Ellen L. Bassuk (she/her), MD, is a board-certified Psychiatrist devoted to people with serious mental illness. She was an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School for 40 years and was awarded an honorary doctorate of Public Service from Northeastern University. As a distinguished researcher, clinician, and advocate, she was dedicated to understanding and ending child and family homelessness. She has given voice to the most marginalized families in our society. Toward this end, she was Founder and President of the National Center on Family Homelessness and Founder of C4 Innovations. Her research was focused on trauma, mental health, reducing health disparities, and the needs of the children as well as program design and service delivery. Her early work describing the emergence of family homelessness in America is archived at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History and helped to set the standard of care. She was Editor-In-Chief of the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry and has written more than 150 peer-reviewed articles, monographs, and books. In recognition of her work, she has received many honors including:  Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, Embracing the Legacy Award from the Robert F. Kennedy Action Corps, the Blanche Ittleson Award for Promotion of Children’s Mental Health, American Psychological Association’s Distinguished Contribution to Child Advocacy Award, and Tufts Medical Alumni Association Dean’s Award.  

In 2026, Dr. Bassuk and her son, Daniel Schoonover, published a book they co-authored “Between Two Worlds: A Psychiatrist and Her Son’s Quest for Compassionate Mental Health Care.”