Hassenfeld Child Health Innovation Institute

Elizabeth Burke Bryant is a Professor of the Practice of Health Services, Policy & Practice at Brown University School of Public Health, based at the Hassenfeld Child Health Innovation Institute. She is working to close disparities in maternal and child health, starting with family mental health, through policy and systems change. A child advocate with over 30 years of experience in advancing equitable policies and programs to improve the well-being of children, youth and families, she served as Executive Director of Rhode Island KIDS COUNT, a children’s policy and research organization, from its founding in 1994 to 2022. Under her leadership, Rhode Island KIDS COUNT became the state’s premier child advocacy organization with a national reputation for its work to improve the health, education, early childhood development, economic security and safety of Rhode Island’s children with a core focus on equity and closing disparities by race, ethnicity and income. During her tenure, Rhode Island KIDS COUNT helped to achieve a nationally recognized RI Pre-K program, full-day kindergarten, near universal children’s health insurance coverage, a significant reduction in childhood lead poisoning, and reversal of a law that required 17-year-olds to be tried as adults and sent to adult prison. Prior positions included Director of Policy and Housing Court Prosecutor for the City of Providence, and Advisor to the Women’s Prison Mentoring Program. She received her BA from the University of Vermont and law degree from George Washington University Law School. She served as Co-Chair of the Partnership for America’s Children, Policy Advisor for the national Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, and Co-Chair of the Rhode Island Early Learning Council. She was named USA TODAY’s 2023 Woman of the Year for Rhode Island.