Discover the latest news articles, op-eds, podcasts, event appearances and more covering the groundbreaking book, Anna, Age Eight, and the 100% Community book series that gets your local revolutionary and evolutionary work started. If you discover an article or podcast about us that is not listed below, please send it along.
If you would like to invite the authors/change agents to speak or strategize, please visit our press page.
Featured

New Mexico State Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham with Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney and Dominic Cappello
Latest

It’s time to talk about trauma
There is another epidemic that existed long before COVID-19, and the pandemic has only made it worse. There are many names for it, but ultimately it boils down to one thing: childhood trauma.

PODCAST: The Richard Eeds Show – October 12, 2021
Dr. Katherine Courtney and Dominic Cappello, co-authors of Anna, Age Eight & 100% Community on ACEs, childhood trauma and paths to solutions.

How to Revolutionize Social Services
The United States faces unprecedented challenges, once thought to be something that only existed in science fiction apocalyptic films. We face public health and economic crises with ineffectual governments unable or unwilling to provide solutions. There is also decades of research into solutions for every one of these challenges, if only we could muster the political will to implement them.

Generation Z Embraces Therapy
“Parents don’t readily acknowledge that their kids might need help,” said Katherine Ortega Courtney ’03 MS (PhD ’06), co-director of Anna, Age Eight Institute at New Mexico State University, which helps strengthen health and safety systems across the state. She said children often ask for help first.

PODCAST: The Richard Eeds Show – May 27, 2021
Dr. Katherine Courtney & Dominic Cappello of the Anna Age Eight Institute with Mayor Javier Sanchez of Espanola, on a Mural Project, 100% Community and More NM Counties Getting Interested in ACEs.

Innovative child resiliency program finding a home at NMSU
The Anna Age Eight Institute (AAEI) moved from Northern New Mexico Community College to New Mexico State University in Las Cruces in 2020, making its permanent home in the city and county as it develops sustainable childhood resiliency programs.

Overcoming Barriers
The Anna, Age Eight Institute helps find resources for those in need. In July 2020, New Mexico State University welcomed the Anna, Age Eight Institute.

PODCAST: April 2021 – Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney and Dominic Cappello on The Richard Eeds Show
Dr. Katherine Courtney & Dominic Cappello, Co-Authors of “Anna Age Eight” and Co-Founders of the Anna Age Eight Institute on ACEs and Childhood Trauma.

