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Event Description

Though public awareness has grown in recent years, youth mental health has been at a crisis level since before the Covid-19 pandemic. A 2021 Surgeon General’s report describes the devastating consequences of compounded issues, including income inequality, racial injustice, climate change, the opioid epidemic, gun violence, technology, and social media. In many cases, schools are the most logical delivery point for services and interventions for adolescents and young adults, and the good news is that many stakeholders are motivated to take action. Nonetheless, systemic barriers between our health and education systems, from reimbursement issues to data sharing and straightforward logistical challenges, make this work complicated at best. Join us to hear promising case studies from organizations leading this work in our region, and to discuss how philanthropy can support the evaluation and scaling of innovative approaches across systems.

2024 Quarterly Programming

About the Health Funders Group

The SCG Health Funders Group convenes multiple times a year to explore emerging issues in healthcare and health policy through an intersectional approach. The group hosts topic-based and peer-to-peer learning sessions. These facilitated sessions will provide a forum for updates on critical issues, highlights of promising programs and opportunities for collaboration.

Speakers

Anna Baum

Anna Baum

Director of Development and Communications, The Los Angeles Trust for Children's Health

Born and raised in Los Angeles and a proud graduate of LAUSD, Anna has over 20 years experience leading expansion of local and international organizations through increased support and visibility. She has been with The Los Angeles Trust for Children's Health for over five years. Previously she worked as a writer and as an advocate in social work settings, primarily in domestic violence.
I am a Black woman with curly chin-length black hair wearing light pink glasses, a black top, and a light pink blazer.

Tshema [Tesh-ma] Nash SCG Member

Program Officer, Access to Care, Cedars-Sinai

Tshema [Tesh-ma] is the Access to Care Program Officer in Cedars-Sinai’s Community Benefit Giving Office who is focused on building equitable communities so all have an opportunity to thrive. In her current capacity, Tshema mobilizes fiscal resources and programmatic support to community health clinics, behavioral health organizations, and other non-profits that comprise the Los Angeles County healthcare safety net. Her prior professional experience and practice includes domestic work at the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as in-country global work in Ecuador, Bangladesh, South Africa, and Lesotho. Tshema is a current DrPH candidate at Boston University and holds both an MPH from Columbia University and a BS in Anthropology and Human Biology from Emory University.
Nicole Ressa sitting in a chair with a blue and white striped button-down shirt and grey blazer, smiling.

Nicole Ressa

Chief Education & Programs Officer, Planned Parenthood Los Angeles

Nicole Ressa serves as the Chief Education and Programs Officer for Planned Parenthood Los Angeles. She has over 17 years of experience working in sexual health programming for teens, parents and families, managing the affiliate’s Education Department. This includes School-Based, Peer Advocate, Black Health Initiative, Community Education and Promotoras programs which reach over 50 thousand Angelinos each year. She plays an integral role in a strategic high school project, which is bringing 50 Wellbeing Centers on campuses across Los Angeles County, in partnership with the Departments of Public Health, Mental Health, LAUSD and LACOE. From 2016 to 2019, Nicole also worked on Skid Row, launching an inaugural psychiatric recuperative care program to support people who are chronically unhoused and have complex medical and mental health diagnoses.

She earned her B.A. in English with a double-minor in Psychology and Women’s Studies from the University of Albany. In 2016, Nicole also completed the Clinic Leadership Institute Emerging Leaders Program with the Healthforce Center at the University of CA, San Francisco. She has been a volunteer and activist for over 20 years and is of Filipina and Italian descent.
Profile photo of Jocelyn Wiener

Jocelyn Wiener

Health Reporter, CalMatters

Jocelyn Wiener is a reporter with CalMatters who specializes in long-form stories about how government policies affect people’s lives. She has worked as a reporter in her native California for two decades. She wrote about poverty and homelessness for several years at The Sacramento Bee then reported internationally as a freelance journalist and covered health care issues in California. Before journalism, as a Fulbright Scholar, she worked with young people living on the streets of El Salvador.
female with dark hair and glasses

Alex Zepeda

Sr. Data and Research Analyst, The LA Trust for Children's Health

Alex Zepeda joined The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health in 2021. In her role as Senior Data and Research Analyst, she supports the expansion of the Data xChange and collaborates with staff to determine research objectives and develop evaluation strategies. Alex also serves as the key liaison to school partners and connects with local workgroups and coalitions to improve school and adolescent health programs using data. She earned a master’s degree from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.

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