NCSBS Engages Community Through UTAHGIVES

This April, the NCSBS joined nonprofit organizations across the state in Utah’s first-ever UTAHGIVES campaign to raise awareness, strengthen community support, and advance prevention education. UTAHGIVES celebrated nonprofit organizations in Utah and provided Utah nonprofits with an opportunity to raise awareness, build support, and receive donations during the month of April, culminating in UTAHGIVES day on April 30th.

The NCSBS told the story of a Utah family, parents Shane and Mary with their new son Silas, and their experience as first-time parents through a video social media campaign. The story explored Shane and Mary’s shared experience with the frustration caused by Silas’ crying and how the NCSBS’ Period of PURPLE Crying program helped them prepare for and endure this period of increased crying. View the videos on our YouTube channel at: https://bit.ly/utah-gives-vids. The UTAHGIVES campaign starts at the video titled “Meet Mary, Shane & Baby Silas”.

Overall, the NCSBS UTAHGIVES campaign was a wonderful success. Our principal sponsors Mark Miller Toyota and Bountiful Mazda provided matching donations to those who donated to the NCSBS during the month of April. First Community Bank and The Northwood Group joined the campaign as supporting sponsors. Saranoni Luxury Blankets also donated a beautiful blanket in the color clove, which the NCSBS gave to one of our donors through a giveaway drawing.

To cap off the month on UTAHGIVES day, the NCSBS was awarded a $500 UNA Member Spotlight Prize from Pathway Group. In total, the NCSBS received a total of $4,235 during UTAHGIVES. The NCSBS is grateful to our community for supporting us during UTAHGIVES and helping us in our mission to keep babies safe.

Survivor Stories: Friends Raising Awareness of SBS/AHT

The NCSBS is benefiting from the fundraising creativity of a musical friend of a victim of SBS/AHT, a survivor of SBS/AHT turned athlete, and two mothers of a victim with an online streaming following. Read their stories below.

More Like Denver: Music, Hope, and Resilience

Allan Peterson is a country music recording artist and friend of Denver Burt, a victim of SBS/AHT. Denver is the inspiration for Peterson’s 2025 single “More Like Denver,” a song that not only celebrates Denver’s beautiful outlook and impact on life but also features Denver on tambourine and backup vocals.

Peterson encouraged donations to the NCSBS and, prior to releasing the single, offered donors a free digital download of the song before the song was made available to the general public. You can find the song anywhere you get your music or on Peterson’s website: https://allanpeterson.com.

A bonus opportunity is available to those who will be attending the Twentieth International Conference on Shaken Baby Syndrome/Abusive Head Trauma in Nashville this September, as Peterson and Denver are planning to be there and perform the song live during the Family Networking Dinner. We can’t wait to hear the song live!

From Survivor to IRONMAN: Lucas Mattix’s Inspiring Journey

When Lucas Mattix was shaken at six weeks of age, he needed immediate surgery to stop hemorrhaging in his brain and eyes. The years that followed included CAT scans and regular check-ups to confirm his recovery from these devastating injuries. Twenty-six years later, Mattix plans to become the first known survivor of SBS/AHT to complete an IRONMAN ® Triathlon.

Mattix is chronicling his year-long training for the IRONMAN ® on his social media channels and is using his platform to not only spread awareness about SBS/AHT but to raise money he plans to donate to the NCSBS and other organizations that work to prevent SBS/AHT.

For those who have been following this story, Mattix recently completed the Half IRONMAN ® 70.3 as part of his training, and on October 18, 2026, plans to finish the dream and complete the full IRONMAN ® 140.6 in California.

Follow Mattix’s inspirational journey on his social media channels on Instagram (/lucasmattix), Facebook (/lucas.mattix) and on YouTube (/@lucasmattix).

Brandon’s Birthday Livestream Raised Hope for Families

On a rainy afternoon in March, while sitting at my desk at the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome, I received a phone call from a woman named Tammy. She was calling to ask about hosting a fundraiser for her son’s birthday. Calls like these are always meaningful to us, and I began preparing to share some of the usual fundraising ideas and resources.

But then her voice began to tremble. A few quiet seconds passed before she softly said, “After all this time, this is still hard.”

Tammy went on to share that she and her wife, Chrissy, have spent the past 23 years caring for their son Brandon after he was violently shaken by a babysitter when he was only eleven months old. She explained that his injuries caused a massive brain bleed, causing severe brain damage and partial blindness. Today, Brandon lives with seizures and severe developmental delays and experiences the world with the innocence of a two-year-old.

