Cindy Helen Brea is excited to join NAMI-NYC and work with the community to take advantage of the opportunities that the current climate presents to destigmatize mental health issues and care, especially in communities of color. Cindy is Head of Client Engagement at Lafayette Square, an impact investing private credit firm. Prior to joining LS, Cindy was Head of Pensions East Aladdin Client Engagement at BlackRock where she led a team responsible for driving and building client relationships for BlackRock Solutions’ enterprise investment system, Aladdin. She is a finance professional with nearly 20 years of experience at major finance firms such as Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse. She has served financial institutions, providing both asset and liability side solutions through structured note ideas, financing and derivative transactions. Cindy graduated from Harvard Business School after spending two years in management consulting with Deloitte. She is a Robert Toigo Foundation alumna. She received her undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Columbia University in New York. She hails from and lives in Brooklyn, NY by way of the Dominican Republic, and is a founding board member of America Needs You, herself a first-generation college student. She is a wife and a mother to three children. 

Myrna Chao is retired from Willis Towers Watson and has over 40 years of experience in finance and human resources. She chaired a global Inclusion & Diversity council, where she implemented leadership development programs that significantly increased the representation of traditionally under-represented groups in leadership roles. During her tenure as the global chair of Inclusion and Diversity, Myrna’s company created “Workability,” a support group aimed at de-stigmatizing mental illness and training workplace champions to support affected employees and their managers. Myrna has also managed P&L responsibilities for hundreds of millions in annual revenues, impacting thousands of employees. Myrna holds Board and advisory leadership roles focused on mental health and social justice at Greenwich House, Hamilton Madison House, New York Foundation of the Arts, and Foundation for Art and Healing. Myrna has family members and friends who are neurodivergent, which drives her passion for NAMI-NYC’s work and mental health advocacy.

Christopher Condelles, MBA, CFA, joined NAMI-NYC to help the organization expand the valuable services and community it provides for individuals affected by mental illness. He is passionate about reducing the stigma surrounding mental health and raising awareness of the needs of individuals suffering from mental illness.

Christopher is currently an Executive Vice President and Head of Capital Markets and Investor Relations at FS Investments, an alternative investment manager with $24B in assets under management. In this role, he is responsible for building the firms Capital Markets capability while overseeing approximately $10B in liabilities across the FS Investments platform, managing senior relationships with key stakeholders, and executing significant transactions.

Prior to joining FS Investments, Christopher served as Head of U.S. Credit and Financing Solutions at Credit Suisse where he had direct responsibility over Credit Asset Financing, Structured Credit Trading, Credit Repo Trading, and Credit Structuring within the Americas. In addition to running several business lines, Christopher was an Executive Committee member and the Global Treasurer of Credit Suisse’s multi-billion dollar Global Credit Products group.

Christopher has a noteworthy track record of building profitable business lines and leading complex, large-scale transactions in the financial services industry, including the financial package for Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s $12 billion acquisition of Antares Capital from GE Capital.

Christopher earned a BS in Financial Economics from Binghamton University and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Kim Cramer is a seasoned finance professional with extensive experience in capital raising and institutional stockbroking across the U.S. and Europe. As a former Managing Director at Alternative-Access Capital, she specialized in expanding the reach of alternative investment firms. She also was a founding partner of a NYSE investment bank and expanded their offices in the US and Europe where she moved for 25 years with her three children. Kim is deeply passionate about mental health advocacy, leveraging her expertise and community to raise awareness around cannabis-induced psychosis. Kim believes mental illness doesn’t just impact the person going through it but extends to the entire family. From her perspective, we can mitigate feelings of loneliness and isolation through education, prevention, intervention, and solutions.

Matt DeMasi (he/him) is a Mental Health Professional with over a decade of direct care experience and clinical program development. He received his MA in Clinical Psychology from Columbia University and his BA in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He and his family live in Asbury Park, NJ. Matt spent the first half of his career at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital developing behavioral health and peer-led substance use disorder programs. He then shifted into start-ups, leading similar initiatives to improve the quality of and access to effective, person-centered healthcare. He currently serves as the Head of Clinical Operations at FOLX Health, which offers affirming life-saving services to LGBTQ+ people across the country. Matt’s passion for improving the healthcare system, and specifically mental healthcare, comes from his and his family’s experience in trying to help his father try to recover from his own mental health conditions. Watching his dad struggle to find care that he felt safe to engage with deeply impacted Matt and his family. Ultimately and tragically, Matt’s dad died by suicide. Matt uses this experience to work to ensure that everyone who wants help is able to access it. This is why he is so excited about NAMI-NYC; Matt shares the belief that everyone, including the loved ones of those experiencing mental health conditions, deserves care and no one should be ashamed to ask for help. 

