Youth Mental Health Project Advisors
Cheryl Aguilar, LICSW, LCSW, Founding Director and Therapist at Hope Center for Wellness
Cheryl is a licensed clinical social worker and therapist at Hope Center for Wellness, a D.C.-based behavioral health practice focused on holistic healing. She has nearly two decades of experience in the public and private sectors and specializes in work with immigrants and refugees.
Ira Burnim, Legal Director, Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
Ira became legal director of the Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law in 1989. He is recognized for his expertise in policy and legal issues related to the Americans with Disabilities Act, community mental health care, Medicaid, criminal justice reform, and children’s issues.
Lauren Carson, Executive Director/Founder, Black Girls Smile
Lauren Carson is the Executive Director and Founder of Black Girls Smile Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting positive mental health education, resources and support, and a Mental Health Advocate and Speaker. She has been featured at SXSW, Clinton Global Initiative University, American Psychiatric Association, Refinery 29, Redbook, and HERS Magazine and made Young Nonprofit Professional Network 30 under 30. Lauren continues to lend her voice and platform to mental health awareness and empowerment of all, especially minority communities women and girls.
Jennifer (Roseman) Christman, President, MyAdvisor/VetAdvisor (A Division of THREEWIRE SYSTEMS, LLC)
As President of MyAdvisor/VetAdvisor Services, Jennifer implements and directs proactive care coordination and counseling programs for Three Wire Systems. She oversees improving access to services in wellness, behavioral health, navigational advocacy, and financial and career transition care coordination.
Justin Constantine, Founder, Veteran Success Resource Group & Inspirational Speaker, The Constantine Group
Justin served in the U.S. Marine Corps for many years. His writing on leadership and mental health was published in several prominent publications. He was named a Champion of Change for Veterans by President Obama, and was one of the wounded warriors painted by President George W. Bush in Portraits of Courage.
Pamela End of Horn, MSW, LICSW, National Suicide Prevention Consultant, Indian Health Service Headquarters, Office of Clinical and Preventive Services (OCPS)/Division of Behavioral Health (DBH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Pamela is an enrolled member of the Oglala Lakota Sioux of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and responsible for the development and oversight of the Suicide Prevention & Care Program. Pamela has a Master’s Degree in Social Work and currently holds advanced practice licenses in North Dakota and Minnesota.
Dr. Bob Findling, Chairman, Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University
Dr. Findling attended medical school at Virginia Commonwealth University and trained in Pediatrics, Psychiatry, and Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at Mt. Sinai. He served as Director of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at Case Western Reserve and Johns Hopkins and as the chair of VCU’s Department of Psychiatry.
Joshua A Gordon, MD, PhD, Director, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Dr. Gordon is the director of the National Institute of Mental health whose mission is to transform the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses, paving the way for prevention, recovery, and cure. He also maintains a research lab that studies neural circuits underlying working memory.
Pamela Harrington, Executive Director, Bring Change to Mind
Pamela is the Executive Director of Bring Change to Mind, an organization that creates multimedia campaigns, curates storytelling, and develops youth programs to encourage a diverse cultural conversation around mental health in order to end the stigma and discrimination that surrounds it.
Dr. David B. Herzog, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Dr. Herzog has 35 years specializing in eating disorders research, education and treatment. He founded the Harvard Eating Disorders Center and Eating Disorders Coalition for Research, Policy & Action, and was the principal investigator for the MGH Longitudinal Study of Eating Disorders.
David B. Hoppe, Managing Partner, Gamma Law
David is the founder and Managing Partner of Gamma Law, a firm that supports clients in media/entertainment and technology. He has over 25 years of experience negotiating and closing a wide range of US and international transactions in areas such as esports, video games, entertainment and VR/AR/MR.
Amanda Horn, Senior Marketing and Public Relations Manager
Amanda Horn is the senior marketing and public relations manager for Active Minds, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for young adult mental health. At Active Minds, Amanda and her team manage external communications for the organization, including social media, blogs, and public relations efforts. Prior to Active Minds, Amanda has worked for nonprofits, associations, and government agencies across the D.C. metro area in topics such as healthcare, veterans affairs, and education.
Kay Redfield Jamison, M.A., Ph.D., The Dalio Professor in Mood Disorders, Professor of Psychiatry, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Kay is the Dalio Professor in Mood Disorders, Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins, and co-author of the standard medical text on bipolar disorder. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Royal Society of Edinburgh and a recipient of several awards for her work.
Mary Pat King, CAE, CEO, Girl Scouts of West Central Florida
Mary Pat is a certified nonprofit executive with 20+ years of experience engaging youth and families nationwide. While at Vanguard Communications, she designed mental health campaigns for: SAMHSA, American Psychological Association, and National Council for Behavioral Healthcare. At American Diabetes Association and National PTA, she led youth and family programs. She served as an advisor for the launch of StopBullying.gov and Jed Foundation’s Set to Go program. She is a Board Member of the Hillsborough County Commission on the Status of Women.
Megan Kinnane, Ph.D., Senior Advisor to the Director, Office of the Director, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Dr. Kinnane is the Chief of Staff of the National Institute of Mental Health where she serves as the Institute’s main contact point for internal and external communication, in addition to providing policy guidance. She previously served as a scientific review officer at NIMH.
