Keynote Speakers


Kate Rosenblum, PhD, ABPP

Kate Rosenblum, PhD, ABPP, IMH-E® is a clinical psychologist and Professor of Psychiatry, Pediatrics, and OB/Gyn at the University of Michigan, where she co-directs Zero to Thrive (www.zerotothrive.org), a program aimed at promoting the health and resilience of families from conception through early childhood through research, training, service, and community partnership. Dr. Rosenblum directs the UM Infancy and Early Childhood Psychiatry Clinic and is one of the developers of the Strong Roots™ programs, including Mom Power, Fraternity of Fathers, and Perinatal DBT. Dr. Rosenblum is an Academy Fellow with ZERO TO THREE and a past president of the Board of the Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health. She has published 150+ articles, and her research focuses primarily on prevention and intervention to promote equity and resilience among families with young children who have faced adversity. Visit www.zerotothrive.org


Maria Muzik, MD, MSc

Maria Muzik, MD, MSc is a Professor of Psychiatry and Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Michigan. She holds a medical degree from University of Vienna, Austria, and completed residency in psychiatry both at University Hospital in Vienna and Michigan. She also holds a master’s degree from the UM School of Public Health. She is the Medical Director of Perinatal and Reproductive Psychiatry at Michigan Medicine, and of MC3 Perinatal, the state-wide perinatal psychiatry access program for primary care. At Michigan Medicine, Dr. Muzik co-directs Zero To Thrive. She co-developed the Strong Roots™ programs, a menu of resiliency-oriented interventions. Her research work focuses on the impact of adversity and mental illness in the context of childbearing on caregiving and the developing parent-child relationship, and how to support families in overcoming psychological and environmental adversity. She is well published, and her work is funded by federal and foundational awards. Visit www.zerotothrive.org


Robert Sege, MD, PhD, FAAP

Robert Sege, MD, PhD, FAAP is an attending Pediatrician at Tufts Children’s Hospital and a Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, where he directs the Center for Community-engaged Medicine. Dr. Sege is a Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of Social Policy in Washington, is part of the Leadership Action Team for Massachusetts Essentials for Childhood Team and serves on the boards of the Massachusetts Children’s Trust and Prevent Child Abuse America. He received the 2019 Ray E. Helfer award from the Alliance of Children’s Trusts and the American Academy of Pediatrics. He has served on national committees for the American Academy of Pediatrics and has been lead author on several important AAP policies. His extensive speaking and publication list includes contributions to the prevention and treatment of child maltreatment and youth violence. He is a graduate of Yale College and received his PhD in Biology from MIT and his MD from Harvard Medical School. Bob lives in the Boston area, where he and his wife Karen have raised three young adult children. Visit: www.positiveexperience.org


Aimee Zeitz, LMFT

Aimee Zeitz, LMFT has over twenty years of experience in non-profit leadership, built on a foundation of strategic partnerships and authentic collaboration.  In 2017, she joined the YMCA Childcare Resource Service, a social services branch of the YMCA of San Diego County.  She currently serves as the Regional Director of Strategic Advancement, supporting programs across the agency in providing comprehensive, family-centered services as well as oversight of multiple early childhood mental health programs.   She also serves as the Project Director for Partners in Prevention, a local collaborative effort to increase child and family wellbeing and prevent child abuse and neglect.  Aimee attended Smith College, earning her BA in Anthropology, followed by her master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from San Diego State University.  Visit:  www.ymcasd.org


Kimberly Giardina, DSW, MSW

Kimberly Giardina, DSW, MSW, is the director for the Child and Family Well-Being department with the Health and Human Services Agency. She has been in the field of child welfare for 23 years and has a Doctor of Social Work from the University of Southern California and a Master of Social Work from San Diego State University. Dr. Giardina has consulted on child welfare issues at the national, state, and local levels. Dr. Giardina is leading the transformation of the child welfare system in San Diego into a child and family well-being system with the vision of improving coordination, communication and partnership between family serving organizations in San Diego to help strengthen families and communities so that fewer children experience abuse and neglect. Her passion is to improve policy and practice issues within the child welfare system so that it works best for the children and families it serves.