John DeNatale is Assistant Dean, Communications and Public Affairs at Cardozo School of Law. He is a communications and media specialist with over 20 years experience in leadership positions in journalism, at national media organizations, and in higher education. Prior to Cardozo, he was Executive Producer & Director of Local Programming at WNET, New York City’s PBS station. He has been awarded several New York Emmys. He is also a 10-time marathon finisher in New York City, Philadelphia, and Paris, and ran on the first NAMI-NYC team for the New York City Half Marathon this past year. He received his BA from Columbia University and lives with his family in Brooklyn. He has been a volunteer facilitator of NAMI-NYC’s Family-to-Family course since 2011. Seeing first-hand how family members suffer with their loved ones in the struggle to manage mental illness has been a transformative experience for John, who hopes he will be able to use his NAMI learning experience to increase support and understanding for those struggling with these burdens. “Helping individuals with mental illness maintain their dignity, and improving the spirit of family supporters are two of the things that make NAMI-NYC a treasure.”

Mitul brings a unique, cross-functional background to the issue of mental health. He has over ten years experience in the health care industry across finance, technology, and law. Mitul also understands the role of policy, having served in federal government. He is currently an entrepreneur in the workplace wellbeing space and an active investor in start ups, with a particular interest in workplace mental health, tech-enabled clinics, and holistic treatment for serious mental illness. Mitul began his career as an intellectual property attorney, practicing law at leading global law firms and the pharmaceutical company Merck. He eventually transitioned to finance, working at the investment bank Piper Jaffray as an equity research analyst, covering pharmaceutical and biotech equities for major institutional investor clients. From 2010-2013, Mitul served in the Obama Administration as a Senior Advisor at the U.S. State Department. Most recently, he spent five years at a global consumer financial services firm, working in global roles across data services, strategy, and product. Mitul has a B.A. in chemistry and philosophy from Rutgers University and a J.D. from the Boston University School of Law. He is a member of the Schizophrenia International Research Society and the Economic Club of New York.

Mitul’s passion for mental health stems from watching his brother struggle with schizophrenia for 20+ years in the face of a suboptimal mental health care system and deep societal stigma. Mitul has deep respect for NAMI’s multi-pronged approach across advocacy, grassroots community building, and public education. As a proud New Yorker, he is excited to help New York City become a leader in innovative mental health programs.

Allison Fabian serves as the Chief of Staff at Senseye, Inc, a startup focused on developing accessible mental health diagnostics, where she leads patient advocacy. Allison has firsthand experience supporting family members through mental health challenges and is a mother to a neurodivergent LGBTQ+ child. Allison is deeply committed to NAMI-NYC’s mission, particularly its LGBTQ+ and family support programs. With a background in education and experience as a therapist for children on the autism spectrum, Allison brings a unique perspective to NAMI-NYC’s Board. 

Stacy Helfstein became involved with NAMI-NYC because of her passion for breaking down the stigma around mental illness, and her desire to support those living with mental illness and their family members. This passion came out of her work as a social worker and her personal mental health journey.

Stacy received her Bachelor of Social Work from Syracuse University and Masters in Social Work from Columbia University, with a concentration in Health and Mental Health. After graduating from Columbia, she worked at the Jewish Guild for the Blind’s Continuing Day Treatment Center. Stacy sits on the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics Board of Visitors at Syracuse University and on the Center for Hearing and Communication Board of Directors. Stacy is actively involved with the Abraham Joshua Heschel School, City of David in Israel and UJA Federation of New York.

NAMI-NYC’s social media campaign #IWillListen has become an important mantra to Stacy. “Saying ‘I will listen’ means first listening to yourself and loving yourself enough to get help. By helping ourselves, we can then help others. During my mental health journey, I found NAMI-NYC through my doctor. Given my background as a social worker in mental health and now my personal journey, she suggested getting involved. I loved the idea. I went home, did my research, met all the amazing people at NAMI-NYC and the rest is history! I am proud to serve as the NAMI-NYC Seeds of Hope Gala Chair.

