As new challenges emerge and the needs of young people evolve, how can our mental health system keep pace? That question brought more than 100 senior leaders from health care, policy, business, and philanthropy together on October 29 for The Kennedy Forum’s 2026 Alignment for Progress Accelerator Summit at Morgan Stanley’s Global Headquarters in New York City.
Together, participants examined what’s changing, shared perspectives, and explored practical solutions to move mental health and addiction care forward. With our 90-90-90 goals for 2033 guiding the work, the summit offered an opportunity to build connections and identify where collaboration can make a meaningful difference. Take a look at the people and conversations that shaped the day in the photos below.
Exploring what comes next
The challenges facing mental health and addiction care continue to change, and our response needs to evolve alongside them. Panel conversations brought different perspectives to those challenges, inviting participants to consider emerging ideas and what they could mean for the people and communities they serve.
Thank you to our panelists Tammer Attallah, Dr. Chris Palmer, Dr. Glen Coppersmith, Amy Turner, Dr. Jayme Banks, Dr. Michael Milham, Dr. Zainab Okolo, and The Kennedy Forum Co-Founder Amy L. Kennedy, along with moderator Jamie Ducharme, for sharing their insights and expertise.
Working through the questions together
Breakout sessions gave participants time to take the conversations further, drawing on their experience to examine challenges and explore possible solutions in smaller groups. Bringing people with different expertise together creates opportunities to ask new questions, learn from one another, and find connections across their work.
Making connections that carry forward
The summit also offered something that can be hard to find in a busy schedule: time to connect. Throughout the gathering and at the VIP reception, attendees had opportunities to catch up with colleagues, meet new partners, and continue conversations beyond the sessions. We hope those connections will support continued collaboration across the field. Thank you to everyone who spent the day with us and brought their ideas, experience, and commitment to the conversation.
Thank you for making these connections possible
We’re grateful to our speakers, breakout participants, and guests for sharing their perspectives and spending the day with us. Thank you also to Morgan Stanley for hosting us in New York City. Our sponsors help make it possible to bring this community together, giving leaders across the field time to connect, exchange ideas, and work toward better mental health and addiction care. We’re grateful for their support.