PODCAST: March 2021 – Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney and Dominic Cappello on The Richard Eeds Show
Dr. Katherine Courtney & Dominic Cappello, Co-Authors of Anna Age Eight and Co-Founders of The Anna Age Eight Institute, Discussing ACEs and Childhood Trauma.
PODCAST: January 2021 – Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney and Dominic Cappello on The Richard Eeds Show
Dr. Katherine Courtney & Dominic Cappello on ACEs, Trauma, Community Involvement and A Senate Bill (SB 30).
100% New Mexico: A model for COVID-19 prevention and treatment
When New Mexico Gov. Lujan Grisham first announced a county by county system to loosen restrictions on public health measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an interesting outcome.
100% Community Initiative Builds Vital Services So New Mexico Kids Can Thrive
The deaths of several New Mexico children in recent years—a 13-year-old whose father was accused of fatally torturing him; an eight-year-old who was kicked to death by her mother…
PODCAST: December 2020 – Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney and Dominic Cappello on The Richard Eeds Show
ACEs or Adverse Childhood Experiences discussed with Dr. Katherine Courtney & Dominic Cappello, Co-Authors of “ANNA AGE EIGHT”, “100% Community” and “The Attack of The Three Headed Hydras”.
Fight or flight? Defeating the forces of chaos and fear to ensure that everyone thrives
The forces of apathy, envy and fear run everything, according to New Mexico-based author-educators Katherine Ortega Courtney and Dominic Cappello – from Fortune 500 companies to city hall to “your news streams.”
Female Disruptors: Author Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry
Give your love back where you get it. Publishing a book and pushing new ideas brings with it a lot of feedback, both good and bad. Her advice means to focus on the good, and that is a strategy that has really worked for us.
PODCAST: Nov 2020 – Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney and Dominic Cappello on The Richard Eeds Show
Dr. Katherine Courtney & Dominic Cappello on Childhood Trauma, ACES & Three Headed Hydras.
PODCAST: September 2020 – Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney and Dominic Cappello on The Richard Eeds Show
A Monthly Discussion about ACEs, Adverse Childhood Experiences, with Dr. Katherine Courtney & Dominic Cappello.
100% Otero seeks to end childhood trauma in Otero County
100% Otero and the Anna, Age Eight Institute released of a survey administered by New Mexico State University’s Center for Community Analysis. Funding for the survey came from Alamogordo Public Schools, Lisa Yehle of 100% Otero said…
PODCAST: August 2020 – Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney and Dominic Cappello on The Richard Eeds Show
Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney and Dominic Cappello with 100% Community announcements and discussions.
Apply pandemic lessons to education before schools reopen
We have an opportunity to redesign public education to ensure the academic success, health and empowerment of every student. Our greatest failure would be ignoring glaring historical problems in the current systems…
Pandemic shows community schools needed more than ever
Amid many lessons to be learned, COVID-19’s disruption of school asks us to pause and reflect on public education’s role in society, its strengths, weaknesses and capacity for reinvention…
PODCAST: July 2020 – Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney and Dominic Cappello on The Richard Eeds Show
Richard Eeds hosts the authors of 100% Community, Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney and Dominic Cappello.
2020 Northwest New Mexico Local Food Summit
Food has everything to do with our health. If we eat right, we function better and we are healthier. If our food supply is threatened, we are in serious trouble. Every county has residents experiencing food insecurity, and some have segments…
NMSU welcomes Anna, Age Eight Institute
On July 1, New Mexico State University will be home to the Anna, Age Eight Institute, which seeks to prevent adverse childhood experiences among New Mexico’s children.
Mask parade brings 100% Community action teams together
The 100% Community Initiative brings together leaders from different fields from healthcare to job-training services to people in San Miguel County with the goal of creating a comprehensive plan to create a thriving community….
PODCAST: Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney and Dominic Cappello on The Richard Eeds Show
June 2020: Richard Eeds interviews the authors of Anna, Age Eight, Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney and Dominic Cappello.
Priorities will guide in these times of crisis
As a state senator, public school educator and father, I have my priorities clear. They have become even clearer and more urgent with the events of the past months: COVID-19, the economic disruption, and the killing of an unarmed black man. My priorities are…
PODCAST: Surviving and thriving in NM — during crisis times and beyond
The new book, 100% Community: Ensuring 10 Vital Services For Surviving, shows how to build county-based systems that ensure well being for all their residents. We speak with authors Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney and Dominic Cappello…
Making NM ready for any crisis is 100% possible
A book fell into my life that took all my ideas about keeping my patients healthy and focused them like a laser beam into a framework for action. The book, “100% Community,” spoke to me in a very deep way and I was literally catapulted into an all-consuming project that I consider a groundbreaking initiative…
Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney: “The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places”
What gives me hope is that this pandemic has provided an opportunity for people to reflect and reprioritize. Many of us have now seen just how much of our lives were “extra” and how much time…
Dominic Cappello: “To risk and step up in the face of adversity and protect the vulnerable”
Every day I hear from heroes committed to social justice and working to create cities, towns, and communities where all residents have access to the vital services that provide health, safety, and training for jobs that align with the future job market…
Heroes Of The COVID Crisis: How Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney is helping to ensure that vital services are accessible to 100% of New Mexicans
What gives me hope is that this pandemic has provided an opportunity for people to reflect and reprioritize. Many of us have now seen just how much of our lives were “extra” and how much time and money we would spend in normal times on things that really don’t matter.
Heroes of the COVID Crisis: How Author Dominic Cappello & The Anna, Age Eight Institute Helped Ensure Timely Medical Care For all New Mexicans
Every day I hear from heroes committed to social justice and working to create cities, towns, and communities where all residents have access to the vital services that provide health, safety, and training for jobs that align with the future job market…
For Rural Communities Responding to COVID-19 (Panel and Video Presentation)