As Tammy spoke, it was impossible not to hear both the heartbreak and the fierce love that had carried their family through more than two decades of challenges. Yet what stood out most was not bitterness or anger, but the determination to turn their experience and this fundraising event into something to support other families.

Tammy and Chrissy explained that they own a Coins & Bullion business “Fun with TamnnChilly” (@Tammy5299) that streams on WhatNot.com with a loyal online following. Their idea was to livestream and fundraise on Brandon’s birthday “to remind everyone that his life reminds us every day why education, awareness, and prevention matter.”

At the NCSBS, we often say prevention begins with education, but stories like Brandon’s remind us that prevention also begins with people who are willing to share their hearts, their experiences, and their hope with others. We are deeply grateful to Tammy, Chrissy, Brandon, and their community for raising $6,048 to support NCSBS programs, and making this event such a meaningful birthday for Brandon.

-Catherine Green, Development Director at the NCSBS

Home-Sweet-Home: NCSBS New PURPLE Home Visiting Program for Families

A new expansion of the Period of PURPLE Crying® program will help more Utah families receive infant safety education and support directly in their homes through trusted home visiting programs. The initiative is designed to serve families with babies ages 0–2 by making prevention education more accessible, especially for parents who may face barriers to healthcare, transportation, childcare, or other support services.

Through home visiting services, families will receive education about normal infant crying, safe soothing techniques, coping strategies for stress and frustration, and the dangers of shaking a baby or unsafe sleep practices. Delivering this education in the home allows parents and caregivers to learn in a comfortable, familiar environment while building trusted relationships with trained professionals who can provide guidance and encouragement during the early stages of parenting.

The program first launched in Salt Lake County and is now expanding into Utah County and Southern Utah through partnerships with local health departments and nonprofit home visiting organizations such as Prevent Child Abuse Utah and Rooted Kids. We continually seek new partnerships to help us deliver this vital infant safety education. The goal is to ensure families across Utah, including those in underserved and rapidly growing communities, have equal access to life-saving infant safety education and parenting support.

By bringing prevention education directly to families where they are, the PURPLE program helps reduce barriers to care while strengthening confidence, connection, and support for parents raising young children.

Utah Funders Create Lasting Impact

Thanks to the recent support of the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation, the NCSBS is expanding the reach of the PURPLE Home Visiting program to serve more families with young infants across Utah. This important funding will help increase access to prevention education through home visiting and community partnerships, ensuring more parents receive trusted guidance on infant crying, safe soothing, coping with stress, and keeping babies safe.

The expansion of this growing home visiting initiative has also been made possible through the early support and shared commitment of the Sorenson Legacy Foundation, Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation, and Williamsen Family Foundation. Together, these funding partners are helping bring accessible, family-centered infant safety education directly into homes and communities across Utah, strengthening support for parents and helping give babies a safer start in life.

The NCSBS is deeply grateful for the continued support we receive to expand and strengthen our prevention programs. The generosity of our funding partners allows us to reach more families, provide trusted education, and continue our mission of keeping babies safe. We are sincerely thankful for the lasting impact these partnerships make possible.

from Executive Director, Danielle Vázquez

As we move through another year of prevention, education, and support, I continue to be inspired by the compassion and commitment of the community that stands beside us. Every caregiver reached, every professional trained, and every family supported represents a step toward a safer future for children.

This September, professionals, advocates, survivors, and families from around the world will gather at our Twentieth International Conference on Shaken Baby Syndrome/Abusive Head Trauma. While the conference centers on education and research, its true purpose is deeply human: bringing people together to learn, connect, and strengthen our shared commitment to protecting children and supporting families.

The work of prevention happens in conversations, in moments of support, and in the willingness to care for one another during life’s most challenging times. Your continued generosity helps make those moments possible.

Thank you for being part of this mission and for helping us create hope, healing, and prevention for families everywhere.

With gratitude,

Danielle Vázquez
Executive Director
National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome

Below are previews for the 30- and 60-second radio Public Service Announcements (PSAs). Click on the button below the preview gallery to download the files.

Download the 30-Second PSA Download the 60-Second PSA

Presents The

Virtual Family Support Symposium

May 14, 2025

The Virtual Family Support Symposium will be held on a virtual format and will feature presentations addressing many of the issues that families of victims of Shaken Baby Syndrome/Abusive Head Trauma (SBS/AHT) face.

Registration is FREE!

Attendance for this event will be FREE to everyone who would like to participate thanks to the generosity of the Matty Eappen Foundation! Though attendance is free for all participants, registration is required in order to receive information regarding symposium updates, announcements, and Zoom instructions.

