Our Work

Media Relations Work

Bringing Childhood Trauma Front and Center

Work with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Sesame Street in Communities and Johns Hopkins University

Challenge Millions of children in the United States—nearly half of all children in fact—face some sort of traumatic experience when they’re young. This can include things like the death of a parent or guardian, living with someone who struggles with … Continue reading Bringing Childhood Trauma Front and Center →

Creating a New Norm for Medical Care, in the U.S. and Around the World

Work with Project ECHO

Around the globe, millions of people suffer and die unnecessarily because we can’t get rapidly emerging medical knowledge in the right providers’ hands at the right time. For too many people with complex medical conditions, the specialists with … Continue reading Creating a New Norm for Medical Care, in the U.S. and Around the World →

Igniting a Movement to Reverse Childhood Obesity

Work with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Obesity is one of the biggest threats to our nation’s health, healthcare system, economy and future. A third of children are overweight or obese, and research suggests this may be the first generation of Americans to live shorter, … Continue reading Igniting a Movement to Reverse Childhood Obesity →

Striving to End the Oral Health Care Crisis

Work with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation

Nearly 50 million Americans live in areas with too few dentists, and as a result, they can’t get needed dental care. Without more mid-level dental providers who can extend the reach of the dentist and deliver care to communities … Continue reading Striving to End the Oral Health Care Crisis →

Advancing Global Health Through Scientific Research

Work with the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

Challenge The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH), founded in 1903, is a worldwide organization of scientists, clinicians and other professionals whose mission is to promote global health through prevention and control of infectious and other diseases that … Continue reading Advancing Global Health Through Scientific Research →

Working Toward a Healthier America, County by County

Work with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute

People across the United States are beginning to realize that there’s a lot more to health than what happens in the doctor’s office. Where we live, learn, work and play makes a real difference, too. But can that … Continue reading Working Toward a Healthier America, County by County →

Investing in Communities, Transforming Lives

Work with the Low Income Investment Fund

One in six Americans now lives in poverty—the highest level in half a century. Poverty has spread beyond cities to suburbs and rural communities and is being transferred from one generation to the next. Despite this, there is … Continue reading Investing in Communities, Transforming Lives →

In Wake of Leaders’ Murders, Fighting for Land Title—and Justice—for Indigenous Ashéninka in Peru

Work with the Ford Foundation

In September of 2014, just before thousands of politicians and climate activists flooded the streets of New York for the United Nations Climate Summit, four indigenous leaders were shot to death by illegal loggers in the Ucayali region of Peru’s Amazon Rainforest. Indigenous partners in Peru contacted Burness via Facebook to help spread the word about this tragedy, the latest in a string of attacks on environmental defenders in tropical forest regions.

Reducing the Vulnerability of Our Global Food Supply

Work with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)

Global conversations on food security have focused for decades on the quantity of food. More recently, the dialogue has come to include the importance of quality and diversity, addressing micronutrient deficiencies and non-communicable diseases related to obesity, alongside persistent hunger. Over the past 50 years, nutritionally rich traditional and local foods around the world have been replaced with staple commodities like wheat, rice, maize and potatoes. While this change has helped feed the world, it has contributed to more homogenized diets, which may be accelerating the worldwide rise in obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

Protecting African Herders from Harsh Weather

Work with the International Livestock Research Institute

In the pastoral societies of East Africa, life for millions of people revolves around livestock. And when harsh weather arrives and animals perish, lives are ruined. Yet providing insurance against livestock loss in the region faces multiple challenges.