California’s First Surgeon General & ACEs Advocate

Dr. Nadine Burke Harris’ concern for her patients led her to an astounding discovery about the direct connection between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and long-term health through the mechanism of toxic stress.

Since that discovery, she has made it her life’s work to promote understanding of ACEs, toxic stress, and trauma-informed care. She is driven by a vision of transforming the practice of medicine and the future of public health through education, training, and changing the standard of care.

Dr. Burke Harris was appointed California’s first Surgeon General by Governor Gavin Newsom to guide the state in addressing the crisis of childhood trauma. In her role, she drove a series of critical changes to state policies and requirements that guide doctors, healthcare providers, and insurance companies in the effective treatment of childhood trauma.

Since leaving office, Dr. Burke Harris continues her work through public speaking, advocacy, and the pursuit of new trauma-informed therapies and treatments.

About

  • Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, MD, MPH, FAAP, is an award-winning physician, researcher and public health leader who has spent her career on the front lines of some of our world’s most pressing public health challenges. As California’s first-ever Surgeon General, she helped guide the state’s COVID response, co-chairing the committee to recommend vaccine allocation and helping California achieve the lowest cumulative mortality of any large state. Amid the throes of the COVID pandemic, Dr. Burke Harris successfully launched a first-in-the-nation statewide effort to train over 20,000 primary care providers on how to screen for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and respond with trauma-informed care.

    Dr. Burke Harris’ career has been dedicated to serving vulnerable communities and combating the root causes of health disparities. After completing her MPH at Harvard and residency at Stanford, she founded a clinic in one of San Francisco’s most underserved communities, Bayview Hunters Point. It was there that Burke Harris identified Adverse Childhood Experiences as a major risk factor affecting the health of her patients and applied research from the CDC and Kaiser Permanente to develop a novel clinical screening protocol.

    In 2011, she founded the Center for Youth Wellness to advance pediatric medicine, raise public awareness, and transform the way society responds to children exposed to ACEs and toxic stress. In this role she founded the Bay Area Research Consortium on Toxic Stress and Health and led the first-ever randomized-controlled trial to validate ACE screening and assess treatment of toxic stress.

    Dr. Burke Harris served as a committee member and co-author for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine for the consensus report Vibrant and Health Kids: Aligning Science, Practice and Policy to Advance Health Equity, published in 2019; and as a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ National Advisory Board for Screening.

    Her work has been profiled in best-selling books including How Children Succeed by Paul Tough and Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance as well as in Jamie Redford’s feature film, Resilience. She has also been featured on NPR, CNN, and Fox News as well as in USA Today and the New York Times. Dr. Burke Harris’ TED Talk, “How Childhood Trauma Affects Health Across the Lifetime” has been viewed more than 10 million times. Her book “The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity” was called “indispensable” by The New York Times.

    Dr. Burke Harris is the recipient of the 2023 David G. Nichol Health Equity Award presented by the American Pediatric Society and the American Board of Pediatrics, the Arnold P. Gold Foundation Humanism in Medicine Award presented by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Heinz Award for the Human Condition. She was named one of 2018’s Most Influential Women in Business by the San Francisco Business Times and as one of Capitol Weekly’s Top 100 most influential people in 2020.

  • Stanford University, Residency, Pediatrics

    Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, MPH

    University of California, Davis, School of Medicine, MD

    University of California, Berkeley, MS

  • 2023 David G. Nichols Health Equity Award, The American Pediatric Society & American Board of Pediatrics

    2020 Campanile Excellence in Achievement Award, Cal Alumni Association Board of Directors and UC Berkeley Foundation Board of Trustees

    2019 Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa, University of San Francisco

    2019 Woman of the Year, CA State Assembly, nominated by Assembly Member Phil Ting

    2018 Transformational Leadership Award, UC Davis School of Medicine

    2017 Trailblazer Award, Columbia Trauma-Free NYC

    2017 Dr. Kate Waller Barrett Impact Award, The National Crittenton Foundation

    2017 Silver SPUR Award for Extraordinary Contributions to Civic Life, SPUR

    2016 The 21st Heinz Award For the Human Condition, The Heinz Foundation,

    2014 Leadership Award, James Irvine Foundation

    2013 Black History Month Local Heroes Award, KQED

    2013 Humanism in Medicine Award, Gold Humanism Honor Society

    2011 Bank of America Neighborhood Excellence Initiative Award, Bank of America

    2011 "Hot 20 Under 40," 7x7 SF Magazine

    2011 Community Person of the Year, National Council of Negro Women

    2010 Florence Crittenton Award for Service to San Francisco’s Children and Their Families

    2009, Wishes for Wellness Honoree, California Pacific Medical Center Foundation

    2008 Certificate of Honor, Board of Supervisors, City and County of San Francisco

    2007 Tipping Point Award, Tipping Point Community

    2006 Certificate of Honor, Board of Supervisors, City and County of San Francisco (Women Builders of Communities and Dreams)

    2001 Gabriel Smilkstein Memorial Award for Outstanding Commitment to Humanitarian and Community Concerns and/or Service to the Medically Needy, UCDSOM

    1999 The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans

    1998 Award in Special Recognition of Participation in Promoting Excellence in Student Leadership, African American Leadership Council

“This might sound simple, but I cannot overstate this: The single most important thing is recognizing what the problem is in the first place.”

Book Dr. Burke Harris

If you would like to book Dr. Nadine Burke Harris for a speaking engagement, please contact Michael Rosenberg at mrosenberg@apbspeakers.com or fill out the form with your information and we’ll be in touch shortly.

For media inquiries, please contact Julie Rooney at julierooney@aceactionnetwork.org.

Thank you for your interest - we look forward to speaking with you.