This Impact! Live Listening and Learning Session is a collaborative web-based community leader and stakeholder education effort between Matt Probst, PA-C and Michelle Rathman, President and CEO of Impact! Communications, Inc., and host of Rural Matters Podcast.
New Mexico Needs Creative and Resilient Thinking To Recover From The Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought heartache and pain to all. In New Mexico alone, cases of COVID-19 have exceeded 6,000, with nearly 300 fatalities and close to 2,000 cases officially designated as recovered.
PODCAST: 100% Community & A Must-Attend Event, with Matt Probst
Michelle chats with Matt Probst, PA-C, the medical director of El Centro Family Health serving northern New Mexico, which was featured in the documentary, The Providers, and who is currently serving as the 100% Community San Miguel County community organizer.
PODCAST: “100% Community” – Living From Happiness
Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney is back, this time with Dominic Cappello, co-directors of the Anna Age Eight Institute. Both guests are long-time advocates for childhood safety and health, working within the system. They’re very much about data-driven solutions for such things as childhood trauma, adverse childhood experiences…
PODCAST: Santa Fe Community Foundation – 100% Community
What does it take to ensure that every family and community member has food, safe shelter, and timely medical care? Dom Cappello and Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney, co-founders of the Anna, Age Eight Institute, share their process for working with counties to ensure just that.
PODCAST: Social Distancing with Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney and Dominic Cappello on The Richard Eeds Show
Richard Eeds interviews the authors of Anna, Age Eight, Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney and Dominic Cappello.
Mayor pro-tem: Fight against adverse childhood experiences continues
Even as COVID-19 stay-at-home orders are causing unintended spikes in child abuse and domestic violence, Las Cruces and the state of New Mexico continue as national leaders in the fight against these and other adverse childhood experiences…
Surviving and Thriving: 100% Community initiative leads to positive COVID-19 response
As the entire country struggles to react to the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the top responses has come from one of the most unlikely sources, right here in San Miguel County.
PODCAST: Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney and Dominic Cappello on The Richard Eeds Show
Social distancing radio with Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney and Dominic Cappello on The Richard Eeds Show.
Las Cruces legislator helping fight childhood trauma
With some time to kill the day before the 2018 Thanksgiving break, William Soules, a math and social studies teacher at Oñate High School in Las Cruces, N.M., taught a group of about 30 advanced placement psychology students about Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs…
Why I love reading the Opinion section
Katherine Ortega Courtney and Dominic Cappello’s constructive and pragmatic “Anna” steps to address basic New Mexico community problems (“We can be the nation’s most family-friendly state,” My View, Feb. 23).
PODCAST: Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney, Matthew Probst and Dominic Cappello on The Richard Eeds Show
Richard Eeds interviews Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney and Dominic Cappello on ACEs and the Anna, Age Eight Institute.
We can be the nation’s most family-friendly state
All states want to be family-friendly. It’s an easy slogan to adopt but a much harder reality to arrive at. All states have in common is a long list of challenges that many families face daily.
Share responsibility for our children
As the 2020 legislative session continues and your legislators begin the task of hammering out the budget and addressing the many priority issues around the state, I would like to draw attention to the needs of our most important constituents — the children of New Mexico.
PODCAST: Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney, Senator Bill Soules and Dominic Cappello on The Richard Eeds Show
Katherine and Dom join Senator Bill Soules on The Richard Eeds Show to discuss Anna, Age Eight and ACEs.
Child Advocates Brainstorm Ways to Prevent Trauma at Las Cruces Summit
Childhood trauma takes a multitude of forms–physical, emotional and sexual abuse, divorce, neglect, poverty, substance abuse and many other examples create adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs.
The phrase ‘refer people to services’ is a warning sign
Imagine you’re a state or local elected official, committed to the people who voted you into civic duty. A child neglect case hits the headlines and, soon after, a little girl dies of abuse in your district. You’ve been reminded, in the saddest way possible…
Child trauma common in mass shooters
As of Sept. 1, there have been more mass shootings in the United States than days in the year. After every publicized incident, we are all left wondering what we can do. We hear the same calls each time – “thoughts and prayers,” “only a good guy with a gun,” background checks…
PODCAST: Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney and Dominic Cappello on The Richard Eeds Show
Richard Eeds interviews the authors of Anna, Age Eight, Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney and Dominic Cappello.
Bringing awareness to adverse childhood experiences
A group of concerned educators, elected officials and health care workers met last week at City Hall to discuss working together to combat adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in the community. Adverse childhood experiences are traumatic events occurring before age 18…
PODCAST: The sad fate of Anna, Age Eight
How can the fruits of Silicon Valley high tech be used to keep our children safe? Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney’s new book, “Anna, Age Eight,” is about how to prevent child abuse and trauma by improving the systems within social services, government and private agencies, and getting them to share data.
Amid grief and fear, borderland kids return to school, a different world (Anna, Age Eight Reference)
Last year, after a young man shot up Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, Las Cruces Public Schools added security guards to its elementary schools.
Doña Ana County residents asked to take 10 minutes to share a better quality of life
Doña Ana County residents should take 10 minutes to share experiences and contribute input that could improve the family services available to them, the city said in a news release Wednesday.
Dominic Cappello to speak at Rooster Booster
Dominic Cappello, New York Times best-selling author, Oprah Winfrey guest, and co-author of the groundbreaking book Anna, Age Eight, will address the crowd of business and community leaders this…
Authors Hope to Establish Childhood Trauma Institute
One in eight children experience ill-treatment. Of those, over half that are reported to law enforcement are screened out. Of those that are investigated, between 20 to 40 percent are actually substantiated…
Imagine a future in which every child thrives
Another day, another child abused, neglected or killed. Another question of how can this keep happening? Through our book, Anna Age, Eight: The data driven prevention of childhood trauma and maltreatment…