Lead the Fight
For over a decade, Center for Child Counseling has led Palm Beach County in transforming how we understand and respond to childhood adversity — turning awareness into action. Through Lead the Fight, we bring world-renowned science, compassion, and community together to prevent adversity, strengthen resilience, and build a safer, healthier future for children and families.
Each year, Lead the Fight brings hundreds of community leaders, parents, educators, healthcare professionals, and advocates together for one powerful afternoon — featuring a nationally recognized keynote speaker, groundbreaking research, and a shared commitment to protecting children's mental health.
Protection is Prevention.
Discipline with the Brain in Mind
Dr. Tina Payne Bryson
New York Times bestselling co-author of The Whole-Brain Child and No-Drama Discipline
The Breakers
Palm Beach, Florida — April 9, 2026
Kathy Leone
Emceed by WPTV 5's Ashley Glass
140 statewide leaders and community members gathered at The Breakers for a transformative afternoon with Dr. Bryson, who shared practical, "no-drama" strategies for rethinking discipline and supporting children's emotional and relational development. She helped the audience understand that discipline does not have to be punitive — it should teach and build skills. The event also marked the formal announcement of Center for Child Counseling's updated A Way of Being with Children manual.
"When children are at their worst, that's when they most need connection. It's about relationship and safety first. What you do matters."— Dr. Tina Payne Bryson
A Decade of Impact
Dr. Tina Payne Bryson
Discipline with the Brain in Mind — The neuroscience of discipline, the 4 S's, and why connection before correction changes everything. Read Press Release →
Benjamin Perks
UNICEF global leader and childhood adversity survivor who praised Center for Child Counseling's public health approach to ending childhood trauma in Palm Beach County. Read Press Release →
Dr. Nadine Burke Harris
Former Surgeon General of California and pioneering ACEs researcher — lauded Palm Beach County as a national model for fighting ACEs with HOPE. Renée Layman co-authored an article with Dr. Burke Harris on building communities in the face of adversity. Read Press Release → Read the Article →
Dr. Gabor Maté
Internationally renowned trauma and addiction expert explored where addictions originate and their roots in early childhood adversity and emotional loss. Chaired by Kathy Leone and Julie Fisher Cummings, emceed by WPTV 5's Ashley Glass at The Breakers. Read Press Release → Watch on YouTube →
The Partners Behind the Movement
The Breakers Palm Beach
For five years, The Breakers has opened its doors as the home of Lead the Fight — providing a world-class stage for the world-class conversations that are changing how our community understands and responds to childhood adversity. Their generous partnership has elevated this movement, ensuring that the brightest minds in children's mental health can share their work with the leaders, families, and advocates who need it most.
Paul & Kathy Leone
For over five years, Paul and Kathy Leone have been fierce advocates and steadfast supporters of Lead the Fight and children's mental health in Palm Beach County. Their leadership, generosity, and unwavering belief in the power of HOPE have helped bring the world's foremost voices on ACEs, trauma, childhood resilience to our community — and have strengthened the movement at every level.
Watch Past Events
Lead the Fight keynotes are recorded and made available so the science of childhood resilience can reach as many people as possible. Watch past speakers including Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, Benjamin Perks, Dr. Gabor Maté, and more on our learning platform and YouTube channel.
Watch on BeKidSafe.org →The Lead the Fight Fund
Lead the Fight is more than an event — it is a movement. Your gift to the Lead the Fight Fund directly supports the prevention education, clinical training, and community outreach that turns awareness into action for children and families across Palm Beach County.
A Child's Story Doesn't Have to End
the Way It Began
Every year, Lead the Fight reminds us that the science is clear, the solutions are real, and the power to change a child's life is in our hands. Join us in leading the fight for children's mental health.