Board of Trustees
Paul S. Watford, Chair: Paul is a senior financial executive whose background includes manufacturing, utilities, transportation, real estate, and not-for-profit experience. He served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at the Music Institute of Chicago where he was responsible for the financial operations of the organization, facilities management, human resources, and payroll. He began his career as a Mechanical Engineer for a public utility company and then transitioned to manufacturing and transportation where he gained analytical experience with responsibilities in financial reporting and analysis, auditing, and management presentation, human resources, compliance, and controls. He served also as an educator at the City Colleges of Chicago where he taught Accounting, Business, and Finance. Paul earned his MBA in Finance and Management Policy from Northwestern University, his BS in Mechanical Engineering from Howard University, and his BA in History from the University of Rochester. For twelve years, Paul served on the Board of Trustees for St. Mark’s School in Southborough, Massachusetts, and on the Board of the Civic Orchestra of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Ancona School in Chicago, IL, the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts Center in Skokie, IL, and Planned Parenthood of Illinois in Chicago, IL. He lives with his family in Chicago, where he enjoys cooking, music, film, books, and travel.
James Rude, Trustee: Jim is a Senior Consultant at Graham-Pelton Consulting, specializing in non-profit management, fundraising, non-profit executive leadership, marketing, and volunteer management. Prior to joining Graham-Pelton Consulting, he was the Director of Development and Communications for Worldwide Orphans Foundation (WWO) and led the fundraising efforts for United Way, increasing new funding sources and donor cultivation. Jim has an MBA in Management from Monmouth University and a BA in Business from Muhlenberg College. He believes strongly in the mission of StrongMinds and feels that mental health is too often a forgotten need.
Elena Anfimova, Treasurer: Elena has spent most of her career in finance. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in 2004, her notable roles included serving as a Director for UST, a global digital solutions company, and as the former CEO of Crelia Capital. Elena has a robust history of volunteer service with organizations such as Kiva, New York Cares, and Razom, a disaster and humanitarian relief organization for Ukraine. Elena is a certified transformation/hypnotist trained at the HCH Institute and currently leads Your Inner Wisdom, where she provides hypnotherapy services. Based in New York, Elena has also served as a volunteer financial advisor for StrongMinds for more than three years.
Jeanne Esler, Ph.D., Trustee: Jeanne is a licensed Clinical Psychologist with specializations in behavioral medicine, anxiety, depression, and eating disorders and lives west of Boston, MA. She attended Northwestern University in Chicago for her BA, received her doctoral degree from SUNY Albany (in NY), and completed her Internship and Post-Doc Fellowship at Brown University Medical School. In 2021, she completed the one-year Advanced Leadership Initiative program at Harvard University and co-chairs the Harvard ALI Boston Coalition Network. Jeanne is also the President and Co-Founder of the Esler Family Foundation, a philanthropy that has been involved with mental health programs, youth leadership, educational and economic opportunities through the lens of racial and gender equity, as well as preserving democracy. Their foundation is engaged with StrongMinds on mental health treatment for women experiencing depression in Uganda and Zambia. Jeanne serves on the Mental Health Advisory Panel for StrongMinds, the Advisory Panel for StrongMinds America, and the Board of Trustees. She is also on the board of Mindful Philanthropy, an organization with the mission of catalyzing impactful findings in mental health, addiction, and well-being. Locally, she serves on the board of the Worcester Education Collaborative and is involved in projects with the Nativity School of Worcester. In May 2022, she and her husband, John, were honored by receiving the Alexis de Tocqueville Award from the United Way. In 2022, Jeanne and John were chosen to be part of the Worcester Business Journal’s “Power 50: Most Influential People” for their philanthropic efforts.
Rehmah Kasule, Trustee: Rehmah is a senior fellow at the Harvard Advanced Leadership Institute (ALI). Prior to ALI, Rehmah Kasule founded and was the president of Century Entrepreneurship Development Agency, a Ugandan nonprofit that has helped over 38,000 youth and women pursue equality and economic development opportunities. Ms. Kasule is also a member of the Parliament of Buganda Kingdom, and has earned multiple global awards recognizing her social impact leadership. She is currently developing the PLUS+AFRICA Apprenticeship and Leadership Institute, an incubator to prepare young people for jobs, promote enterprise development, create links with the private sector, and work with government to strengthen labor market systems that will transform Africa’s workforce.
