Hari Ravichandran is the CEO and founder of Aura, with over 40 approved or pending technology patents to his name. He was recognized by Forbes magazine as one of the most powerful CEOs 40 and Under in 2014 and 2015. Hari holds an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a BS in Computer Engineering from Mississippi State University.
Dr. Becky Kennedy
Clinical psychologist, Co-founder and CEO of Good Inside, #1 NYT bestselling author
Dr. Becky Kennedy is a clinical psychologist, bestselling author, and mom of three, known as “The Millennial Parenting Whisperer” by TIME Magazine. She co-founded and is CEO of Good Inside, a parenting platform. Dr. Becky is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Good Inside: A Guide to Becoming the Parent You Want to Be. She also hosts the podcast Good Inside with Dr. Becky, has 2.6M Instagram followers, and offers a digital subscription membership. Dr. Becky holds a BA from Duke University and a PhD from Columbia University.
Dr. Alfiee M. Breland-Noble is a pioneering psychologist, scientist, author, mental health correspondent, and founder of the innovative nonprofit, The AAKOMA Project. She is also the Chief Mental Wealth Officer for Charlamagne Tha God’s foundation, the Mental Wealth Alliance. A regular media contributor, she co-hosts the annual Audacy Radio suicide prevention special I’m Listening with Carson Daly and Katie Neal, and co-hosted the short film The Power of Kindness, with Lady Gaga. A distinguished advocate for mental health, Dr. Alfiee has been tapped as a Melinda French Gates 2024 World Leader, championing innovative solutions to advance the health and wellbeing of women and girls worldwide, as lead of a 20-million-dollar fund (part of Melinda’s groundbreaking 1 Billion Dollar philanthropic initiative).
Dave Anderson, PhD, is a senior clinical psychologist and Vice President of Public Engagement and Education at the Child Mind Institute. He specializes in treating children and adolescents with ADHD, behavior, anxiety, and mood disorders using techniques like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and school-based consultation. Dr. Anderson's programs have impacted over 2.4 million students, educators, and caregivers in more than 9,000 schools nationwide. He frequently lectures and leads workshops for various audiences and has contributed to major media outlets. Dr. Anderson is dedicated to reducing the stigma around mental health, increasing access to mental health services, and ensuring these services are developed with diverse communities. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and a doctorate in clinical psychology from Columbia University.
Dr. Aliza Pressman is a developmental psychologist with nearly two decades of experience working with families and the health care providers who care for them. She is the author of the New York Times bestselling book THE 5 PRINCIPLES OF PARENTING: Your Essential Guide to Raising Good Humans, and the host of the award-winning podcast Raising Good Humans. Aliza is the co-founding director of The Mount Sinai Parenting Center and is an assistant clinical professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital. She holds degrees from Dartmouth College, Teacher’s College, and Columbia University. Aliza is the mother of two teenagers.
Dr. Lisa Damour is the author of three New York Times best sellers: Untangled, Under Pressure, and The Emotional Lives of Teenagers, which have been translated into twenty-three languages. She co-hosts the Ask Lisa podcast, works in collaboration with UNICEF, and is recognized as a thought leader by the American Psychological Association. Dr. Damour is a regular contributor to The New York Times and CBS News and the creator of Untangling 10to20, a digital library of premium content to support teens and those who care for them.
Poppy Harlow is an award-winning, Emmy-nominated journalist and former co-anchor of CNN This Morning. She hosts the CNN podcast, “BossFiles with Poppy Harlow,” and has authored “The Biggest Little Boy” and co-authored “The Color of Love.” Harlow has interviewed top business and political leaders like Warren Buffett and Melinda French Gates, and moderated CNN Presidential Town Halls. Her reporting focuses on income inequality and opportunity gaps for women and minorities. Joining CNN in 2008, she has also anchored for Forbes and NY1 News. Harlow graduated Magna Cum Laude from Columbia University and holds a Master's from Yale Law School. She is a proud mother, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a Henry Crown Fellow. Follow her on social media @poppyharlow.
Jacqueline Nesi, PhD, is a Clinical Psychologist, Assistant Professor at Brown University, and author of the popular weekly newsletter Techno Sapiens. She is also a mom of two, and co-founder of Tech Without Stress, which provides online resources and courses for parents raising kids in the digital age.
Lily Cornell Silver is a mental health advocate, and creator and host of the podcast and IGTV interview series, Mind Wide Open. The show seeks to help reduce the stigma surrounding mental health by amplifying the conversations around trauma, grief, depression, anxiety, and other topics. Guests in the series include experts in mental health and wellness, public figures from music, pop culture, and entertainment as well as Lily’s peers sharing their own stories. Episodes have featured Musican/Author Duff McKagan of Guns N' Roses, Dr. Marc Brackett, author of Permission to Feel/founding Director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, late Actor/Activist Michael K Williams, Grief Expert/Author David Kessler, TV Icon/Author Matt Pinfield, and Dr. Christine Yu Moutier, Chief Medical Officer of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, among dozens of others. Lily was recognized as a 2020 Leader of Mental Health Awareness by the National Alliance on Mental Illness-NYC. Lily is a graduate of Scripps College where she studied Media Studies and Psychology. She is the only daughter of music industry manager, Susan Silver and the first-born daughter of the late Soundgarden/Audioslave singer, Chris Cornell.
