Family Mental Health

Brian Chhor is the cofounder and CEO of Hero Journey Club, where therapist-led groups meet kids in games like Minecraft to build social-emotional skills. He’s transforming digital play into healing communities, ensuring youth can practice resilience where they already gather.

Alex Briscoe, principal of Public Works Alliance, and formally of California Children’s Trust, has reimagined Medicaid financing to expand youth behavioral health. A bold systems thinker, he advances equity-driven programs like EMS Corps to grow access for kids and families.

Matt Biel, Georgetown professor, Chief of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at MedStar Georgetown, and Director of the Thrive Center at Georgetown University, has played a key role in ushering in a new era of family-centered mental health in America. Leading a team of experts in family mental health, his work—from clinical care to systems innovation, network building to original research—always keeps the whole family at the center.

Peter Long, formerly EVP of Strategy and Health Solutions at Blue Shield of California and CEO of Blue Shield of California Foundation, has shaped health equity through philanthropy and policy. He champions value-based care and community partnerships to support families.

As Assistant Superintendent of Health & Wellness for DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), Tia Brumsted has embedded wellness and suicide-prevention into an entire school system like never before. A systems builder, she’s ensuring that whole-child health and equity are core to student learning environments in the nation’s capital.

Louise Langheier and Marci Spector, co-founders of Luminary Impact Fund, are visionary connectors driving scalable, youth-centered mental health solutions. From building Peer Health Exchange to leading strategic investments that strengthen youth-serving organizations, they transform care ecosystems and advance holistic, sustainable mental health impact.

Oklahoma First Lady Sarah Stitt and Dr. Amy Emerson lead Hope Rising, a statewide initiative rooted in the science of hope. Together, they connect systems and communities to address childhood trauma, strengthen families, and advance children’s health, literacy, and development—reshaping policy and practice so every child has the chance to thrive.

Ron-Li Liaw is taking her position as the Mental Health-in-Chief at Children’s Hospital Colorado and turning it into a beacon for systems change on family mental health. Through culturally-attuned, asset-based clinical care and robust collaboration, she is demonstrating how a hospital can be the center of a statewide transformation aimed at all families.

Committed to social justice, trauma-informed, and culturally-responsive care, Dr. Kate Margolis has dedicated her career to dignity, sustainability, and wellness for all families. She is the Founding Director at UCSF Center for Advancing Dyadic Care in Pediatrics, but her aim is always to meet some of the country's most marginalized children and families where they're at and design system-wide interventions that support her whole sector to do the same.

Natalia Birgisson, cofounder and COO of Flourish Health, is blending her clinical training with her technological savvy to support the country's most precarious young people: those at risk of serious mental illness. Formerly a strategy leader at Doximity, she’s building tech-enabled solutions for high-acuity youth care that keeps families at the center.

Sharon Sprinkle, Eastern Nurse Consultation Director at Nurse-Family Partnership, and Rebecca Parilla, Clinical Director at Child First, lead home-based models that integrate mental health into early parenting. Through nurse-led visits and trauma-informed, two-generation care, they strengthen caregiver–child bonds and connect families with trusted support as part of Changent’s national work to improve health outcomes across generations.

Neal Halfon is a pioneer in the field of family mental health and has shaped national child health policy more than almost any other clinician working today. He currently serves as the founding director of UCLA’s Center for Healthier Children, Families & Communities and leads the Life Course Intervention Research Network, creating systems that support family well-being across generations.

Lisa Mennet, psychologist and founder of the Perigee Fund, catalyzes philanthropy in infant and early childhood mental health. Her leadership centers caregivers and babies, investing in supports that strengthen the earliest, most essential relationships.

Phil Fisher, Stanford professor and director of the Stanford Center on Early Childhood, translates developmental science into tools for policy and practice. Through the RAPID Survey Project, he’s elevating real-time data on family well-being to guide systems change.

Matthias Barker, psychotherapist and educator, reaches millions through social media, books, and courses. As cofounder of the Trauma Institute, he’s making evidence-based mental health tools accessible to families in the spaces where they already learn and connect.

Actor and advocate Yvette Nicole Brown hosts Lemonada’s “Squeezed,” a groundbreaking podcast spotlighting caregiving in America. With empathy and humor, she elevates caregiver voices while influencing culture, narrative, and policy conversations about family well-being.

As Chair of the National Governors Association, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy led a bipartisan initiative on youth mental health. His playbook equips states nationwide to take action, demonstrating the power of executive leadership to prioritize youth well-being.

Jay Chaudhary, Senior Fellow for Mental Health and Community Wellness at Sagamore Institute, champions family mental health through policies that expand equitable, community-based care. Building on his leadership as Indiana’s former mental health commissioner, he focuses on solutions that help families thrive together.

Nicki Bush, UCSF's Division Chief of Developmental Medicine, bridges research, policy, and practice to advance child well-being. As a Senior Fellow at Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child, she brings a national lens to her work, shaping how systems respond to families’ developmental and behavioral health needs.

Monica Zeno-Martin, Executive Director of Parenting Journey, empowers caregivers to build strong, resilient families. By centering parent voices and experiences, she advances a model that strengthens communities and redefines how systems support family well-being.

Dr. Lisa Damour is a psychologist, author, and thought leader known for translating research on adolescent development into practical advice for parents, educators, and teens. Through her bestselling books Untangled, Under Pressure, and The Emotional Lives of Teenagers, as well as her podcast and media work, she helps normalize teen emotions, reduce anxiety around adolescence, and promote healthy, compassionate approaches to mental health.

Margaret Laws, current President and CEO of Hopelab, has been imperative in the reimagination of family mental health by creating tech-driven tools for young people’s well-being. With a career rooted in health innovation, she’s catalyzing solutions that strengthen resilience in youth and the families who support them.

Sue Birch is a beacon of statewide innovation for family mental health. As the Director of Washington State’s Health Care Authority, she drove Medicaid and benefits reforms, expanded behavioral health integration and equity-focused access, and reshaped how we understand public systems can serve families at scale.

Iyah Romm, Dr. Helen Egger, and Rebecca Egger are reimagining mental health by merging school-centered and whole-family care. Their collaboration bridges Hazel Health’s in-school access with Little Otter’s family-focused mental health platform, creating an integrated model where early support in schools connects to comprehensive care for students, parents, and families alike.

Rahil Briggs leads HealthySteps at Zero to Three, integrating behavioral health into pediatric care nationwide. As a clinical professor and national director, she has scaled evidence-based supports for babies and families, reshaping how care is delivered in primary settings.