Episode 24

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Published on:

21st Jul 2021

Solome Tibebu – Update on the Upswing Fund

Solome Tibebu is a behavioral health strategist and consultant passionate about frontier technologies and solutions transforming mental health, equity, and access. Solome's work has spanned behavioral health and human service consulting, venture capital, corporate development, and various operating roles at behavioral health software companies, large and small. Solome leads a philanthropic fund focused on adolescent mental health. She is a board director or advisor to various adolescent and adult mental health organizations and for-profit companies, including CaringBridge, Columbia University Mind Ventures, Equip, Headstream, Hopelab, Made of Millions, the Telosity Fund, and Violet.

Solome is the founder and host of the Going Digital: Behavioral Health Tech summit, the largest conference focused on virtual behavioral health. She is also the co-author of ReThink Behavioral Health Innovation, the source for digital behavioral health technology and startups. Solome's work as an investor, entrepreneur, non-profit consultant, and behavioral health technology expert has been featured as a Harvard Business Review case study, TEDx Talk, The Huffington Post, Forbes, Inc Magazine, Upworthy, Psychology Today, and more.

Solome is the recipient of the SAMHSA National Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health Youth MOVE National Dare to Dream Award (Washington, DC), the MN Association of Children's Mental Health 2010 Outstanding Service Award (Minneapolis, MN), the Margaret Clark Morgan Mental Health Scholar Award (Cleveland, OH), GSCU Dr. Martha L. Colvin Docent (Atlanta, GA), and was selected as 1 of 20 young social entrepreneurs to represent the US internationally at the G20 Summit Young Entrepreneurs Alliance in Sydney, Australia.

Solomé is the Director of the Upswing Fund. She is leading the effort to provide timely resources to organizations that focus on the mental health and well-being supports to adolescents of color and/or LGBTQ+ in the United States—populations that face urgent needs during the pandemic but too often lack access to the care they need. Funding for the effort comes from Pivotal Ventures, a personal investment and incubation company founded and led by Melinda Gates. 

In this episode, Solomé gives an update on the rollout of the ongoing Upswing Fund. Solomé talks about their efforts, approach, and what has happened since they launched. Salome announces that out of the hundreds of amazing applicants, they were able to select 88 organizations. This episode is an update on Solome's first interview in this podcast, back in October 2020. To listen to the first episode, go to the show's episode section, episode 12.

For More Information: 

Pivotal Ventures – A Melinda Gates Company

The Upswing Fund for Adolescent Mental Health

Going Digital Behavioral Health Tech Summit

Anxiety in Teens

Surviving Anxiety: Solomé Tibebu at TEDxTC

Cognific

ReThink Behavioral Health Innovation

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The Optimistic Advocate
Making a difference in advocating for better mental health services for children and families
Hello, and welcome to the Optimistic Advocate! The Podcast that brings you just a bit closer to recognizing your full potential as an advocate for change – yours, mine, and everyone's! I’m your host, Scott, Bryant-Comstock, and I’m CEO and founder of the Children’s Mental Health Network. For the past 40 years, my journey as a mental health advocate has traveled from volunteering at a suicide and crisis center, professional roles as a therapist in an outpatient clinic, in-home family therapist, state mental health official, Board Chair for a county mental health program, and national reviewer of children’s mental health systems reform efforts. As the founder of the Children’s Mental Health Network (2009), I lead the Network’s efforts to grow a national online forum for the exchange of ideas on how to continually improve children’s mental health research, policy, and practice.

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Scott Bryant-Comstock

For the past 40 years, my journey as a mental health advocate has spanned working at a suicide and crisis center, as a therapist in an outpatient clinic, an in-home family therapist, a state mental health official, Board Chair for a county mental health program, and a national reviewer of children's mental health systems reform efforts. As the founder of the Children's Mental Health Network (2009), I lead the Network's efforts to grow a national online forum for the exchange of ideas on how to continually improve children's mental health research, policy, and practice. Through it all, I remain optimistic that the voice of advocates can, and will, be heard. We need strong advocates now, more than ever!

If you're like most of my listeners, you're committed to making significant contributions to your work and seeing sustainable change. But it's not easy–you know it, and I know it. Let's face it - it's downright hard! My passion is helping to shape policy and practice in children's mental health, and my mission is to introduce you to innovative efforts taking place across the nation that are making a difference in the lives of children and families.