Joseph Arujo (he/him) is a 20-year old Latinx mental-health activist and content creator based in Los Angeles, CA. He is a freshman student at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, hoping to combine his interests in Business Administration and Media Studies to create a purpose-driven career that makes a difference in his community. As a Community Leader in the TikTok Diversity Collective and Advisory Board member to Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation, Joseph uses his energy to advise companies such as TikTok on diversity, equity, and inclusion, leading to developments such as “Pronouns on profiles,” crediting creator tools, and more. He has steadily grown his online fan base to over 900,000 followers, creating a community centered around spreading positivity and kindness.
Kaitlyn Hsu is the Director of Communications at Bloom, an organization by military teens for military teens. Kaitlyn is a Sophomore at a specialized high school for the fine and performing arts and has won awards for her writing. From living all over the world, coming from a diverse background, and being a dual citizen she has learned how to be accepting and open minded. She loves using digital platforms to boost her organization’s voice and her own, as well. She has spoken on panels at the Purple Star Summit, The State of The Military Family Summit, and has been featured on Nickelodeon for her perspective on military child life. In her free time, she enjoys playing for the field hockey team at her school and writing. In the future, she looks to continue her passion in connecting people across the world and work in international law.
Ronit Chakraborty
High School Senior, Incoming Freshman at Brown University, Youth Advisory Panelist for the AAP's Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health
Ronit Chakraborty (he/him) is a high school senior from Edison, New Jersey and will be attending Brown University starting this fall. He is a member of the Youth Advisory Panel for the American Academy of Pediatrics's Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health, through which he provides a youth voice for researchers, software developers, policymakers, and other professionals in order to help develop accessible resources and promote healthy social media usage. Ronit is a first-generation American born to Indian parents, and social media has played a large role in allowing him to connect with his family in India. In his free time, he loves to sing and exercise. Volunteering as a coach for the Special Olympics and as an EMT has helped fuel his aspiration to someday become a pediatric psychiatrist.
College student at Howard University; The AAKOMA Project Subject Matter Expert, Morgann Noble is a marketing major at Howard University who is passionate about mental health advocacy. She serves as an advisor to MTVE and Active Minds and has interned for the AAKOMA project, a non-profit focused on helping marginalized youth receive mental health care. She is also a Rare Beauty Ambassador and aspires to become a Chief Marketing Officer who emphasizes the importance of DEI and mental health in the workplace. In her free time, she enjoys reading, playing tennis, and learning about the business world.
Merve Lapus is the Vice President, Education Outreach. He is responsible for the overall outreach strategy and national partnerships for Common Sense Education and oversees a team that works directly with leadership to impact communities using technology for learning and life. Collaborating with school networks, state-level organizations, community leaders, and national partners, Merve is committed to fostering a whole-community approach to digital well-being, and establishing supportive learning spaces for all children and families to thrive in a world with media and technology. Merve has over 17 years of experience driving education technology initiatives across school programs, and building educator confidence through professional learning, and strategic implementation. Merve sits on a number of steering committees addressing school climate and state policy initiatives, and currently sits on the Marketing and Communications Board for the University of San Francisco and the Children’s Creativity Museum of San Francisco.
Dr. Laura Erickson-Schroth (she/they), MD, MA, is the Chief Medical Officer for The Jed Foundation (JED), a national nonprofit that protects emotional health and prevents suicide for teens and young adults. Laura has provided thousands of patients with crisis intervention and mental health support in over ten different emergency rooms in New York City. Much of her career has focused on LGBTQ mental health, and she continues to see clients at the Hetrick-Martin Institute for LGBTQIA+ Youth.
Dr. Kishonna L Gray is a Professor in Writing, Rhetoric, & Digital Studies at the University of Kentucky. She is the Director of the Intersectional Tech Lab, a Mellon funded initiative. Professor Gray is also a Faculty Associate at the Berkman-Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. She has served in this role since she was a Fellow in 2016. Professor Gray previously served as a Martin Luther King Jr. Scholar and Visiting Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Comparative Media Studies and the Women & Gender Studies Program and a Faculty Visitor at the Social Media Collective at Microsoft Research (Cambridge). She is the author of Intersectional Tech: Black Users in Digital Gaming, Race, Gender, & Deviance in Xbox Live, and is the co-editor of two volumes on culture and gaming: Feminism in Play and Woke Gaming.
Devin Moore is the Founder of Race To Speak Up, an anti-bullying organization, where he educates youth about bullying prevention and empowers them to be upstanders. Through the Race To Speak Up Against Bullying Workshops, Devin gives the tools, resources, and anti-bullying knowledge to students about creating effective solutions to this bullying epidemic and helps them create a Call To Action that can be implemented in classrooms. He is a first time Author of the Devin Speaks Up! children’s anti-bullying book and a rising junior at the University of Maryland.
