Our Team and Advisors
Founding Team
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Annie Slease, M.Ed., sits at the intersection of education and mental health, professionally and personally. When her child’s crisis emerged over a dozen years ago, Annie was a classroom teacher unaware of mental health literacy. Inspired by her personal experience navigating family mental illness without information or support, she repurposed her 25-year teaching career into advocacy. Since 2017, she has served her home state of Delaware as a trusted voice for individuals and family members affected by mental illness, working in policy, education, community, and healthcare spaces, raising awareness, addressing gaps, and championing upstream solutions. She is most passionate about empowering youth and their trusted adults with mental health literacy. Annie was recently appointed by the governor as a voting member of the Delaware Behavioral Health Consortium. Annie is a mother, wife, teacher, and advocate, and she is Co-Founder of the Mental Health Literacy Collaborative.
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Jason Schofield is an author, educator, and speaker who makes educational content engaging and memorable. He brings his creative spirit and forward-thinking mindset to all of his projects and is particularly passionate about finding ways to bring people together to collaborate around health and education. He is Co-Founder of the Mental Health Literacy Collaborative. Jason is the father of two wonderful young children.
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Donna Volpitta, Ed.D. is an educator, author, and speaker who loves making the brain science of resilience and mental health easy to understand and apply. She is Co-Founder of the Mental Health Literacy Collaborative, a board member of One Revolution Foundation, a member of the Mental Wellness Initiative and Children's Wellness Initiative of the Global Wellness Institute, a Global Presence Ambassador for Parenting 2.0, and a member of the Character Collaborative. Donna is a former classroom teacher with experience in both general and special education and the mother of four fantastic young adults.
Advisors
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Austin Wyman
Doctoral Student at the University of Notre Dame
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Erin L. Wick
Executive Director of Behavioral Health & Integrated Student Supports, Capital Region ESD 113, WA
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Dr. Mark Weist
Professor of Psychology, University of South Carolina • Lead, Southeastern School Behavioral Health Community
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Dr. Yifeng Wei
Assistant Professor Department of Psychiatry, FoMD & WCHRI, FoMD University of Alberta
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Chris Waddell
CEO Chris Waddell Inc • Founder and Executive Director One Revolution Foundation
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Ross Szabo
CEO, Human Power Project & Wellness • Director at Geffen Academy
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Mackenzie Shane
Project Lead - Standards-Based IEPs & Educational Benefit Review, University of Delaware
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Abbie Rosenberg
Founder & Executive Director of Mental Health Collaborative
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Sean Perry
Founder and Executive Director of We R H.O.P.E. Inc.
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Dr. Brittany Patterson
Core Faculty & Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, University of Maryland
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Stephanie Pasternak
Director of State Affairs for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
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Dr. Zainab Okolo
Senior Vice President of Policy, Advocacy & Government Relations at The Jed Foundation
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Julian Nuñez
Master's student at Northwestern University • Kindergarten Co-Teacher at Greenwich Country Day School
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Pooja Mehta
Senior Policy Associate at Inseparable
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Kristina MacBury
Principal at Sarah Pyle Academy, Author, and Mental Health Advocate
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Hon. Dr. Stan Kutcher
Leading MHL Researcher, Advocate, and Educator
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Angela Kimball
Senior Vice President of Advocacy & Public Policy at Inseparable
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Dareen Khatib
Administrator of Health, Safety, and Prevention Programs at the Orange County Department of Education
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Nicole Kennedy
Policy Research Associate, Rodel
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Joey Jegier
Teaching Fellow - Alliance for Catholic Education in Detroit, MI
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Nick Jaskiw
School Psychologist/Consultant (NC-RESA) • Lead Facilitator of the BHLC of Michigan
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Dr. Sharon Hoover
Co-Director, National Center for School Mental Health • Director, NCTSN Center for Safe Supportive Schools
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Dr. Jason Frydman
Associate Professor of Expressive Therapies, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA
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Tramaine El-Amin
Vice President, Mental Health First Aid • National Council for Mental Wellbeing
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Dr. Brooke Eisenbach
Associate Professor of Middle and Secondary Education at Lesley University
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Todd Crooks
Executive Director of Chad's Legacy Project
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Katie Conklin
Vice President of Programs at Erika’s Lighthouse
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Dr. Wendy Carr
Professor Emerita, Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia
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Brandon Beachamp
Director of the School Mental Health Resource and Training Center of MHANYS
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Andrew Baxter
Team Lead for Mentalhealthliteracy.org and the Alberta Mental Health Literacy Project
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Talli Dolge
National Mental Health Strategic Advisor and Executive Consultant
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Michelle Palladini
Deputy Chief of Police, Norfolk MA / Professor of Criminal Justice, Dean College
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Alisa Smedley
CEO, the Center for Re-Entry Excellence, LLC
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Sunny Noelle Naughton
Founder and Lead Consultant, Sunshine Silver Lining