Ann MacDougall, Trustee: Anna's career has spanned legal and operating roles, and she has worked both in the U.S. and Europe. She is currently the Co-Founder/CEO of Dunollie Fund and the Senior Advisor (formerly President) of Encore.org, a national non-profit that promotes encore careers for the greater good. She was previously Chief Operating Officer of Acumen Fund, a global venture capital fund, and oversaw Acumen’s worldwide operations, strategy, and expansion. Before joining Acumen, she was a partner at Pricewaterhouse Coopers, where she rose through the ranks to become General Counsel of PwC US and a member of the Management Committee. During her 17 years at PwC, MacDougall also spent five years in Paris as Global Deputy General Counsel. In 2013, MacDougall was a Fellow in the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative, a year-long program to prepare experienced executives to take on new challenges in the social sector. She holds a B.A. cum laude from Tufts University and a J.D. cum laude from Brooklyn Law School. She currently sits on two corporate boards, Opiant Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Atmos XR. In her volunteer capacity, she sits on the Audit Committee of the Lycée Français de New York and the Advisory Boards of Equality Now and Global Citizen Year. She also co-leads two journalism fellowships, in partnership with the OpEd Project.
Sean Mayberry, Trustee: Sean, CEO and Founder of StrongMinds, is a former diplomat and social marketer who believes there are simple and cost-effective interventions that can improve mental health, an area that is often overlooked when addressing poverty in the developing world. For years Sean implemented successful HIV/AIDS and malaria programs in Africa and saw firsthand the struggles of the mentally ill. In 2013, he founded StrongMinds with the goal of ending the depression epidemic on the subcontinent. Previously, Sean was the Chief Operating Officer at VisionSpring, where he helped lead the nonprofit’s partnership with BRAC, and a country director for Population Services International in the Democratic Republic of Congo and India. He holds a BS degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Emory University.
Carol Squire, Trustee: Carol is the Executive Director of Good Cheer, an innovative nonprofit integrating food bank services, organic farming, recycling of previously owned goods, and school and community outreach, which serves the population of southern Whidbey Island in Puget Sound in Washington State. She has spent the last 10 years as a management consultant, focusing on creating strategies to strengthen organizations and teams. Prior to that, she worked in the field for PSI, including as Country Director in India. Before working for PSI, she founded a professional development organization, ECOFORM, for corporations in Africa and grew the enterprise to 200 employees. The non-profit arm of this organization worked with bilateral and multilateral donors. She joined the StrongMinds board because she feels mental health is a basic human right that is not available to most women in Africa. As she explains, “Nothing else is possible for an individual or their family without good mental health.”
Annika Sten Pärson, Trustee: Annika is the Founder and CEO of DanFei Holdings, an investment company focusing on seed-stage investments, and former Chief Operating Officer at Seleni, a New York City-based organization focused on women’s mental and reproductive health. She has served on the Board of Directors for several organizations including Haldex AB and Vi-skogen, an NGO focused on agro-forestry aid in Eastern Africa.
Esther Hsu Wang, Trustee: Esther opened IDinsight’s first office in Zambia and lived in Lusaka for eight years, where she helped steward the rapid growth as a co-founder, Chief Operating Officer, and Head of External Partnerships. She has also lived and worked in Eswatini, India, Cambodia, Uganda, Ghana, and China. She will soon be based in Nairobi, Kenya. Previously, Esther was a strategy consultant with Bain & Company, a co-founder of a social enterprise in the Tibetan Plateau, and co-led several not-for-profit organizations. Most recently, she was a partner at the Bridgespan Group. Esther holds joint BS/BA degrees from the University of Pennsylvania’s Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business. She also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School. Esther was a Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship, an Echoing Green Fellow, and a Presidential Leadership Scholar. Esther serves as co-chair of the Alumni Council of Harvard’s Center for Public Leadership and on the Board of Directors for Govuka and StrongMinds. She is also an advisor to The Agency Fund and Mighty Ally.
Dana Ward, Trustee: Dana Ward is an international public health and development expert with 35 years of experience, predominantly in Africa and Asia. In his various roles, he has served as Country Representative in five countries with Population Services International and was board chair of an international school in West Africa. He currently works for the Vermont Department of Health in Burlington, Vermont. Dana has an MBA in marketing from New York University and holds a Masters of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University. His areas of interest include social marketing and mental health. He is impressed by StrongMinds’ unique, cost-effective, scalable approach that can treat millions of African women.
