Opening Frame: Setting the National Context
Opening speakers: Bertha Coombs, NHHRI LAB Member, and Ken Barela, NHHRI CEO
Strategic Focus: How do we move from the design of a system to the deployment of a national strategy?
Federal Governance & AI Health Oversight
Keynote speaker: U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal
Strategic Focus: Federal AI policy, accountability, and public protection.
Community Knowledge as National Science Infrastructure
Keynote speaker: Laura Chanchien Parajón, MD, MDP
Strategic Focus: Community knowledge as scientific infrastructure.
Panel 1: Redefining Research Paradigms — Evidence, Validity & Community Authority
Moderator: David Farelo, PhD, NHHRI Chief Research Officer
Panelists: Shannon Sanchez-Youngman, Ilan Shapiro, MD, Waleska Crespo Rivera, PhD, DPH,
Strategic Focus: Scientific evidence standards.
Panel 2: Public Health Governance & Authority Design
Moderator: Bertha Coombs
Panelists: Laura Chanchien Parajón, MD, Robert Underwood, PhD, Christine Lee, PharmD, PhD, Geraldine Luna, MD
Strategic Focus: Governance authority, accountability, and public trust.
Networking Lunch
Session: Networking Lunch
Description: An opportunity for conference attendees, speakers, and partners to connect and exchange ideas.
From Design to Deployment: Building Trustworthy National Health Systems
Keynote speaker: April Joy Damian, PhD, MSc, CHPM, PMP
Strategic Focus: Implementation science, learning health systems, governance, and responsible deployment.
State–Federal Implementation Architecture
Moderator: Bertha Coombs
Panelists: Laura Chanchien Parajón, MD, Robert Underwood, PhD, Christine Lee, PhD
Strategic Focus: Scaling CBPR and AI infrastructure across government systems.
National Strategic Design Lab: Data Sovereignty, Trust & Governance
Lead: Venator–Cruz Integration Team
During this special session, NHHRI will officially unveil the National Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Data Platform—a next-generation infrastructure designed to securely connect community knowledge, research, artificial intelligence, and public health decision-making. Attendees will receive an exclusive first look at the platform's architecture, governance model, interoperability framework, and community-centered approach to data stewardship.
Program Close and Summary
Moderator: Tiffany Donelson
Panelists: April Joy Damian, PhD, MSc, CHPM, PMP, Charles Venator-Santiago, PhD, Christine Lee, PharmD, PhD
Strategic Focus: Building a national trust architecture for AI-enabled health systems.
Reception
Moderator: Tiffany Donelson
Panelists: April Joy Damian, PhD, MSc, CHPM, PMP, Charles Venator-Santiago, PhD, Christine Lee, PharmD, PhD
Strategic Focus: Building a national trust architecture for AI-enabled health systems.
Gala
We're honored to welcome Luz Towns-Miranda, PhD , as the keynote speaker for the NHHRI Inaugural Gala on Nov. 20. A clinical psychologist and nationally respected advocate for equitable mental health care, Dr. Towns-Miranda has spent her career expanding access to care, advancing community well-being, and championing research that improves health outcomes.
As a member of NHHRI's Leadership Advisory Board, she embodies the values at the heart of our work: ensuring that communities are not just the subjects of research, but partners in shaping it. We hope you'll join us in Hartford to hear her inspiring perspective on the future of community-engaged research, philanthropy, and health equity.