Colleen Lauria is a Human Resources Executive, writer, and entrepreneur based in NYC. Colleen’s extensive experience leading human resources operations in fast-moving, complex organizations has led to her current position as President of Ginger HR Consulting, a consultancy helping new and transforming businesses align their corporate and people strategies. Her broad career has included leading Human Resources for multifaceted organizations including Hogarth Americas, Macrovision, DraftFCB and iVillage where she honed her expertise in workforce planning, organizational design, HR strategy and employee relations. Known as a true problem-solver, Colleen’s motto is “the messier the better.”

Colleen knows that employees don’t leave their mental illnesses at home when they come to the office. She is determined to eliminate stigma and educate HR professionals and managers on how to deal with the effects of mental illness in the workplace. Her personal and family experiences with mental illnesses—including anxiety, depression, and dual diagnosis schizophrenia and addiction—are her driving force for becoming a NAMI-NYC Board Member.

Gregory Leveto attended Boston University where he graduated with a degree in Finance with a minor in Art History. Gregory began his professional career at a real estate brokerage and development firm in Atlanta. In 2007 he joined Goldman Sachs in New York where he held various roles in investment banking, risk management and credit trading. In 2015, Gregory joined Deutsche Bank as the Co-Head of Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy Financing in the Global Credit Trading division. In 2019, Gregory joined Oak Hill Advisors as an investment professional focusing on private credit and hard asset investing.

Gregory became involved with NAMI-NYC in 2017 as a fundraiser and supporter. Mental illness has affected many people in Greg’s life, and NAMI’s goal to increase mental health awareness and education has helped many of his friends and family. NAMI has shown Gregory that those with mental health issues are not doomed to suffer, and are not alone.

Gregory was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, and attended middle and high school in New Jersey.

Sara Meltzer is a master’s degree candidate in Mental Health and Wellness Counseling through the Department of Applied Psychology at the Steinhardt School of New York University. She is currently interning as an Advanced Clinical Resident at The Soho Center, a private practice in Manhattan, where she works with a robust caseload of clients for individual therapy.

Before beginning her new career in mental health, Sara owned a contemporary art gallery for over thirteen years that specialized in the work of emerging and mid-career artists from across the world. She has served on the non-profit boards of the NYC-based, visual arts and design organizations Artists Space and Storefront for Art and Architecture.

Sara co-owns weR2, a company that produces home and personal accessories in collaboration with contemporary artists. She holds a double BA in Fine Arts and Art History from Northwestern University and a master’s degree in Arts Administration from NYU. She is the proud mother of sixteen-year-old boy-girl twins.

Art, psychology, compassion, and community have always shaped Sara’s perspective. Promoting and advocating for mental health and wellbeing is Sara’s driving force. She connected with NAMI National three years ago after she lost one of her closest friends to suicide and she felt compelled to change this outcome for others. She has more recently connected with NAMI-NYC. She is deeply committed to fighting the stigma against mental illness, facilitating access to care, and exploring new avenues of support.

Jason Moyer has extensive experience in marketing and business development across various industries, including FMCG, healthcare, technology, automotive, and recreation & leisure. As Executive Vice President at Publicis Groupe, he leads global marketing strategies for GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), driving impactful campaigns across 80 countries. Throughout his career, Jason has led world-class marketing teams at private companies and as a consultant. He is passionate about raising mental health awareness, particularly around NAMI-NYC’s services for family members and caregivers. He earned a dual degree in Economics and Classics from Bowdoin College.  

NAMI-NYC has been an important cause for Josh and his family from the time their close friend, Nathan Romano, became involved. Since participating in the first NAMIWalks with Nathan, NAMI-NYC has also become increasingly personal to Josh, as members of his own family have been touched by mental illness. He’s particularly interested in helping to reduce the stigma among parents of young children affected by it.

Josh is the Co-Head of Alpine Credit, Co-Portfolio Manager of the MSD Alpine Credit Opportunity Fund, and a Managing Director of MSD Partners. Previously, he was a Managing Director on the High Yield and Distressed Sales team at J.P. Morgan from 2002-2019. He began his career at Drexel Burnham Lambert and Jefferies & Co., and later held a senior position at Bear Stearns.

