The first day of Building a Trauma-Informed Nation began with a greeting by Gary Slutkin, founder and director of Cure Violence. He wished a “good morning” to those in the West and a “good afternoon” to those of us in Washington, DC.

This was my first experience with a conference that was augmented with people participating in “amplifier sites” across the U.S., as well as a streaming webcast. The innovative format provided a dimension of inclusiveness and geographic diversity. 

The Trauma-Informed DC Initiative met during one of the periods set aside for strategy sessions” after the session on trauma-informed communities.  A leader of that initiative, Leah Harris, provided an update on recent activities and invited attendees to join the effort. Everyone reported their particular interest in trauma and how they might get involved in local efforts.  A broad range of organizations, agencies, systems, professions were represented.  There were individuals who worked for local government, universities, social justice organizations, non-profits, pediatrics, and the military.