Keri Rodrigues is Matthew, Miles and David’s mom and the visionary founder and president of the National Parents Union (NPU) – a groundbreaking organization that unites parents from diverse backgrounds to advocate for the rights, economic and educational needs of America’s children. Called “arguably the most successful parent organizer in education advocacy today,” her outstanding commitment to social, economic and educational equity for children and families spans decades. Under her leadership, NPU has become a formidable force, driving policy reforms and fostering parental empowerment across the nation to dismantle economic and educational barriers that keep America’s children from achieving economic mobility and prosperity. Rodrigues has served on the US Department of Education’s National Parent and Family Engagement Council, the Children’s Equity Project Family Advisory Committee at Arizona State University and the Massachusetts Democratic State Committee and the Ethnic Council of the Democratic National Committee
Kate Dias, a veteran high school math teacher, is in her third year as president of the Connecticut Education Association. She has advocated for fully funding public education, raising teacher salaries, and creating safe schools. Her tenure includes serving on state commissions addressing school discipline, teacher certification, and recruitment. Collaboration with members and organizations has led to significant policy successes, positioning CEA as an inclusive voice for educators. Nationally, she works to repeal punitive Social Security penalties for teachers. Previously, Dias was president of the Manchester Education Association, focusing on mental health and local advocacy. She has served in various CEA roles and holds a master's degree from UConn and a bachelor's from Northeastern University.
Nilay Patel is co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Verge, the technology and culture brand from Vox Media. In his decade at Vox Media, he’s grown The Verge into one of the largest and most influential tech sites, with a global audience of millions of monthly readers, and award-winning journalism with real-world impact. Honored in Adweek’s "Creative 100" in 2021, under Patel’s leadership, The Verge received its first Pulitzer and National Magazine Award nominations. Patel is a go-to expert voice in the tech space, hosting The Verge’s Webby award-winning podcasts, Decoder with Nilay Patel and The Vergecast, and appearing on CNBC as a regular contributor. He received an AB in Political Science from the University of Chicago in 2003 and his J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 2006.
Emma Lembke is a 21 year-old youth digital advocate. As a senior in high school, Lembke founded LOG OFF, a unique youth movement dedicated to uplifting and empowering youth to tackle the complexities of social media and its impact on their privacy, safety, and mental health. As a youth-led movement, LOG OFF provides an often overlooked and critical perspective on social media by leveraging and empowering the underrepresented experts in the field – Generation Z. This year, the movement will expand to establish campus chapters. Emma also co-chairs Design It For Us, the only youth-led coalition pushing for online platforms and social media to be designed with kids and teens in mind, rather than as an afterthought. Her efforts have been covered by numerous media outlets including the New York Times, 60 Minutes, CBS, MTV, npr, The Hill, and Bloomberg. In February 2023, Emma became one of the first young people to testify before Congress regarding tech policy.
Dr. Michael Rich
Practices adolescent medicine at Boston Children's Hospital, Associate professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School
Michael Rich, MD, MPH is recognized globally for his acclaimed work as a pediatrician, child health researcher, and children’s media specialist. He is the Founder and Director of the Digital Wellness Lab whose mission is to understand and promote positive and healthy digital media experiences for young people, from birth through young adulthood.
Dr. Rich is also the Founder and Co-Director of the Clinic for Interactive Media and Internet Disorders (CIMAID), the first evidence-based clinical program designed to address Problematic Interactive Media Use (PIMU) in children, adolescents, and young adults. Using a multidisciplinary approach, Dr. Rich works with young people and their families to help them to adopt and sustain healthy approaches to engaging with interactive media and technology.
Viraj Doshi is the Platform Safety Lead at Snap Inc., focusing on the safety and digital well-being of the Snapchat community. His work involves engaging with external audiences, advising on internal safety-related products and policies, and raising awareness of online risks through programs and initiatives. Prior to Snap, he worked at Meta leading proactive efforts on youth well-being and content moderation including the global outreach efforts for Meta’s oversight board. Before joining the tech industry, Viraj worked in Washington D.C. and Mumbai, helping international political and advocacy organizations, as well as companies, develop grassroots and digital campaigns. After graduating from Washington University in St. Louis, he spent a year on a Fulbright grant in Colombia researching the impact of education methodologies on civic participation.
Michael Preston is the Executive Director of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, a research and innovation lab that works to advance children’s learning and well-being in the digital age. His work has focused on using technology to improve teaching and learning, supporting student agency and interest, and creating models for systemic change. Previously, he co-founded CSforALL, the hub for the national Computer Science for All movement, and led digital learning initiatives at the New York City Department of Education and at Columbia University. He earned a PhD in Cognitive Science in Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a BA from Harvard University.
A 38-year industry veteran and award-winning journalist, Lance has covered technology since PCs were the size of suitcases and “on line” meant “waiting.” He previously served as Lifewire Editor-in-Chief, Mashable Editor-in-Chief and, before that, Editor in Chief of PCMag.com and Senior Vice President of Content for Ziff Davis, Inc. He also wrote a popular, weekly tech column for Medium called The Upgrade. Lance makes frequent appearances on national, international, and local news programs including Live with Kelly and Mark, CNN, CNNi, NPR, CNBC, and the BBC.