James Rude, Trustee: Jim is a Senior Consultant at Graham-Pelton Consulting, specializing in non-profit management, fundraising, non-profit executive leadership, marketing, and volunteer management. Prior to joining Graham-Pelton Consulting, he was the Director of Development and Communications for Worldwide Orphans Foundation (WWO) and led the fundraising efforts for United Way, increasing new funding sources and donor cultivation. Jim has an MBA in Management from Monmouth University and a BA in Business from Muhlenberg College. He believes strongly in the mission of StrongMinds and feels that mental health is too often a forgotten need.
Elena Anfimova, Treasurer: Elena has spent most of her career in finance. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in 2004, her notable roles included serving as a Director for UST, a global digital solutions company, and as the former CEO of Crelia Capital. Elena has a robust history of volunteer service with organizations such as Kiva, New York Cares, and Razom, a disaster and humanitarian relief organization for Ukraine. Elena is a certified transformation/hypnotist trained at the HCH Institute and currently leads Your Inner Wisdom, where she provides hypnotherapy services. Based in New York, Elena has also served as a volunteer financial advisor for StrongMinds for more than three years.
Jeanne Esler, Ph.D., Trustee: Jeanne is a licensed Clinical Psychologist with specializations in behavioral medicine, anxiety, depression, and eating disorders and lives west of Boston, MA. She attended Northwestern University in Chicago for her BA, received her doctoral degree from SUNY Albany (in NY), and completed her Internship and Post-Doc Fellowship at Brown University Medical School. In 2021, she completed the one-year Advanced Leadership Initiative program at Harvard University and co-chairs the Harvard ALI Boston Coalition Network. Jeanne is also the President and Co-Founder of the Esler Family Foundation, a philanthropy that has been involved with mental health programs, youth leadership, educational and economic opportunities through the lens of racial and gender equity, as well as preserving democracy. Their foundation is engaged with StrongMinds on mental health treatment for women experiencing depression in Uganda and Zambia. Jeanne serves on the Mental Health Advisory Panel for StrongMinds, the Advisory Panel for StrongMinds America, and the Board of Trustees. She is also on the board of Mindful Philanthropy, an organization with the mission of catalyzing impactful findings in mental health, addiction, and well-being. Locally, she serves on the board of the Worcester Education Collaborative and is involved in projects with the Nativity School of Worcester. In May 2022, she and her husband, John, were honored by receiving the Alexis de Tocqueville Award from the United Way. In 2022, Jeanne and John were chosen to be part of the Worcester Business Journal’s “Power 50: Most Influential People” for their philanthropic efforts.
Rehmah Kasule, Trustee: Rehmah is a senior fellow at the Harvard Advanced Leadership Institute (ALI). Prior to ALI, Rehmah Kasule founded and was the president of Century Entrepreneurship Development Agency, a Ugandan nonprofit that has helped over 38,000 youth and women pursue equality and economic development opportunities. Ms. Kasule is also a member of the Parliament of Buganda Kingdom, and has earned multiple global awards recognizing her social impact leadership. She is currently developing the PLUS+AFRICA Apprenticeship and Leadership Institute, an incubator to prepare young people for jobs, promote enterprise development, create links with the private sector, and work with government to strengthen labor market systems that will transform Africa’s workforce.
Ann MacDougall, Trustee: Anna's career has spanned legal and operating roles, and she has worked both in the U.S. and Europe. She is currently the Co-Founder/CEO of Dunollie Fund and the Senior Advisor (formerly President) of Encore.org, a national non-profit that promotes encore careers for the greater good. She was previously Chief Operating Officer of Acumen Fund, a global venture capital fund, and oversaw Acumen’s worldwide operations, strategy, and expansion. Before joining Acumen, she was a partner at Pricewaterhouse Coopers, where she rose through the ranks to become General Counsel of PwC US and a member of the Management Committee. During her 17 years at PwC, MacDougall also spent five years in Paris as Global Deputy General Counsel. In 2013, MacDougall was a Fellow in the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative, a year-long program to prepare experienced executives to take on new challenges in the social sector. She holds a B.A. cum laude from Tufts University and a J.D. cum laude from Brooklyn Law School. She currently sits on two corporate boards, Opiant Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Atmos XR. In her volunteer capacity, she sits on the Audit Committee of the Lycée Français de New York and the Advisory Boards of Equality Now and Global Citizen Year. She also co-leads two journalism fellowships, in partnership with the OpEd Project.
