Our Team and Advisors

Founding Team

Annie Slease
Chief Executive Officer

  • 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 mental health advocacy. Since 2017, she has served her home state of Delaware raising awareness, addressing gaps, and championing upstream solutions. In 2023, Annie was appointed by the governor as a voting member of the Delaware Behavioral Health Consortium. Annie is a mother, grandmother, wife, teacher, and advocate. She is a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation and a Cofounder of the MHLC.

Jason Schofield
Chief Operating Officer

  • Jason Schofield is an author, educator, and speaker who makes educational content engaging and memorable. He has founded multiple companies and organizations in the health space and brings his creative spirit and forward-thinking mindset to all of his projects. Jason is particularly passionate about finding ways to bring people together to collaborate at the intersection of health and education. He is a Cofounder of the MHLC.

Dr. Donna Volpitta
Chief Learning Officer

  • 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 a former classroom teacher with experience in both general and special education, 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 Cofounder of the MHLC, and the mother of four fantastic young adults.

Advisors

  • Austin Wyman

    Doctoral Student at the University of Notre Dame

  • Erin L. Wick

    Executive Director of Behavioral Health & Integrated Student Supports, Capital Region ESD 113, WA

  • Dr. Mark Weist

    Professor of Psychology, University of South Carolina • Lead, Southeastern School Behavioral Health Community

  • Dr. Yifeng Wei

    Associate Professor Department of Psychiatry, FoMD & WCHRI, FoMD University of Alberta

  • Chris Waddell

    CEO Chris Waddell Inc • Founder and Executive Director One Revolution Foundation

  • Ross Szabo

    CEO, Human Power Project & Wellness • Director at Geffen Academy

  • Mackenzie Shane

    Project Lead - Standards-Based IEPs & Educational Benefit Review, University of Delaware

  • Abbie Rosenberg

    Founder & Executive Director of Mental Health Collaborative

  • Sean Perry

    Founder and Executive Director of We R H.O.P.E. Inc.

  • Dr. Brittany Patterson

    Core Faculty & Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, University of Maryland

  • Stephanie Pasternak

    Director of State Affairs for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)

  • Dr. Zainab Okolo

    Senior Vice President of Policy, Advocacy & Government Relations at The Jed Foundation

  • Julian Nuñez

    Master's student at Northwestern University • Kindergarten Co-Teacher at Greenwich Country Day School

  • Pooja Mehta

    Senior Consultant and Mental Health Advocate

  • Kristina MacBury

    Principal at Sarah Pyle Academy, Author, and Mental Health Advocate

  • Hon. Dr. Stan Kutcher

    Leading MHL Researcher, Advocate, and Educator

  • Angela Kimball

    Chief Advocacy Officer at Inseparable

  • Dareen Khatib

    Administrator of Health, Safety, and Prevention Programs at the Orange County Department of Education

  • Nicole Kennedy

    Research Specialist at Rodel

  • Joey Jegier

    Teaching Fellow - Alliance for Catholic Education in Detroit, MI

  • Nick Jaskiw

    School Psychologist/Consultant (NC-RESA) • Lead Facilitator of the BHLC of Michigan

  • Dr. Sharon Hoover

    Co-Director, National Center for School Mental Health • Director, NCTSN Center for Safe Supportive Schools

  • Dr. Jason Frydman

    Associate Professor of Expressive Therapies, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA

  • Tramaine El-Amin

    Vice President, Mental Health First Aid • National Council for Mental Wellbeing

  • Dr. Brooke Eisenbach

    Associate Professor of Middle and Secondary Education at Lesley University

  • Todd Crooks

    Executive Director of Chad's Legacy Project

  • Katie Conklin

    Vice President of Programs at Erika’s Lighthouse

  • Dr. Wendy Carr

    Professor Emerita, Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia

  • Brandon Beachamp

    Mental Health Therapist, Speaker, and Practitioner

  • Andrew Baxter

    Team Lead for Mentalhealthliteracy.org and the Alberta Mental Health Literacy Project

  • Talli Dolge

    National Mental Health Strategic Advisor and Executive Consultant

  • Michelle Palladini

    Deputy Chief of Police, Norfolk MA / Professor of Criminal Justice, Dean College

  • Alisa Smedley

    CEO, the Center for Re-Entry Excellence, LLC

  • Sunny Noelle Naughton

    Founder and Lead Consultant, Sunshine Silver Lining

  • John Crocker

    Founder and Director of MASMHC • Director of School Mental Health & Behavioral Services, Methuen Public Schools

  • Crisjon Solano

    University Academy Principal at HMHI • Brain Health Curriculum Project Specialist and Project Co-Sponsor