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.