Sean Mayberry, Trustee: Sean, CEO and Founder of StrongMinds, is a former diplomat and social marketer who believes there are simple and cost-effective interventions that can improve mental health, an area that is often overlooked when addressing poverty in the developing world. For years Sean implemented successful HIV/AIDS and malaria programs in Africa and saw firsthand the struggles of the mentally ill. In 2013, he founded StrongMinds with the goal of ending the depression epidemic on the subcontinent. Previously, Sean was the Chief Operating Officer at VisionSpring, where he helped lead the nonprofit’s partnership with BRAC, and a country director for Population Services International in the Democratic Republic of Congo and India. He holds a BS degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Emory University.
Carol Squire, Trustee: Carol is the Executive Director of Good Cheer, an innovative nonprofit integrating food bank services, organic farming, recycling of previously owned goods, and school and community outreach, which serves the population of southern Whidbey Island in Puget Sound in Washington State. She has spent the last 10 years as a management consultant, focusing on creating strategies to strengthen organizations and teams. Prior to that, she worked in the field for PSI, including as Country Director in India. Before working for PSI, she founded a professional development organization, ECOFORM, for corporations in Africa and grew the enterprise to 200 employees. The non-profit arm of this organization worked with bilateral and multilateral donors. She joined the StrongMinds board because she feels mental health is a basic human right that is not available to most women in Africa. As she explains, “Nothing else is possible for an individual or their family without good mental health.”
Annika Sten Pärson, Trustee: Annika is the Founder and CEO of DanFei Holdings, an investment company focusing on seed-stage investments, and former Chief Operating Officer at Seleni, a New York City-based organization focused on women’s mental and reproductive health. She has served on the Board of Directors for several organizations including Haldex AB and Vi-skogen, an NGO focused on agro-forestry aid in Eastern Africa.
Esther Hsu Wang, Trustee: Esther opened IDinsight’s first office in Zambia and lived in Lusaka for eight years, where she helped steward the rapid growth as a co-founder, Chief Operating Officer, and Head of External Partnerships. She has also lived and worked in Eswatini, India, Cambodia, Uganda, Ghana, and China. She will soon be based in Nairobi, Kenya. Previously, Esther was a strategy consultant with Bain & Company, a co-founder of a social enterprise in the Tibetan Plateau, and co-led several not-for-profit organizations. Most recently, she was a partner at the Bridgespan Group. Esther holds joint BS/BA degrees from the University of Pennsylvania’s Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business. She also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School. Esther was a Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship, an Echoing Green Fellow, and a Presidential Leadership Scholar. Esther serves as co-chair of the Alumni Council of Harvard’s Center for Public Leadership and on the Board of Directors for Govuka and StrongMinds. She is also an advisor to The Agency Fund and Mighty Ally.
Dana Ward, Trustee: Dana Ward is an international public health and development expert with 35 years of experience, predominantly in Africa and Asia. In his various roles, he has served as Country Representative in five countries with Population Services International and was board chair of an international school in West Africa. He currently works for the Vermont Department of Health in Burlington, Vermont. Dana has an MBA in marketing from New York University and holds a Masters of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University. His areas of interest include social marketing and mental health. He is impressed by StrongMinds’ unique, cost-effective, scalable approach that can treat millions of African women.
Advisory Board
Kathleen F. Clougherty, LCSW, is a senior Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) trainer and supervisor at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, Instructor in Clinical Psychiatric Social Work (In Psychiatry) at Columbia University, an instructor at the Columbia University School of Social Work, and a private practitioner specializing in the treatment of depression in adolescents and adults. She is the co-author, along with Gregory Henrichsen, of Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Older Adults.
DaShaunta Johnson, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist practicing in New York and New Jersey. She previously served as StongMind’s Mental Health Advisor and as chair of the Mental Health Advisory Panel. She received academic training at the CUNY Graduate Center and went on to complete clinical training at Yale University and Columbia University. In addition to her work with StrongMinds, Dr. Johnson is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine, where she coordinates the Holocaust Videotestimony Project. She is also a trauma specialist working at Barnard College’s Furman Counseling Center. She maintains a private practice.