Peta-gay Ledbetter PhD, LPC-S, NCC Clinical Director at Home of Hope Texas
Dr. Peta is a practitioner and specialist in culturally competent psychotherapy. Her professional experience includes Director of Clinical Services for Asian American Family Services and Director of Behavioral Health & Social Services at HOPE Clinic, serving many refugee and immigrant clients.
Amanda Lenhart, Program Director, Health + Data, the Data & Society Research Institute
Amanda Lenhart studies how technology affects human lives, with a special focus on families and children. A quantitative and qualitative researcher, Amanda is the Program Director, Health + Data at the Data & Society Research Institute. Over decades, she has examined how adolescents and their families use and think about technology, how young adults consume news, how harassment has thrived in online spaces, and how automation will impact workers. She began her career at the Pew Research Center, studying how teens and families use social and mobile technologies. Amanda specializes in translating rigorous research for a broad national audience.
Brian McNeill, Ph.D., Professor/Chicanx Psychologist & President, National Latinx Psychology Association & Director, Pacific Northwest Collaborative for Mestizo and Indigenous Research and Outreach, Washington State University
Brian McNeill received his Ph.D from Texas Tech University in Counseling Psychology, and is a Professor/Co-Director of Training for the Counseling Psychology Program at Washington State University. He also directs the Pacific Northwest Collaborative for Mestizo & Indigenous Research and Engagement.
Alison Malmon, Founder + Executive Director, Active Minds
Alison is the Founder/Executive Director of Active Minds, the nation’s premier nonprofit organization supporting mental health awareness and education for students and young adults. She also sits on the Advisory Committees for Crisis Text Line and National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
Lau Morrison, Psy.D., Licensed Psychologist, The Code Green Campaign®
Lau is a former EMT and licensed psychologist who has devoted her career to providing quality treatment to underserved individuals. She sits on the board of directors for The Code Green Campaign and works at the LA County Department of Mental Health providing treatment for high-risk children and youth.
Meaghan O’Brien, MA, Director of Peer Programs, Mental Health Association San Francisco (MHASF)
Meaghan is a program director and agency executive at MHASF, a peer-based mental health organization rooted in cultivating peer leadership, building community, and advancing social justice in mental health. She revitalized MHASF’s involvement in youth programming within the San Francisco Bay Area and oversees a multitude of programs developed, run, and utilized by mental health consumers. She has supported the development of mental health legislation and policy in the State of California, particularly around mental health Peer Specialist Certification. Her earlier work includes conducting research in several University research labs studying mental health stigma, Attention Deficit Hyper-Activity disorder, and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum disorders.
Michael Rich, MD, MPH, Director and Founder of the Center on Media and Child’s Health and the Clinic for Interactive Media and Internet Disorders at Boston Children’s Hospital
Dr. Rich is Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, and Associate Professor of Social & Behavioral Sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He is the Founder/Director of the Center on Media & Child Health and the Clinic for Interactive Media & Internet Disorders.
Kristina Saffran, Cofounder and CEO, Equip Health
Kristina is one of the leading experts in the U.S. on eating disorder recovery. At 15 years old, in recovery from anorexia, she founded Project HEAL, the leading grassroots eating disorder non-profit in the US. In 2019, she founded Equip Health, whose focus is ensuring affordable, quality treatment.
Karen Severns, PsyD, MSW, LCSW, ACADC, ICAADC, LADAC, C.C.M., Office of Behavioral Health, Aberdeen Indian Health Services (IHS) Area Office Behavioral Health Director for the Great Plains Region
Karen Severns is Director of the Great Plains Region for the Office of Behavioral Health, Aberdeen Indian Health Services, and an enrolled member of the Gros Ventre Tribe, Fort Belknap, MT. Dr. Severns is also a Psychologist, Clinical Social Worker and an Advanced Substance Abuse Therapist. The Great Plains Area Office in Aberdeen, South Dakota, works in conjunction with its 19 Indian Health Service Units and Tribal managed Service Units to provide health care to approximately 130,000 Native Americans located in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa.
Jane Ellen Stevens, Founder and publisher of PACEs Connection
Jane Ellen is the editor of PACESTooHigh and founder/publisher of PACEs Connection. She has been a newspaper and magazine journalist focusing on health, science and technology for 30 years. Her articles have appeared in many prominent publications and she consulted in the transition to digital journalism.
Amanda Southworth, Founder and Executive Director, Astra Labs
Amanda is a programmer, designer, and creator of the apps AnxietyHelper and Verena. Inspired by her own struggle, her apps are designed to provide safety, information, and emergency help to those who are struggling with mental illness or are a member of the LGBTQ+ community and need emergency support.
Kevin Wong, Head of Communications, The Trevor Project
Kevin Wong is the Head of Communications for The Trevor Project, the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ young people. He oversees media relations, speaking engagements, strategic partnerships, internal messaging, celebrity engagement, editorial content, and more.
Scott Zeller, MD, Vice-President of Acute Psychiatry, Vituity and Asst. Professor, UC-Riverside
Scott Zeller, MD is an award-winning innovator in Emergency Psychiatry, known for the Alameda Model, EmPath Units, Project BETA, and On-Demand Emergency Telepsychiatry. He is Past President of both the American Association for Emergency Psychiatry and the National Coalition on Psychiatric Emergencies.