Join Us at the NWCF Forum

Coming together to build a better future for children and families.

NW Children’s Foundation presents the 2026 Forum

From High-Stress Interactions to Collaboration

Tools and Skills to Build Connection

February 5, 2026

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This year’s Forum is designed to help professionals strengthen connection and collaboration in their work, while also nurturing their own resilience and well-being. Together, we’ll learn ways to strengthen our interactions and communications while reducing emotional fatigue and burnout.

Drawing on decades of clinical experience and leadership in early relational health, Dr. Lisa Mennet will introduce the FAN (Facilitating Attuned Interactions) approach—a relational mental framework and practical tool for meeting people where they are, deepening connection, and fostering collaboration even in moments of high stress. Grounded in both the latest research and real-world experience, this approach is for those who work with children and families as well as those in other fields—from child welfare, mental health, and healthcare to early learning, home visiting, and beyond.

FEATURING

Dr. Lisa Mennet

Featured Speaker

Dr. Mennet is a leading expert in infant and early childhood mental health, with a specific interest in how trauma impacts early relationships. Dr. Mennet earned her PhD in Infant Mental Health from the University of Washington and holds certificates in child psychoanalytic psychotherapy. A respected educator, she has taught at the UW Schools of Social Work and Nursing, and provided training for the FAN (Facilitating Attuned Interactions) model. She has also provided reflective consultation and supervision to home visiting, early intervention, and mental health professionals.

She is the founder and former Clinical Director at Cooper House in Seattle, which provides mental health and occupational therapy services for young children and their families along with professional development supports for allied professionals. She is also the founder of Perigee Fund, a philanthropy committed to supporting the infant-caregiver relationship by funding systems change initiatives in early childhood mental health, perinatal mental health, and family supports.

Dr. Ben Danielson

Opening Remarks and Panel Moderation

Dr. Benjamin Danielson is a pediatrician, health care leader, community advocate, and Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at University of Washington. He is currently directing AHSHAY, a program to tackle youth incarceration by promoting paths to opportunity for young people, especially youth of color. He was in the foster care system as a young child and credits his amazing single mom with instilling in him an appreciation for the value of education and a desire to be a contributing member of the community. He has been affiliated with Harborview, Seattle Children’s, and multiple community clinics, including two decades as Medical Director of the Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic. Dr. Danielson ascribes to the truism that health is more than healthcare and that any healthcare provider who strives to improve health must be active beyond the realm of their medical practice.

Our event sponsors help keep Forum registration accessible with different price levels depending on need:

$50 standard
$25 reduced rate,
no-cost option

To register, click the button below and choose the option appropriate for you:

Post-event on-demand viewing included with registration
Washington Association for Infant Mental Health: 4 CEUs available pending approval
MERIT Training: 4 STARS Credits available pending approval
MCLEs: 4 Credits available for legal professionals in Personal Development and Mental Health pending approval

Presenters and Panelists

Dr. Lisa Mennet, PhD, LMHC, founder of Cooper House in Seattle, Founder of Perigee Fund.

Lynn Creed, IMH-E® (IFA) ParentChild+ Program Manager

Megan Jimenez, IMH-E® (IFS, ERS) FAN Content Leader, Trainer, Mentor

Nathan Friend, Dads Specialist, Perinatal Support WA (PS-WA), Warm Line

Featured Speaker
Linda Chamberlain, PhD, MPH

Featured Speaker
Abigail Bocanegra, LMFT

Opening Remarks and Reflections
Ben Danielson, MD

featuring

Linda Chamberlain, PhD, MPH and Abigail Bocanegra, LMFT

Back by popular demand, Linda Chamberlain and Abigail Bocanegra return to our 2025 Forum as featured speakers!

Developmental Scientist Dr. Linda Chamberlain has a renowned ability to translate science into practical strategies and tools. She will demonstrate techniques to balance the nervous system, highlight surprising facts about the hormone oxytocin, and discuss polyvagal insights for parenting – all with a focus on building collective resilience.

Expressive Arts Psychotherapist Abigail Bocanegra will share how she centers cultural wisdom and integrates the healing arts into her therapeutic work with children and families. Abigail’s approach revitalizes Indigenous health and healing practices through the arts, offering a holistic method for reconnecting with ancestral and innate healing capacities.

Dr. Ben Danielson, youth advocate, Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, University of Washington, School of Medicine, and Center Director of AHSHAY, also joins the Forum to provide opening remarks and reflections.

Participants will learn the latest research on the role of the nervous system in healing trauma and preventing burnout; develop an expanded understanding of a culturally responsive and expressive arts approach to healing; and gain practical tools and skills they can apply immediately to their own work.

Pricing: Our event sponsors help keep Forum registration accessible to all with different price levels depending on need:

$50 standard
$25 reduced rate
No-cost option

Post-event on-demand viewing included with registration

Center for Early Relational Health: 4 CEUs available for mental health professionals
MERIT Training: 4 STARS hours available
MCLE: 4 credits available for legal professionals in Personal Development and Mental Health

Resources/Handouts that Accompany 2025 Forum