Dr. Jordan Kassalow is the Founder and CEO of VisionSpring. The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit improves the economic condition of families in the developing world by broadening the availability of reading glasses and other health products and services. Dr. Kassalow has more than 20 years of experience providing eye-care to the world’s poor.
Sean LaCon is the Founder and President of BLESSED Ministries Incorporated. Sean has more than 15 years of experience connecting economically disadvantaged and hard-to-place workers into mainstream companies. As a senior level executive, he has successfully managed grants funded by New York’s Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS); Vocational Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities (VESID); Human Resources Administration (HRA); Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone (UMEZ); and the Department of Labor. In the State of New Jersey, Sean has successfully managed grants funded by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, New Jersey State and Parole Board, The City of Newark, The Nicholson and Victoria Foundations. Under his leadership, BMI remains compliant with all Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations and all partnering agencies funding requirements.
Dr. Lena Verdeli is Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology and Director, Global Mental Health Lab, both at Columbia University. She is also an adjunct Assistant Professor at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, where she teaches psychotherapy to psychiatric residents, postdoctoral fellows and psychology interns.
Laura Yockey is a graduate of Gonzaga University. She built an early career in retail and manufacturing, first working for a major corporation, and later striking out on her own to create a company focused on children’s wear and home textiles for the juvenile market. Laura pursued her growing interest in children’s issues by serving for four years as the Auxiliary of Edgewood Center for Children before moving with her family to Paris, France. While in Paris, raising her children, and since the family’s move back to the United States, Laura continued her extensive volunteer and philanthropic advisory efforts. Currently, Laura is on the executive advisory boards of Future You U, a career discovery learning company, First in Family JH, Mount Sinai’s Surgical Board, and Strong Minds America. Most recently Laura finds her passion in helping others heal the world person by person in ways that support the youth and teens. She enjoys the outdoors and loves to ski, swim, bike and hike. During the summer she spends time with her family in Jackson, Wyoming. Laura lives with her three children and husband in New York City.
DaShaunta Johnson, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist practicing in New York and New Jersey. She previously served as StongMind’s Mental Health Advisor and as chair of the Mental Health Advisory Panel. She received academic training at the CUNY Graduate Center and went on to complete clinical training at Yale University and Columbia University. In addition to her work with StrongMinds, Dr. Johnson is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine, where she coordinates the Holocaust Videotestimony Project. She is also a trauma specialist working at Barnard College’s Furman Counseling Center. She maintains a private practice.
Dr. Jordan Kassalow is the Founder and CEO of VisionSpring. The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit improves the economic condition of families in the developing world by broadening the availability of reading glasses and other health products and services. Dr. Kassalow has more than 20 years of experience providing eye-care to the world’s poor.
Sean LaCon is the Founder and President of BLESSED Ministries Incorporated. Sean has more than 15 years of experience connecting economically disadvantaged and hard-to-place workers into mainstream companies. As a senior level executive, he has successfully managed grants funded by New York’s Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS); Vocational Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities (VESID); Human Resources Administration (HRA); Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone (UMEZ); and the Department of Labor. In the State of New Jersey, Sean has successfully managed grants funded by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, New Jersey State and Parole Board, The City of Newark, The Nicholson and Victoria Foundations. Under his leadership, BMI remains compliant with all Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations and all partnering agencies funding requirements.
Dr. Lena Verdeli is Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology and Director, Global Mental Health Lab, both at Columbia University. She is also an adjunct Assistant Professor at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, where she teaches psychotherapy to psychiatric residents, postdoctoral fellows and psychology interns.
Laura Yockey is a graduate of Gonzaga University. She built an early career in retail and manufacturing, first working for a major corporation, and later striking out on her own to create a company focused on children’s wear and home textiles for the juvenile market. Laura pursued her growing interest in children’s issues by serving for four years as the Auxiliary of Edgewood Center for Children before moving with her family to Paris, France. While in Paris, raising her children, and since the family’s move back to the United States, Laura continued her extensive volunteer and philanthropic advisory efforts. Currently, Laura is on the executive advisory boards of Future You U, a career discovery learning company, First in Family JH, Mount Sinai’s Surgical Board, and Strong Minds America. Most recently Laura finds her passion in helping others heal the world person by person in ways that support the youth and teens. She enjoys the outdoors and loves to ski, swim, bike and hike. During the summer she spends time with her family in Jackson, Wyoming. Laura lives with her three children and husband in New York City.