Strengthening Families Summit | NH Children's Trust

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.

OBJECTIVES

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 to support New Hampshire children and families across diverse needs, including basic supports, caregiver engagement, and early childhood well-being across our state’s communities.

Elevate New Hampshire family voice and lived experience by creating opportunities for NH caregiver leadership, shared learning, and collaboration with a diverse network of stakeholders committed to supporting children and families across the state.

Foster cross-sector collaboration to strengthen connections among New Hampshire families, service providers, health providers, educators, advocates, 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.

Tim 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.

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.