Josh received an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and undergraduate degrees from the University of Michigan and the London School of Economics.

Katherine Ponte, BA, JD, MBA, CPRP is a mental health advocate, author, non-profit leader, entrepreneur, coach, and lawyer. Katherine has been living with severe bipolar I disorder with psychosis for over twenty years. Since reaching recovery in 2018, she has committed herself to helping people with mental illness through her ForLikeMinds peer support platform, writings, and other thought leadership. She is a faculty member with the Yale University, School of Medicine, Program for Recovery and Community Health. Katherine has a BA and JD from leading Canadian universities, and an MBA from the Wharton School. She is also a Certified Psychiatric Rehabilitation Practitioner and NY Certified Peer Specialist-Provisional. 

Katherine developed ForLikeMinds into an online community of over 100,000 and a range of recovery-oriented initiatives. Katherine created Psych Ward Greeting Cards, 501(c)(3) non-profit, a leading psychiatric hospital outreach program that has reached well over 10,000 psychiatric unit patients. Katherine provides one-on-one coaching to families through her Serious Mental Illness Recovery Coaching.  

She is the author of ForLikeMinds: Mental Illness Recovery Insights, Your Mental Health Recovery Workbook, and Loving Someone With a Serious Mental Illness. Her videos, writings and social media work has reached millions.  Katherine is a board member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness-New York City and a member of Fountain House. She has been a speaker at various industry conferences and seminars and interviewed by CBS, CNN, INSIDER, and WebMD. 

She is based in New York City and the Catskills where she lives with her spouse and tremendous supporter. 

Nathan Romano is the President of Atalaya where he leads strategy, responsible growth and capital markets. Prior to Atalaya, he was the President and Chief Operating Officer at York Capital Management and held senior roles at Goldman, Sachs & Co, Credit Suisse, and Bear Stearns. He also worked at Bain & Company in the firm’s private equity practice. He received an MBA with honors from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and his undergraduate degree from the University of Southern California, where he majored in Finance and Entrepreneurship. Nathan is very active in the mental health community having joined the board of NAMI-NYC in 2006 and is now, among other mental health-related initiatives, its President Emeritus. Nathan also serves on the boards of the Museum of the City of New York, the Investment Management division of UJA, and the Compassionate Leadership in Finance program at the Garrison Institute. He also served on the board of the Managed Funds Association from 2018 to 2021.

Sam Schwartz is passionate about improving support for individuals and families affected by mental illness and reducing the stigma surrounding mental health. He joined the NAMI-NYC Board with a commitment to increasing awareness of the challenges facing individuals with mental illness and ensuring they have the services needed to lead healthy lives.

Sam has more than 25 years of leadership experience in investment banking and asset management. He leads the Financial Institutions Group M&A effort for Mizuho Americas. Previously, Sam worked at Credit Suisse for 17 years in various management positions including CEO of Asset Management Finance, Head of M&A for Credit Suisse Asset Management, and Managing Director in M&A, Investment Banking. He was also Managing Director in M&A Investment Banking at Merrill Lynch.

Sam received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Binghamton University. He has also served on other not-for-profit boards, including Education Pioneers and The McCarton Foundation.

Howard Spilko is co-Managing Partner of Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, an international law firm with over 375 attorneys, where he has an active practice focused on mergers and acquisitions and private equity transactions. He has been with Kramer Levin in New York since 1996 and has been actively involved in firm leadership since 2004. Howard is a recognized leader in his field and regularly speaks and writes about transactions. Howard has an accounting degree with honors from Binghamton University and a law degree with honors from the University of Pennsylvania. Howard has personal experience with mental illness in his family and has seen the profound impact it has on the lives of those suffering through mental illness and their family members, particularly when the illness remains undiagnosed and not properly addressed. Howard’s wife and daughter are active professionals in the mental health community.

“NAMI-NYC helps to remove the stigma associated with mental illness and offers peer-to-peer counseling supported by real life experiences and compassion. NAMI-NYC provides critical support services to those managing through these burdens to provide hope and a brighter future. NAMI-NYC is special because it provides all of these services without cost to its clients enabling broad access and making a meaningful impact on so many people and the community as a whole.”

Barbara is the Founder and CEO of Two Rivers Partners, LLC, a partnership of senior executives who’ve dedicated their careers to preparing organizations to navigate today’s most disruptive forces. Barbara’s extensive work experience in prominent strategy consulting firms led her to found TRP in 2015. Barbara has over 30 years of experience in leadership, human capital, and transformation, including at Willis Towers Watson, Capgemini, and Ernst & Young. Barbara strongly advocates for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and is passionate about mental health from her and her family’s experiences. Barbara stands for de-stigmatizing mental illness and is known for transparently sharing her experience to encourage other leaders to do the same. Barbara’s vision is to make the workplace safe for everyone to care for their mental wellness needs.

Gerry Spitzer co-founded Questar Capital Partners in 2022 with his business partner Richard Reyle following a career that spanned more than 30 years in wealth management. At Questar, Gerry focuses on all aspects of private wealth management, including investment management, financial planning, multi-generational estate planning, tax planning and minimization, insurance and charitable giving. In addition to being a CPA and CEPA, Gerry is a member of the Forbes Finance Council and is involved with financial literacy topics. Gerry and his wife Jeanne have three daughters and live in Scotch Plains, NJ. He is an avid golfer, traveler, and Jets and Syracuse University sports fan. Gerry earned a BS in Accounting from Binghamton University’s School of Management. 

Michelle Tenzyk is the founder of East Tenth Group, Inc., an executive coaching and leadership firm. Michelle’s career spans over 25 years, offering companies strategic direction in areas of business strategy, culture, and organizational dynamics. Her expertise in executive coaching, leadership development, team building, and public speaking enriches organizations, while her dedication to mental health advocacy fosters positive change in the lives of many. At NAMI-NYC, Michelle participates in running events and fundraising efforts to help break the stigma surrounding mental health. 

Jason Tompkins was named the NJ/NY market president for Aetna in August 2021. Tompkins has lead Aetna’s commercial and Medicare businesses in New Jersey and New York, driving the company’s overall strategy in the market. Tompkins, who has more than a decade of experience with Aetna, previously served as growth officer for the North Atlantic territory. In addition to nearly 25 years of health plan experience, he spent time with MDLIVE pioneering the evolution of virtual behavioral health.

Tompkins is passionate about improving the behavioral health care system. His personal and professional experience have caused him to be acutely aware of the current shortcomings and he explains how working for a company that plays a critical role in care delivery has made it a priority of his to help improve access to quality behavioral health care and improve the overall experience for Aetna’s nearly 3 million members in the metro NY area. As a Board member he says, “I’m eager to learn more about the inner workings of a community-based non-profit while helping NAMI-NYC reach more individuals in need.”

Drew Train is the Co-Founder and President of OBERLAND, a purpose-driven branding agency located in SoHo and an award winning branding expert specializing in cause marketing and driving social change through traditional, digital, social, and mobile campaigns on a National and Global scale. Prior to founding OBERLAND with Bill Oberlander in 2014, Drew started the social-good practice at J. Walter Thompson New York, called JWT Ethos, and has worked with brands like HSBC, Verizon, UPS, Puma, Lufthansa, and Tiffany & Co. in the U.S. and Shanghai. He serves on the Board of Directors for Summer Infant, Inc., the Resource Development Committee for Services for the UnderServed, the Planning Committee for the CEO Summit on Mental Health in the Workplace and is a member of Forbes Agency Council. Drew’s work has been featured in Fast Company, Forbes, Hypebeast, Mashable, Gothamist and The Street.

He holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Richmond and resides in New Jersey with his wife and three children. Drew remarked upon his commitment to NAMI’s mission, “Witnessing the impact of PTSD and homelessness for our veterans here in NYC, and supporting family members living with mental health conditions roots me firmly alongside of NAMI’s constituents and affiliates, it is an honor to be an ally and to support their tremendous advocacy as a member of the Board.”

Sean Young is a finance professional with extensive experience in corporate banking and capital markets. He is currently a Director at RBC Capital Markets, where he advises and lends to healthcare companies. Before rejoining RBC Capital Markets, Sean was a Vice President at Goldman Sachs. His previous tenure at RBC Capital Markets spanned over a decade with work in financial modeling, negotiation, risk management and underwriting. Sean is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). He holds an MBA from the University of Toronto and Executive MBA from the University of St. Gallen. Sean is passionate about NAMI-NYC’s mission and will bring his governance, finance, treasury, and operational experience to the organization. Sean has two daughters and lives with his family in New York City.