Tuesday November 3, 2026
Grappone Conference Center, Concord, NH
Join NH Children’s Trust for its 14th annual Strengthening Families Summit, Bringing it Home: Centering Families, Strengthening Communities. This year’s Summit focuses on turning knowledge into action—equipping participants with practical tools to support families in their homes, programs, and communities.
Building on the Strengthening Families framework, sessions will explore strategies to strengthen protective factors and respond to the everyday realities families face, including supporting basic needs, engaging caregivers, and promoting positive early childhood development. The Summit will also incorporate emerging approaches and frameworks that support child and family well-being.
The Summit will bring together parent leaders, service providers, educators, health professionals, and community partners from across New Hampshire for interactive learning and cross-sector dialogue. Participants will leave with actionable strategies, strengthened partnerships, and renewed commitment to supporting children and families.
Summit Objectives
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Identify practical approaches to help New Hampshire families thrive, strengthen relationships, and promote the well-being of Granite State children.
Explore strategies that support NH children and families across the full range of needs, including basic supports, caregiver engagement, and early childhood well-being in communities across the state.
Elevate NH family voice & lived experience by creating opportunities for NH caregiver leadership, shared learning, & collaboration with a broad network of stakeholders committed to supporting children & families across the state.
Foster cross-sector collaboration to strengthen connections among New Hampshire families, service providers, health providers, educators, and community leaders — enhancing coordinated, community-driven responses to the unique needs of families in our state.
FEATURED SPEAKERS
Meet our Keynote
Tym Rourke, MA, is a national consultant and strategist focused on behavioral health policy, systems transformation, and expanding equitable access to care. As Managing Director of Advisory Services at Third Horizon, he leads consulting engagements for nonprofits, foundations, and government agencies working to strengthen behavioral health and community health systems.
Tym has more than 25 years of experience in health and social systems leadership across nonprofit, philanthropic, and public sectors. Since joining Third Horizon, he has led initiatives including a statewide analysis of substance use disorder financing in New Hampshire, helped launch a national collaborative advancing telehealth access, and facilitated development of Oregon’s statewide plan to address substance use disorders in partnership with the Oregon Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission. Previously, he held leadership roles with the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and a number of youth and family oriented nonprofits.
Tym will deliver a powerful keynote exploring what it means to strengthen families when life changes without warning. Drawing on his personal experience as a father whose young son faced and survived a life-threatening illness, along with more than 25 years of leadership in prevention, behavioral health, philanthropy, and community change, Tym will reflect on the relationships, resources, and collective action that help families navigate adversity. His remarks will remind us that resilience is not something families should have to build alone—it grows when communities listen, respond, and stand beside them.
Tym is a father of two, and lives with his family in Bedford, New Hampshire.
Her work has been published by the Associated Press, The Atlantic, The New Republic and numerous local and regional publications. She also hosts the NHPBS weekly digital news series The State We're In.
Meet our Event Host
Melanie Plenda is the executive director of The Granite State News Collaborative, an award winning collective of more than 20 local media, educational and community organizations across the state of New Hampshire. Melanie has more than 20 years of journalism experience.
DOWNLOADS
Download our Session Guide!
Download our Group Sign-up Sheet!
Download our Social Media Sheet!
AGENDA
8:00-8:45am
Sign-in, Networking, & Continental Breakfast
8:45-9:00am
Welcoming Remarks from Christina Lachance
9:00-10:00am
Keynote from Tym Rourke
10:00-10:15am
Morning Break and Vendor Visits
10:15-11:30am
Breakout Session Block 1
11:30am-12:30pm
Lunch
12:30-1:00pm
Awards Ceremony
1:00-2:00pm
Plenary Session: Caregiver Panel
2:00-2:15pm
Afternoon Break
2:15-3:30pm
Breakout Session Block 2
Our 2026 Strengthening Families Summit Program is HERE!
The 14th Annual Strengthening Families Summit, Bringing it Home: Centering Families, Strengthening Communities, takes place Tuesday, November 3, 2026, at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord. Grounded in the Strengthening Families Framework and its five protective factors, the day brings together partners from across New Hampshire to share practical strategies that support children and families. Keynote speaker Tym Rourke, a New Hampshire native and national behavioral health strategist at Third Horizon, opens the program, followed by morning and afternoon sessions on fatherhood engagement, school and community partnerships, mandated reporter training, the Period of PURPLE Crying, the HOPE Framework, and how Child Advocacy Centers respond after a report. A caregiver panel lifts up family voice and leadership, and the awards ceremony honors Heather Lefoll (Lucy Fowlkes Breed Award) and Stephanie Lesperance (Dr. Robert Chamberlin Award).
2026 Strengthening Families
Summit Program
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