of transformation and healing through cultivated presence, compassionate energy work, yoga and hypnotherapy techniques.
Shanell is a certified Shamanic Breathwork Facilitator™, certified Reconnection Healing Practitioner®, certified Metatronic Healing Practitioner, U.K. certified Hypnotherapist (GHR) and Quantum Healing Hypnosis Practitioner, certified Reiki Practitioner, and holds a Master’s Degree in Transpersonal Psychology from the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology (California).
Margaret Giloth is the President of registered Bermuda charity, PHENOMENAL PEOPLE…..Living, Loving & Learning. With a keen focus on youth development and empowerment, Margaret formed the D.R.E.A.M GIRLS CLUB mentoring program for young ladies between the ages of 9 through 17. The D.R.E.AM acronym represents some of the activities that the Club offers such as Dancing, Reading, Expression, Art/Acting and Modelling. Relevant life skills are transferred as participants practice the art of dreaming and fulfilling goals and objectives. In September and October 2019, the D.R.E.A.M GIRLS CLUB will complete two phenomenal goals: publish a book featuring their amazing girls and launch a short film entitled: The Lost Father, starring youth participants and other local actors.
Over the course of a very exciting 11 years, Margaret has inspired young women to claim their place at life’s banquet table; to state what types of careers they desire, and to start them on the pathway to achievement at an early age. The Program proudly offers college scholarships for committed participants.
Kimberley Fisher feels fortunate to have served as graphic recorder on the hosting teams for the meaningful conferences organised by The Family Centre, Bermuda Hospitals Board, OUTBermuda and Ecology Action.
She previously worked in the non-profit sector for the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants in North Carolina, and later served as board member and Programme Officer at The Centre on Philanthropy in Bermuda. These and other formative experiences gifted her with a unique view of community service and connectedness.
She finds meaning in supporting others as they retrace steps to their own individual and community resilience and views her training and expertise in Grow Biointensive mini-farming, graphic recording, non-linear movement method and restorative practice as different tools for this same exploration.
She lives on a research and demonstration mini-farm in Mendocino, CA as Assistant Garden Manager for Ecology Action, teaching the local and international community how to better feed themselves while building and preserving the soil and conserving resources.
Bermudian Tiffany Paynter is a trained facilitator in methods designed to enable meaningful community dialogue.
Through the Authentic Leadership in Action (ALIA) Institute, Tiffany is experienced in applying methodologies such as World Café, Appreciative Inquiry, Open Space Technology, Theory U, Graphic Recording, and Chaordic Project Planning to enable results-oriented conversations.
Tiffany has designed, taught, and lead community engagement events with groups ranging from 20 to 120 community members in important conversations around topics such as workforce development, third sector collaboration, fundraising, drug control and the power of the performing arts.
She has worked with organizations in Bermuda, the US and Canada, including The Mid-Ohio Food Bank, Columbus Ohio; WindHorse Farm, Halifax, Nova Scotia; the Bermuda Government’s Ministry of Public Safety; The Bank of Bermuda Foundation; the Bermuda Hospitals Board; and The Centre on Philanthropy (Bermuda).
ACEs Day 2 – Key Details:
ACEs Conference Day 2: The Economics of ACEs
Date: Friday, June 14, 2019
Time: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Location: Hamilton Princess, Harbourview Ballroom
Space is limited.
Registration is open NOW at https://www.ptix.bm/aces!
Thank you to our sponsors, Butterfield Bank, Edmund Gibbons Limited, Lindo’s Group of Companies, U.S. Consulate General in Bermuda, and the Government of Bermuda – Ministry of National Security!
ACEs Conference 2019 Art of Hosting team:
Stephanie Guthman, Ph.D.
Kimberley Fisher – Graphic Recorder
Tiffany Paynter
Pete Westmore
Lovette Lovell
Gwendolyn de la Chevotiere Creary
Danielle Joseph
Bonnie Claggett
ACEs Conference Costs and Payment Options
Early Bird Registration (available until June 5)
ACEs Day 1 and 2: $350
ACEs Day 1: $90
ACEs Day 2: $275
General Registration
ACEs Day 1 and 2: $375
ACEs Day 1: $95
ACEs Day 2: $300
Registration is open NOW at https://www.ptix.bm/aces!
Group Discounts
No group discounts are available for Day 1.
5% discounts available for groups of 10 or more for Day 2 or for the Full 2-Day Conference.
Payment Methods
1. Pay online via credit or debit card at www.ptix.bm/aces
2. Pay in person at the Family Centre via check or cash
3. Should you have a Government Purchase Order please submit the names of attendees on each registration form along with the Purchase Order number for cross reference – all payments must be received no later than June 10th or your registration will not be complete
4. For special registrations send your completed registration form to info@tfc.bm / stephanie@tfc.bm
Please contact conference lead, Dr. Stephanie Guthman if you would like to get involved with the ACEs Conference in any capacity, including sponsorship and promotion of the event, volunteering at the event, and presenting at the event.
Call: (441) 232-1116 ext. 2025
Email: stephanie@tfc.bm
To learn more about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), visit the CDC website: https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childabuseandneglect/acestudy/index.html
To learn more about ACEs in Bermuda, read these recent articles: