Nonprofit and public health leader focused on protecting emotional health and preventing suicide for teens and young adults.

Successful track record launching and growing new products and organizations - participated in or led the launch of more than 30 new products and services.

John MacPhee

The recent decision to restore billions in federal #MentalHealth and substance use grants was the right thing to do, and it was a life-saving measure.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for young people ages 10-34. Yet more than $1.9 billion in Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) grants were initially terminated across 2,800+ programs — including suicide prevention, youth mental health, and community recovery services. Within hours, organizations were preparing for layoffs and closures. 

While the reversal was welcome news, the brief cancellation of essential funding exposed just how fragile our nation’s mental health infrastructure truly is, and how quickly lives can be put at risk. Communities across the country depend on these investments to keep counseling centers open, retain clinicians, and provide vital prevention and recovery services. Restoring this funding prevented immediate disruption for thousands of providers and millions of people, including youth, who rely on them.

At The Jed Foundation (JED), we know that prevention, early intervention, and strong community-based systems work. Now we must ensure stronger guardrails to protect the urgent mental health needs of all Americans.

Read the full statement here:

Chief Executive Officer @ The Jed Foundation | MPH, Health Policy

Open article: Restoring Mental Health Funding Was the Right Move. It Saved Lives. | The Jed Foundation by bit.ly

Restoring Mental Health Funding Was the Right Move. It Saved Lives. | The Jed Foundation

Born This Way Foundation

Vice President of Research and Evaluation

Director of Research and Evaluation

Yale Child Study Center

Assistant Clinical Professor

Assistant Professor in the Child Study Center 

Yale University School of Medicine

Founding Director, Youth4Wellness at Yale

Assistant Professor of Medicine (General Medicine) and in the Child Study Center

As the Deputy Director of Mental Health & Well-Being at the play2PREVENT Lab, Yale Center for Health & Learning Games and an Assistant Professor at the Yale School of Medicine, General Internal Medicine, I was co-investigator and Project Director of an NIH-/NIDA-funded Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) study to address opioid misuse in youth in school-based health centers where I launched and led all arms of a 5-year study including the development, evaluation, implementation, and cost-effectiveness (Budget: ~$7 million). I also served as a Guest Editor of a forthcoming Supplemental Issue in Prevention Science Journal highlighting the coordinated efforts of our HEAL Prevention Collaborative across 10 research project and a coordinating center.

Deputy Director of Mental Health & Well-Being

As part of the team at the play2PREVENT Lab at the Yale Center for Health & Learning Games, I conducted research activities involving the design, development, and evaluation of digital health interventions and educational technology, including novel videogame interventions, that promote healthy behaviors among adolescents. Examples of projects focus on the following topics: 1) preventing smoking and vaping, 2) promoting HIV/STI testing and counseling In school-based health centers, 3) restructuring negative thoughts to empower teens to improve their school environment, and 4) preventing opioid misuse in adolescents. Other interests in evidence-informed digital interventions focus on: 1) suicide prevention, 2) school refusal, and 3) adolescent mental health and well-being (including Whole Child).

Associate Director, play2PREVENT Lab at the Yale Center for Health & Learning Games

Claudia-Santi F. Fernandes, LLC

http://www.drclaudiasantifer.com/

http://www.ctpsychwellness.com/

• As part of the School Consultation Program, I work on psychiatric evaluations, risk assessments, and crisis consultations for school districts (grades K - 12) with David Aversa, MD, MPH, the medical director of Connecticut Psychiatric & Wellness Center and a child & adolescent psychiatrist.
• Currently, I am accepting a limited number of clients. I specialize in older adolescents and young adults experiencing transition(s). I am able to provide telemedicine services.

Licensed Professional Counselor

Yale School of Public Health

As part of my doctoral work, I was a research affiliate at CARE: Community Alliance for Research and Engagement, Yale School of Public Health and the UCONN Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity.

• Under the mentorship of Jeannette R. Ickovics, Ph.D., Professor at Yale University and Director of Community Alliance for Research & Engagement, and Marlene B. Schwartz, Ph.D., Professor at the University of Connecticut and Director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity, I successfully defended my dissertation—it explored the implementation process of school wellness policies. 
• This dissertation was extracted from a National Institutes of Health R01 grant—the "Health for Achievement" study.
• The "Health for Achievement" study was a collaboration among the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at University of Connecticut, Community Alliance for Research & Engagement at Yale University, and New Haven Public Schools to improve student wellness and evaluate the effectiveness of district wellness policies.

Research Affiliate 

Teachers College of Columbia University

Department of Health & Behavior Studies: 
Health Education

Dissertation Sponsor: 
Charles E. Basch, Ph.D.
Richard March Hoe Professor, Department of Health & Behavior Studies
Teachers College, Columbia University

Dissertation Second Committee Member:
Marlene B. Schwartz, Ph.D.
Director, Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity
Professor, Department of Human Development & Family Studies
University of Connecticut

Doctor of Education

http://www.tc.columbia.edu/admin/internationalaffairs/pcp/

The Pre-College Program at Teachers College, Columbia University is an academically rigorous program designed to prepare leading high school students from China to attend the most coveted institutions of higher learning in the United States. Duties as college counselor included the following:

• Prepared students for the college application process
• Assisted the program coordinator in planning student college visits, both within New York and nearby states

College Counselor

Yale University

Project: Emotion Revolution
#EmotionRevolution Summit Livestream: https://bornthisway.foundation/emotionrevolution/livestream/
Facebook Online Educator Resource Center: http://inspired.facebook.com/
 
• The Emotion Revolution, an initiative among the Born This Way Foundation, Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, and Facebook, Inc. to integrate social and emotional learning (SEL) in schools and build more positive school climates. The first phase was a survey where 22,000 high school students answered: 1) how they felt in school, 2) how they wanted to feel, and 3) what they believed needed to happen to bridge the gap between the two. The second phase was the development of a youth-inspired online Facebook educator resource center that provided a variety of activities for educators to implement in their classrooms and schools. The last phase was the October Summit where high school youth and educators were invited to participate in workshops to build emotional intelligence. The summit served as a platform to unveil the survey findings and offered youth the opportunity to share their ideas for creating improved learning environments with educators, academics, and policy makers.
 
Project: RULER for High School
http://ei.yale.edu/

• Created content for RULER for High School. RULER for High School supports the well-being of students through an in-depth exploration of oneself, the creation of a personal vision in four key domains (e.g., mental & physical health, academic/career, relationships, and leisure) and the development of necessary skills in order for students to thrive within and beyond their high school experience.

Project Director

Bard College

http://bhsec.bard.edu/newark/

• Founding School Counselor, Director of Student Activities (Bard College appointment) & Member of Leadership Team 
• Developed & supervised the 9th and 10th grade advisory curriculum to build a positive school climate 
• Conducted individual & group counseling sessions for all students, including intake assessments, process notes, treatment plans, academic & behavior intervention plans, & solution-based counseling activities
• Taught skill-building course for first year college students to support the social, emotional and academic transition into college
• Directed testing administration in New Jersey High School Proficiency Test, ACT Explore, ACT Plan & ACT Plus Writing (Test Supervisor)
• Co-Director of a Bard College 1-credit course, College Experience I & II
• Served as the Anti-Bullying Specialist by training faculty & staff in harassment, intimidation, and bullying policies and developed school-wide preventative measures
• Tracked & evaluated the transfer of credits for graduation
• Partnered with Dean of Studies to ensure appropriate course offerings based on student needs
• Introduced a new student-led group, BHSEC Ambassadors, who served as peer leaders in the school. BHSEC Ambassadors assisted incoming students in transitioning into the BHSEC community as well as led tours for guests. Ambassadors also obtained community service hours at the nearby elementary school by tutoring in an after-school program for pre-K to 4th grade students.
• Collaborated with school administration, students, & faculty to build community & enhance student life through a variety of extra-curricular opportunities, such as clubs, internships, events, community service, school-wide events, lecture series, field trips (e.g., college trips) & exchange programs with BHSEC Manhattan & BHSEC Queens.
• Clinical supervision provided by a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) in order to become a licensed professional counselor (LPC) in CT and NJ.

Founding School Counselor & Director of Student Activities

The National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools, & Teaching (NCREST)

http://www.tc.edu/ncrest/

NCREST evaluated the Alexandria City Public Schools Middle/High School Reform Initiative. As a research assistant, duties included the following:

• Supported the evaluation of the Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) Middle/High School Reform Initiative
• Examined the implementation process and identified program resources and attributes for new initiative implementation and outcome effectiveness
• Provided support to the evaluation with various tasks, including literature review, measurement tool development and writing up reports

Summer Research Assistant

New York City Department of Education

• Counseled 5th to 8th grade students who attend a dual language program in individual and group settings.
• Served as advisor to a small group of at-risk adolescent male students.
• Completed initial assessments, treatment plans, behavior modification plan interventions, and referrals for students.
• Coordinated school-wide events, such as Career Week, High School Week, and College Week.
• Assisted in middle and high school articulation.
• Scheduled a book signing session with Ms. Deborah Gregory, the author of Cheetah Girls.

School Counselor with a bilingual extension

Claudia-Santi F. Fernandes, Ed.D., LPC, MCHES, NCC is a youth mental health + substance use prevention expert with experience in public schools, clinical settings, and research institutions. Previously, her work focused on a practitioner-based approach in health education, social and emotional learning (SEL), and school climate. She served as a former public school teacher, bilingual school counselor in New York City, and part of the founding leadership team of Bard High School Early College (BHSEC) Newark where she developed and oversaw student-centered policies, programs, and structures. She was also a project director at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence where she led the earlier stage of development for the inspirED Online Resource Center. Recognizing the impact and reach of evidence-informed, technology-based interventions to improve mental health and well-being in youth, she completed her postdoctoral studies in the design and evaluation of digital interventions at the Yale School of Medicine. Since her transition to a research career, she continues to apply a public health approach to reach more youth and to improve their mental health + well-being in schools.

Currently, Dr. Fernandes is the Vice President of Research and Evaluation at Born This Way Foundation and an assistant clinical professor in the Child Study Center as well as an assistant professor adjunct in the Department of Biomedical Informatics and Data Science at the Yale School of Medicine. Prior to Born This Way Foundation, she was an assistant professor of Medicine (General Medicine) at the Yale School of Medicine and a Yale Center for Clinical Investigation Scholar where she was funded by NIH/National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences to lead her team in the development and evaluation of a digital game to prevent suicide among youth who misuse opioids. She aims to continue to use evidence-based research to inform federal-, state-, and local-level policies and to provide support to schools in their implementation efforts. Dr. Fernandes also practices as a licensed professional counselor, served on the Board of Directors for the CT Association of School-Based Health Centers (Treasurer) from 2019-2023, and currently serves on the Digital Well-Being Advisory Board for Peer Health Exchange. She is a 2024-2025 Public Voices Fellow of The OpEd Project in partnership with the Yale Women Faculty Forum.

taplio

The Battle

John MacPhee

Claudia-Santi F. Fernandes, EdD, LPC

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreJohn MacPhee's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

John MacPhee

Claudia-Santi F. Fernandes, EdD, LPC

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}John MacPhee's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreJohn MacPhee's LinkedIn Performance