It is more important than ever to discuss how to build a society where all families can thrive. At the core of this conversation is a vision of strong, connected communities that nurture healthy family life, ensure access to essential resources, foster Early Relational Health, and support families by offering space for learning, reflection, healing, and hope — elements urgently needed in today’s world.

In November 2025, Nurture Connection, Reach Out and Read, and the American Academy of Pediatrics will boldly convene a diverse cohort of communities and partners in Washington, D.C. to establish the start of an ongoing learning coalition across national and local networks. Elevating community and parent voice, together with leaders from health care partners and other early childhood systems, we will host facilitated conversations on strengthening connections among families, health care, and communities to support positive early relationships and Early Relational Health.

This gathering, fully contained within the Watergate Hotel, will advance efforts to demonstrate how place-based, community-powered partnerships can transform systems and promote the foundations for lifelong well-being for children and families. The summit will help shape an emerging relational framework to inform next generation research, policy, and practice — centered on parent voices and driven by communities.