Schools for Strong Minds is a program from Sapien Labs that measures student mind health and gives schools data and insights to inform strategies that improve it at a school level.
Founder and Chief Scientist, Sapien Labs
Over the last decades she has looked for insights into the nature of brain and mind across species and from multiple perspectives. From this multifaceted view she takes a complex systems perspective and is guided by two overarching insights: that the integrated system is far more than the sum of its parts, and that our changing environment is driving an evolving divergence of brain physiology among us with health and societal consequences that are more profound than we have appreciated.
Until March 2021, Tara also led Madura Microfinance building it from its founding into an organization with 3,000 people reaching into over 25,000 villages and small towns across India to provide small loans to over a million people each year. At Madura she pioneered data and analytical frameworks to enable insights into economic outcomes in these data dark ecosystems, and lived the unique challenges of building an organization that integrates across the full breadth of humanity from the very poorest, least educated and off-grid to the wealthy, educated and technology savvy. Altogether this has contributed to a global approach to science that is grounded in real-world challenges and implementation.
Tara has a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Stanford University, a B.A. in Mathematics from Brandeis University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Previously she was also a post-doctoral fellow at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, a Visiting Scientist at the National Center for Biological Sciences in India and has worked in Strategic Scientific Planning at Bristol Myers-Squibb.
Head, Schools for Strong Minds
Sridhar brings vast experience across the data and technology sectors along with a deep interest in mind health and mental wellbeing. His career focus has been in product management where he has successfully brought products to market in spaces including data infrastructure, AI/ML, wireless and telecom, and enterprise security. He founded two startups and led product and business teams at three others, giving him deep experience in building products and businesses from scratch. Outside of work, Sridhar is a long-distance runner and ocean swimmer. He served on the board of the American International School in Chennai for 8 years, developing a strong interest in K-12 education.
Sridhar holds a BS and MS in electrical engineering from MIT and is currently working on a PhD in Psychology from the California Institute for Human Sciences.
Lead Scientist, Cognitive and Mental Health
Her previous research has spanned multiple subfields of the brain including cognitive neuroscience, olfaction science, and mental health and wellbeing where she has worked on the relationship between attention and memory, scene reconstruction in memory and imagination using fMRI, and the translation of olfaction induced insights using EEG and measures of emotional, physical and mental wellbeing into product design. Prior to Sapien Labs she was Head of Neuroscience Research at Givaudan and brings a broad perspective across academic, commercial and not-for profit organizations.
She has a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from Oxford University and a B.Sc. Hons in Neuroscience from the University of Edinburgh. She did her postdoctoral work at the Wellcome Center for Neuroimaging at the University College London.
Director, Client Services and Operations
Callyn holds an M.A. in English from George Mason University and a B.A. in English from James Madison University. Outside of work, she is the mother of three children, serves as PTO President at their school, and is married to a lifelong educator, roles that deepen her commitment to improving the mind health and wellbeing of students everywhere.
Product Lead
In addition to a deep passion for Mind Health, Danny brings a diverse background in psychology, education, and business growth to the team. He works closely with school leaders, impact partners, and Sapien Labs scientists.
Acting Executive Director and Board Member
Rob is a senior executive at Avalere Health with deep healthcare relationships and a broad understanding of the behavioral health space including expert understanding of the models used by large companies and payers to address behavioral health. He has advised large private equity investors in the diligence and purchase of companies delivering substance abuse treatment; outpatient psychiatry, autism services and running inpatient care for eating and other disorders. Rob also has significant experience developing successful business models and acquiring early customers and partnerships for early-stage data/tech driven companies.
Rob has a Masters in Public and Private Management from the Yale University School of Management and a BA in Economics from Bucknell University.
Advisor, Schools for Strong Minds
Matt is also board president of Maine’s state camping association, a former school board member, a PhD candidate at USM’s Muskie School, a proud parent, and the spouse of a mental health clinician. His work blends research and advocacy on technology’s impact on youth.
He holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Queensland, an MEd from Cabrini University, and is pursuing a PhD in Public Policy & Ed. Leadership at USM.
Advisor, Schools for Strong Minds
He has spent fifteen years focused on children’s issues and worked across government, nonprofits and social enterprise, and education. He served as Chief of Staff to Chancellor Dennis Walcott and Chief Operating Officer at the NYC Department of Education under Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He was appointed by President Obama to serve as a non-partisan White House Fellow at HUD (2014-2015). He founded Opportunity Labs, a national nonprofit research and policy firm. He is a fourth-year Lecturer at Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs where he teaches policy courses on implementation and education. He is a Fellow at Georgetown University’s FutureEd. He also writes Opportunity Knocks, a weekly newsletter that reaches over 1,500 about championing opportunity for kids. He serves on the boards of The Equity Project (TEP) Charter School and America’s Promise Alliance. His writing has appeared in Politico, The Hill, CNN, and other outlets. He was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 and selected as a French-American Foundation Fellow, Millennium Fellow, and Atlantic Council Millennium Leadership Fellow.
