Our History

In 2011, Early Childhood Iowa invited Dr. Robert Anda, one of the co-founders of the original ACE Study, to share his findings at a state conference for about 200 attendees.

​After that meeting, several attendees kept talking with each other about what they had heard. 

The video on this page shares our story.  
The ACE Study was unique in several ways:
  • The message was simple even though the idea was complex: trauma has a ripple effect.
  • There's a personal connection in recognizing your own struggles or the struggles of someone you know. 
  • The research shows a significant stair-step progression that links an increase in ACEs to an increase in risk in many poor outcomes and that data continues to show consistent results as studies have been replicated in other areas. 
  • The data relates to every sector including health care, education, business, government, and nonprofit. 

Mid-Iowa Health Foundation invited several stakeholders to talk about how to respond. From those discussions, the group decided to do two things: 
  1. Collect Iowa data
  2. Spread awareness of The ACE Study widely
It was very clear at that first convening at the table, we needed to get the word out, tell the story make sure people knew this research. But in order to be most effective at that, we needed to have Iowa data.
​- Suzanne Mineck, President, Mid-Iowa Health Foundation
The Iowa ACEs 360 Coalition was formed among all of the partners to drive these two efforts. United Way of Central Iowa provided funding to hire a coordinator to support the group's work. Over time, the work expanded into fostering response strategies within sectors, policies, and Iowa communities. 
The work of the coalition has been very responsive and adapted to the needs of the community and what the research tells us. While initially being focused heavily on data collection and sharing results, we have shifted a lot of the focus toward systemic, policy-driven solutions and resilience-building strategies that reflect the need to build more positive, supportive relationships to buffer against trauma and its negative impacts. 
- Erin Drinnin, Community Impact Officer of Health, United Way of Central Iowa
Today, Iowa ACEs 360 operate as a non-profit organization, working with partners across the state to create changes within organizations, systems, and communities that create the conditions for Iowans to heal from trauma and thrive. Learn about our three priority areas of work: