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.

Chad DeMartini joined NAMI-NYC in 2016 through NAMIWalks NYC, to support the mission of raising awareness and reducing the stigma of mental illness and those it affects. As a child of a single parent with bipolar and schizoaffective disorder, Chad watched his parent struggle with the illness and its related social and economic issues. He also learned firsthand the structural issues inherent in hospitals and skilled nursing homes that did not always have the patients’ best interests at heart. He is very interested in getting involved with NAMI-NYC’s advocacy for effective healthcare policies that improve funding and better standards of care for people living with mental illness and their families.

Chad is currently a Vice President at Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC in Private Wealth Management. Prior to this position, he was a Senior Vice President at FBR & Co. in Institutional Equity Sales and a Media Supervisor at Deutsch Advertising. He received his undergraduate degree from Franklin & Marshall College with a dual major in Business & Psychology. Chad played on the varsity golf team at F&M where he excelled in golf as the team captain and number one player all four years.

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.

Amanda Fialk is a Partner and Chief Clinical Officer at The Dorm, treatment program for young adults struggling with mental illness and/or substance use. She is also a founding partner of dWELL Recovery House, a gender affirming recovery house for young adults struggling with mental illness.

Amanda received her master’s and doctoral degree in Social Work from Wurzweiler School of Social Work and completed psychoanalytic training at The Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy. Amanda has specialized training in DBT, CBT, MBT, non-violent crisis prevention, addiction/co-occurring disorders, eating disorders, family therapy, EMDR, and motivational interviewing.

Amanda was drawn to the mental health field after battling substance use during her teenage years. Amanda is passionate about direct clinical practice and believes firmly in the power of the therapeutic alliance and that clients and their families deserve to be treated holistically, with dignity and respect, and from a strengths-based perspective.

Amanda would also like to impact change in the mental health sphere at a macro level which is why she was drawn to NAMI-NYC. Amanda is committed to policy and advocacy efforts that combat the stigma and shame too often associated with mental illness. She recognizes that for every individual who is able to reach out for and access treatment and services there are thousands who do not or cannot obtain help.

Amanda was a competitive figure skater growing up and is a United States Figure Skating Association Gold Medalist. Amanda is a HUGE New York Ranger fan and an avid CrossFitter.

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 is actively involved with the Abraham Joshua Heschel School, City of David in Israel, UJA Federation of New York, The David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics Board of Visitors at Syracuse University and is the Chair of the Board of T’shuvah Center.

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.

Kunaal Kanagal is an analyst at J. Goldman & Co., L.P. Prior to this role, he worked as an investment banking analyst in the Consumer/Retail group at Lazard Frères & Co. and as a quantitative analyst in the Alternative Investments group at Credit Suisse. Kunaal joined Credit Suisse from his graduate studies at NYU, where he worked with faculty in Nobel laureate Rob Engle’s Volatility Lab on a variety of research efforts on systemic risk and also served as a teaching assistant for MBA courses in finance and asset allocation. He received his MA in Economics from New York University and holds an AB, magna cum laude, in Applied & Computational Mathematics and Economics from the University of Southern California.

Kunaal joined NAMI-NYC’s Young Professionals Advisory Board (YPAB) in 2014 after learning about the organization’s mission and impact on re-shaping social views of mental illness and its consequences. He has watched both family members and close friends struggle with a variety of different mental illnesses, some of whom have been direct beneficiaries of NAMI’s programs and initiatives. He is also a founding member of the Run to Daylight Education program, an organization that helps young student-athletes from low-income neighborhoods find scholarships to attend top prep schools in the Northeast.

D’Anna S. Keinan is the Managing Director of Soledad Canyon Real Estate, a property management partnership. She currently manages properties in New York, New Mexico, and France. Ms. Keinan has a thirty year career in the Real Estate and Information Technology industries with extensive experience in sales, technical support and education, marketing, negotiation, and project management. She began her career at IBM, where she was a systems engineer, a program manager, and a client manager.

Ms. Keinan has witnessed friends and family members suffer from addiction and depression. Three years ago a close family member was diagnosed with a mental illness. Through this experience, she learned first-hand how difficult the mental health system is to navigate and how helpful NAMI can be. NAMI-NYC helped her family quickly move from their shocked state toward finding resources, guidance, and support.

“If there is one thing I have learned through this journey, it is how important community is.” Ms. Keinan is a determined problem-solver and is passionate about learning and sharing information on behavioral health in care, advocacy, research, and removing stigma. She lives by the philosophy, “Know more today about the world than I knew yesterday and lessen the suffering of others.”

Ms. Keinan has lived in Paris, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, Zurich, and the USA. She practices meditation and yoga regularly and enjoys running and travel.

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.

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, writer, non-profit founder, entrepreneur, and lawyer. She is also a Lecturer in Psychiatry with the Program for Recovery and Community Health, School of Medicine, Yale University. Katherine is also a Certified Psychiatric Rehabilitation Practitioner, and New York Certified Peer Specialist-Provisional. She has degrees in political science and law from two leading Canadian universities and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Katherine has been living with severe bipolar I disorder with psychosis and extended periods of suicidal depression for over twenty years. Since reaching recovery in 2018, Katherine has committed herself to helping people affected by mental illness reach recovery through various initiatives. Katherine founded  ForLikeMinds , an online peer support community for people living with or supporting someone with mental illness, and built a platform of recovery-focused mental health initiatives around it. She actively manages an online mental health community of over 85,000 people on the ForLikeMinds platform. She created Psych Ward Greeting Cards, a 501(c)(3) non-profit that is a leading psychiatric outreach program. Katherine also created  BipolarThriving , which provides one-on-one Bipolar Recovery Coaching to people with bipolar and supporters. Katherine is the author of  ForLikeMinds: Mental Illness Recovery Insights  and a regular contributor to the National Alliance on Mental Illness Blog, the leading mental health blog in the U.S. Her message of hope has reached millions. Katherine’s life’s mission is to share her hope and inspire others to believe that mental illness recovery is possible and to help them reach it.

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.

Anita Hill Sands is the Founder and Managing Partner of Intuition Financial Placement, a boutique executive recruitment firm. Prior to recruiting she had more than 20 years of experience in Equity Finance. She began her career at Merrill Lynch. After 14 years at Merrill, she moved to Bear Stearns before starting the Equity Finance desk in NY for the broker dealer arm of Crédit Industriel et Commercial. Anita is the Chairperson for the New York Peer Engagement Committee and Advisory Council member of 100 Women in Finance. She is on the Board of Trustees for the Multiple Sclerosis Society, Southern District of New York. She holds an MBA in Finance from Fordham University and a BA in Psychology. She lives in Manhattan with her husband and son.

“Mental health is an important area to me because I have seen firsthand how secrecy around it can be damaging. Two deceased members of my family battled with mental illness. These were not discussed, neither in the family nor outside, so I am passionate about openly discussing mental issues. I attended a panel given by NAMI called “Smash the Stigma.” It truly resonated with me and I would like to help others to be exposed to the work of NAMI-NYC.”

Raymond Schwartz is a highly skilled nonprofit executive and manager with a deep knowledge of health care policy and over 35 years of experience in the mental health field. For over 20 years, first as associate executive director and then as executive director, Raymond guided Venture House, an accredited and respected New York City Clubhouse, to successfully support people with a serious mental illness to live in their community at the same time meeting the challenges of a changing health care financing environment.

Raymond has been actively engaged in public policy analysis and advocacy. His efforts reflect a belief that participating in mental health policy, financing, and planning discussions is essential for ensuring that that mental health services meet the needs of consumers, their families and friends and are accessible and adequately funded. For Raymond, “NAMI-NYC is uniquely positioned to support families where a mental illness challenges all the members of the family to develop a path to recover from the effects of the illness”

A faculty member for Clubhouse International, Raymond has conducted accreditation visits to Clubhouses in and outside of the United States. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Coalition of Behavioral Health Care Agencies and the NY State Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services (NYAPRS). He holds a certificate in Non Profit Management from Columbia University School of Business and a Masters Degree in Cultural Anthropology from New York University.

Sam Schwartz leads the Financial Institutions Group M&A effort for Mizuho Americas. Sam has more than 25 years of leadership experience in investment banking, asset management and private equity.

Sam 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 Metro Board in October 2021, with a commitment to increasing advocacy and awareness of the challenges facing individuals with mental illness and helping to ensure they have the services needed to lead healthy lives.

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. Previously, he was Managing Director in M&A Investment Banking at Merrill Lynch, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Independent Investment Partners, Board and Investment Committee Member of Hightower Advisors, and Senior Advisor to Dynasty Financial Partners and Shenkman Capital.

Sam is a CPA (Inactive) and 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.

David S. Shapiro, Esq, is currently Vice President, Assistant General Counsel at CBS Broadcasting, specializing in distribution and programming agreements and related issues. He previously practiced as a Banking & Credit Associate at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP advising corporations and private equity clients in connection with refinancings and acquisition financings. During his time at Simpson Thacher, David served as a Pro Bono Extern with Brooklyn Legal Services, advising non-profits, grassroots organizations and individuals in need of legal assistance on legal issues. He is currently a member of Brooklyn Legal Services Young Professionals for Justice. David became personally involved in NAMI-NYC when he joined the Young Professional Advisory Board (YPAB) in 2013; he also served as a member of the Event Committee for the 2014 Seeds of Hope Gala. He received his AB in International Relations and Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania and his JD from Georgetown University Law Center.

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.”

Mark F. St. George is a Principal in the New York office of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP’s Healthcare Consulting practice. He has over 30 years of actuarial experience with leading insurance companies, health maintenance organizations (HMOs), and consulting firms. He works with health insurance clients, Blue Cross and Blue Shield organizations, and HMOs on the valuation of liabilities, the development of provider reimbursement mechanisms, including risk-based and pay-for-performance models, and experience and trend analysis. He has extensive experience with the modeling of claim reserves for medical, dental, stop-loss, and provider excess lines of business.

In addition to his role with clients, Mark helps lead PwC’s Payer, Provider and Government Practice nationally, overseeing more than 30 professionals. Mark also works with PwC’s Office of Diversity, leading efforts focused on inclusion in the workplace for individuals living with mental illness and their caregivers. Mark is also working with the Asperger Syndrome Training & Employment Partnership (ASTEP), spearheading PwC’s efforts to effectively employ individuals who are on the Autism spectrum. Mark is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. He has a BA in Mathematics from Temple University. He has been a NAMI-NYC board member since January 2017.

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.”

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.”