About Us
All Children Excel Nashville is a collective impact initiative made up of over 200 organizations and community leaders dedicated to creating safe, stable, and nurturing environments for children in Nashville.
The collective works to harness the positive relationships and environments in our community to build resilience and healing-centered cultures. Using a public health approach, our efforts are focused on promoting Positive Childhood Experiences and preventing and mitigating childhood adversity.
With a strong leadership team, backbone support, and work groups, supported by a policy collaborative, we aim to transform our community and ensure that All Children Excel.
Mission & Vision
Our mission is to promote Positive Childhood Experiences and prevent and mitigate the lifelong impact of childhood adversity to improve the safety, health, and prosperity of our community.
We envision a safe, stable, and nurturing community in Nashville for all.
Our Values
1. Commitment to trauma-informed equity practices
2. Improving population health
3. Higher regard for mission than self-promotion
4. Reputation for honesty and transparency
5. Social influence with a wide, diverse reach and scope
6. Flexibility and courageous commitment to innovation
7. Capacity for wholehearted and creative collaboration
Meet the Leadership Team
Sarah Cloud, RN, CPN Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt
Ingrid Cockhren Owner and CEO, Cockhren Consulting
Denise Costanza Executive Director, TN Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Mary Crnobori, PhD District Coordinator of Trauma-Informed Schools and Advocacy Centers, MNPS
Kylan Hadley Public Health Manager, Resilient Communities and PACEs Education
Jared Elzey Managing Director for Nonprofit Backbone and Liaison for the Collective
Benaias Esayeas Founder, Black Mental Health Village
Sue Fort White, Ed. D. Executive Director, Our Kids
Susan Galeas, MSW, MPH President & CEO, The Family Center
Melissa McGee Children’s Mental Health Advocacy Director, TCCY
Annie Paraison Consultant, Love Before ALL
Jennifer Wade Juvenile Court Administrator, Davidson County Juvenile Court
Success and Impact
Working alone, no one organization or government entity can eliminate the threat of ACEs to the health and wellness of all Nashvillians. All Children Excel Nashville celebrates the successes across sectors that create a fabric of safety and stability for our children and strengthen our community’s resilience.
We developed The Roadmap to Resilience (R2R), a guide for organizations to integrate trauma-informed practices and policies into all levels of their organization.
Today, the R2R has been rolled out nationwide with the Center for Applied Research Solutions and is a national standard for trauma-informed organizational development.
MNPS Trauma-Informed Schools (TIS) began in 2015 with a district-wide TIS Coordinator to champion and support trauma-informed practices throughout the district.
MNPS expanded TIS to a team of 8 and fully funded 74 School-Based Advocacy Center Coaches to support Advocacy Centers in all MNPS elementary schools.
We have successfully mobilized hundreds of advocates to respond to dangerous legislation regarding mandatory transfers of youth to the adult criminal court system.
Our policy letter and talking points were shared with juvenile court judges across the state, aiding their offices in unified opposition.