Speaker's Profile

I'm a behavioral health strategist, community builder, and the Founder & CEO of Behavioral Health Tech, the largest community dedicated to expanding access to mental health, substance use, and intellectual and developmental disability (I/DD) services through technology, health equity, and innovation. Our annual BHT event is the premier gathering for payors, providers, government leaders, and forward-thinking innovators to connect, share what’s working, and push the boundaries of what’s possible in behavioral health.Before founding BHT, I served as the founding fund director of The Upswing Fund for Adolescent Mental Health, a philanthropic initiative launched by Pivotal Ventures, Melinda French Gates' personal investment and incubation company. Through this work, my team and I provided grants to over 100 community-based organizations across the country, supporting the mental health of LGBTQ+ teens and adolescents of color.My commitment to mental health access and community began in my own adolescence. After navigating anxiety and OCD as a teenager, I realized that connection, shared experience, and access to knowledge were critical to healing. That journey inspired me to launch the “Anxiety In Teens” blog and 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2006, when I was just 16, one of the first online mental health platforms created for teens, by teens.I’ve also had the privilege of serving as a senior fellow at the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, and my work has been featured in Harvard Business Review case studies, Forbes, Fortune, HuffPost, Inc., Psychology Today, and more.