This symposium will not be offering any continuing education units (CEUs) and will program presentations that are relevant and valuable to families of victims of SBS/AHT. These presentations might include topics like processing grief, resources to navigate available resources at the state and federal level, and therapies that may be available for victims of SBS/AHT for example.

For questions about the symposium, please contact the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome:

Phone: (801) 447-9360 ext.105
Email:

Registration is Closed.

Please click on a state to see the legislation related to shaken baby syndrome specific to that state.

Twentieth International Conference on Shaken Baby Syndrome / Abusive Head Trauma

Loews Nashville Hotel at Vanderbilt Plaza - Nashville, TN

September 22, 23, and 24, 2026

The National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome is pleased to announce our twentieth biennial conference will be in Nashville on September 22, 23 and 24, 2026. This three-day conference brings together leading physicians, neuroscientists, child protection specialists, and legal professionals to present the latest scientific research and evidence-based practices on SBS/AHT. As misinformation continues to spread in public discourse, this trusted forum provides clarity, truth, and collaboration among the world’s foremost authorities.

Participants will explore topics on diagnosis, prevention, and family support services—gaining valuable tools and insights to strengthen their practice and impact.

This milestone event promises to be an inspiring, informative, and unforgettable gathering—we can’t wait to see you there.

Return to this page and follow our social media channels for the latest updates on the conference. Click this link to book your room at the Special Conference Room Rate.

Nineteenth International Conference on Shaken Baby Syndrome/Abusive Head Trauma

The Nineteenth International Conference on Shaken Baby Syndrome/Abusive Head Trauma was held on September 15, 16, 17, 2024, at the Little America Hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah. More than 400 people from 11 countries participated in over 60 sessions focusing on family/victim support, investigative techniques, legal and trial experiences, prevention programs from around the world, the latest research from experts in the field, and shared experiences from parents and survivors.

We were honored to have the conference kick off with a keynote presentation by Dr. Lori Frasier, “Deconstructing a Diagnosis of Abusive Head Trauma.”

Some of the other highlights of the 3-day event included:

• Marilyn Barr received the Lifetime Achievement Award. She founded the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome and has worked tirelessly as an advocate since. A special piece of art was commissioned and painted for Marilyn by Sabine Witte, a survivor.
• A three-part series was presented over the course of 3 hours detailing the process of a successful conviction in Boise, Idaho. Speakers included Dr. Lori Frasier, Dr. Gina Bertocci, Dr. Derrick Dauplaise, Jason Pietrzak, Daniel Dinger, and Tessie Buttram.
• Debbie Eappen and Sameer Sabir were keynote speakers addressing “Media: Fact or Fiction, Friend of Foe.“ This was an in-depth presentation on their experiences with the media during their cases and ways they were further victimized.
• Special family-oriented sessions included music therapy, caring for the caregiver, and the benefits of animal therapy.

We are so grateful for the incredible speakers who presented at this conference, sharing their experiences, research, and knowledge. The survey feedback was the highest we have ever achieved! 

Our twentieth conference will be held in Nashville, Tennessee, on September 21, 21 & 22, 2026, at the Loews Vanderbilt Hotel.

Loews Nashville Hotel at Vanderbilt Plaza

2100 West End Avenue

Nashville, TN 37203

Immerse yourself in old and new Nashville at the iconic, award-winning Loews Nashville Hotel at Vanderbilt Plaza. Our Nashville hotel near Broadway is your stage for exploring the vibrant city we call home. Our Nashville hotel is located in midtown Nashville across from Vanderbilt University in the West End—off the tourist path—just minutes from Nashville’s most renowned attractions.

Reserve Your Room Today

Loews Nashville Hotel provides conference attendees a substantial discount when registering through the link on this website. The minimum check-in date is September 20, 2026 and the maximum check-out date is September 25, 2026. if you have any special requests such as ADA rooms, roll aways, special pillows, etc. please book your room dates and follow up with a call to hotel reservations at 800-235-6397 with any additional requests.

Reserve your newly renovated Deluxe or Luxury room as soon as you are able. The room block closes August 26, 2026. Loews Nashville Hotel has a limited number of rooms available at the discounted rate.

Special Conference Room Rate: $269 per night, plus applicable taxes and fees.

Click Here to Reserve Your Room

NOTE: If you need to extend your room booking dates, please call the Reservations Department at 800-235-6397. Due to technical issues, you will not be able to extend your dates online. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience. We will update here when the issue is resolved.