Katherine Ortega Courtney is an American psychologist and author who co-developed the 100% Community model, a theoretical framework designed to guide the state and local work of preventing two interrelated public health and education challenges: adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and adverse social determinants of health (SDH).
[1] ACEs can lead to trauma and substance use disorders linked with low school achievement, lack of job readiness, domestic violence, child welfare involvement, and other lifelong effects.
The study's recommendation did not lead to federal, state, or local policies that would ensure vital services to prevent ACEs.
Courtney's work focuses on the data-driven prevention of ACEs and SDH guide state and local leadership in their work transforming the adverse social determinants of health into positive ones, thus reducing rates of ACEs, ACEs-related trauma, low school achievement, substance use disorders, and other costly public health and education challenges.
Courtney's work in social change also calls for transparency in government to increase trust, responsiveness, and effectiveness with health and education policy that leads to measurable results.