Julia O'Connor is a Health and Social Policy Advisor for the Washington State Workforce Board and a deep content expert on the mental health field. The challenges of building a diverse and capable supply of mental and behavioral health professionals is huge. We explore how issues such as availability, location, diversity, pay rates, student debt, and supervision affect our therapists, community health workers, peer support specialists and other important mental health specialists.

Dr Ben-Zeev discusses how mobile technologies (e.g. smart phones, sensor based wearables, etc.) can improve the outcomes of people with mental health conditions. He discusses initiatives including development of a smartphone intervention for schizophrenia and deployment of behavioral sensing technologies among inpatients and outpatients to identify risk factors for relapse.

Rep. Davis @laurendaviswa is a mental health, substance abuse recovery, and suicide prevention advocate. She founded the suicide prevention organization Forefront and was the founder and director of the Washington Recovery Alliance. Her efforts led to the passage of Ricky's law enabling the involuntary crisis commitment of youth and adults with life-threatening addiction. 

Almost 100% of women who are incarcerated have a history of abuse which affected their mental health and ability to live productive lives. 70% of men incarcerated with felony convictions have either been a witness to violence in the home or had violence inflicted on them when they were young. These experiences can alter brain make-up, create mental illness and lead to a pathway that is antisocial and leads to prison. Karen discusses how people can be diverted from the criminal justice system or prevented from returning to prison and their lives turned around. An incredibly rich and thoughtful perspective from a community leader.

The former CEO of Navos, a large community mental health clinic, describes the landscape of challenges in the mental health field. Uniquely able to talk about the role of philanthropy in pilot programs and scaling up nonprofits, David brings decades of experience to bear in one insightful conversation. 

Tackling hard problems is what philanthropy should do, investing in emerging ideas, leadership, and pilot projects. The discussion includes a focus on urgent mental health issues such as the linkage between crisis response and the criminal justice system. How can systems be transformed to improve lives? How philanthropists of all capabilities should and can become involved in mental health solutions is discussed. 

Learn about mental health challenges in the home for all generations and what you can do. The discussion then shifts to homelessness and people living with mental illness who are on the streets. Drawing on his years as a public service employee and a private therapist Jackie brings a unique perspective to homeless people suffering from mental illness and potential solutions. The disparity in access to mental health solutions for people of color is addressed.

Your time, talent, connections, and yes, money, can make a difference in important community issues (i.e., mental health, social justice, youth and family support, etc.). Navigating giving is challenging - you want to do good and do it well. Join Nick MacPhee, an experienced philanthropist, as each week he dives deep into topics in philanthropy with a team of experts. Uncover pitfalls and opportunities and build your understanding so you can make more informed and valued contributions to your community.