The Shift: Voices of Prevention — A podcast by Prevent Child Abuse America
How do we create a future where every family is safe, supported, and filled with hope? The Shift explores bold, upstream solutions to the public health challenges facing children and families today.
Hosted by Prevent Child Abuse America, each episode features transformative conversations with experts, changemakers, and people with lived experience. Together, we dive into prevention strategies, policy breakthroughs, and the systemic shifts that have the power to change lives.
Part of PCA America’s movement to make family well-being the new normal, The Shift amplifies the voices and ideas shaping a brighter, more hopeful future for all families.
Subscribe to The Shift wherever you get your podcasts.
Guest ideas or feedback? Email us at theshift@preventchildabuse.org
The Shift: Voices of Prevention — A podcast by Prevent Child Abuse America
Rise and Shine with Melissa - Day 2
The journey continues!
Day 2 of the conference brings you even more motivation and practical wisdom as Melissa explores the steps you can take to stay on track and amplify your impact.
With actionable tips and heartwarming stories, this episode will leave you feeling motivated and ready to take on whatever comes your way.
Subscribe for more episodes
Hello and welcome to day two of Prevent Child Abuse America's 2025 National Conference. I'm Luke Waldo, and I'm Nathan Fink. And this is The Shift: Voices of Prevention. And once again, we're here with Dr. Melissa Merrick, CEO of PCAA America for our Mornings with Melissa segment.
SPEAKER_01:Hi, Luke.
SPEAKER_02:Melissa, yesterday we were inspired by Desmond Mead and a host of amazing workshop presenters. What can we expect from day two of the conference?
SPEAKER_00:Well, I think you can expect more of the same, right? We've really been intentional about curating a fantastic agenda and we have some wonderful sessions. So I think you'll be inspired again today. I think yesterday I agree. Desmond did all the things we were hoping he would do, right? Made us feel uh thankful for being together in this work. And now it's here, right? We are really exploring and trying new ideas on and learning about research and all of the things that that contribute to a real prevention ecosystem for children and families. So I'm just really excited about everything that we're going to continue to learn today.
SPEAKER_01:And now that it is day two and that we're, as you said, settled in the work. What do you want our participants to know about their journey together through this work?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, you know, I think that this time, it kind of reminds me of doing this work during COVID, where there were a lot of both ands or either-ores, right? You could feel both really thankful that your travel schedule was lighter and that you were home making family meals with your family, and yet still very deeply saddened and horrified by loss and suffering and access challenges, right? And it's this like sitting with both of those things that made that time pretty complex. And I think we're in a similar moment, right? Where there's a lot of forces out there that are threatening the work that we do, and there's a lot of increasing pressures on families, including those of us in the workforce, right? And yet there are these glimmers of opportunity. There are these ways that together, when we sit with that complexity, we can still chart a really transformational future, right? And I do think that coming together in person, I think this is why, again, we're sold out, like biggest conference we've ever had, and we have a bunch of people joining us on the live stream, which is just terrific. But I think this in-person component is because we want to get energy from one another. We want to get, you know, the friendship and camaraderie, but we also want that continued uh curiosity and challenge and figuring problems out and learning lessons from each other. And so I just think that's really what's happening at this conference in a really deep, meaningful way.
SPEAKER_02:Aaron Powell Yeah, I can't agree more. Being in person, uh there's simply no substitute for it. So Dr. Bruce Perry is today's keynote. How has his incredible work over the years affected where we're going with primary prevention?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, well, Dr. Perry has a special place in my heart. He's really the reason I came to PCA America. He's our wonderful vice chair of our board, and as you say, been in this work for many, many years of childhood trauma and really understanding the impacts on the brain and on development. Um, but I think how he's helped to push primary prevention is that it's it's demystifying it, right? Where it's like prevention is happening in every moment. And these tiny relational moments, right, these interchanges, exchanging a smile here in the studio, right? A head nod, a fist bump, all of these like little things activate the good parts of our brain and help us be open to imagination and transformation. And so I think, you know, this idea, and we know through our Healthy Families America work that it's really focused on relational health and relationships, and he just allows that to come to life for people in such a tangible way. And I think his work just globally with children affected by all kinds of trauma, war and famine and and uh all the things, um, also brings some perspective to this moment, right? It's like there are challenges always, and yet we have to persevere, yet we have to get through to the other side, and and obviously prevention, primary prevention, and the whole prevention e you know, continuum is a real big piece of that.
SPEAKER_01:I'm so excited that you mentioned that intentionality, because if you name it, then you can start to work towards creating an environment where you can do something about it, hence why we're here together. Now, is there anything up and coming that's exciting that we should be aware of from PCA America?
SPEAKER_00:Well, I you know, it's just this our our renewed commitment to the work, right? To the work that we've been doing. And you yesterday we released our new tagline, right? Centering families through every turn. I think what's really um reflected in that tagline is just we have to show up for each other before a crisis, and we have to stay close throughout the journey. We know there are going to be turns and shifts, right? None of uh parenting and life is not linear, right? There's gonna be um topsy-turvy moments and and such, and yet we can again have those relationships, those healing moments, uh, those uh uh ecosystems of prevention to help meet uh every family where they are. I think it's just a beautiful way of bringing our blueprint for uh family well-being uh to life.
SPEAKER_02:Well, thank you again, Melissa, for sharing your morning with us, and we're excited for day two.
SPEAKER_00:Me too.
SPEAKER_01:Luke, day two. Now that we're in the work, what's standing out to you?
SPEAKER_02:Well, I think a lot about what we already experienced in day one, right? Which was, as we noted yesterday, coming back together, valuing the power of relationships and power of community, and also recognizing that we learned a lot already from day one, from presenters, from our keynotes about actual practices, policies, and so on that have really moved us towards a prevention ecosystem. And so I think that's really what I'm excited about with day two is how we begin to put those puzzle pieces together, um, both from a relational and from a practice and implementation perspective.
SPEAKER_01:And I think, you know, looking around the room, noticing that there are a lot of really standout programs, approaches, strategies. Now, as you said, putting the puzzle pieces together about how we can work more succinctly together through systems to center families, as Melissa talked about with her new slogan. And you can invite upstream solutions into your feed by subscribing to The Shift Voices of Prevention today. Join us to create an ecosystem where children and families live purposeful and happy lives with hope for the future.