Chaplaincy Trained Buddhist Leader, Author, Speaker, & Visiting Fellow - University of Michigan

Chenxing Han

​​​​​Chenxing Han (she/her) is the author of “Be the Refuge: Raising the Voices of Asian American Buddhists (2021)”; “One Long Listening: A Memoir of Grief, Friendship, and Spiritual Care (2023)”; and over twenty articles and book chapters for both academic and mainstream audiences. She is a regular contributor to Lion’s Roar and Tricycle magazines and a frequent speaker and workshop leader at schools, universities, and Buddhist communities across the nation. She has received fellowships from Hedgebrook, Hemera Foundation, the Lenz Foundation, and elsewhere.

Chenxing holds a BA from Stanford University, an MA in Buddhist Studies from the Graduate Theological Union, and a certificate in Buddhist chaplaincy from the Institute of Buddhist Studies in Berkeley, California. She is co-teacher of Listening to the Buddhists in Our Backyard at Phillips Academy Andover; a co-organizer of May We Gather: A National Buddhist Memorial for Asian American Ancestors; and founding facilitator of Roots and Refuge: An Asian American Buddhist Writing Retreat at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies. For the 2023–2024 academic year, she is the Khyentse Visitor in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Michigan.

Clinical Coordinator and Therapist - Cirque Lodge

Aaron Olson, CMHC, SUDC

Aaron has been with Cirque Lodge since 2009 and has more than 25 years of experience working in the behavioral health field, including time working with the juvenile justice system, inpatient psychiatry, and community mental health. He has specialized in substance use issues and has worked in the residential, outpatient, and intensive outpatient levels of care.

Aaron utilizes an eclectic approach to treatment with a strong foundation in rational emotive behavioral therapy, family systems therapy, and contextual therapy. He has a significant interest in understanding the impact of transgenerational trauma on families and has lectured around the country on this topic.

As the clinical coordinator for the lodge, Aaron oversees the overall clinical experience of residents while carrying a caseload and supervising the other clinical staff. Aaron is a member of the faculty at the University of Utah, College of Social Work, teaching in the Substance Abuse Counseling Program.

Founding Director of the Lab for Scalable Mental Health, Associate Professor - Northwestern University

Jessica L. Schleider, Ph.D.

Dr. Jessica L. Schleider (she/her) is the Founding Director of the Lab for Scalable Mental Health and Associate Professor of Medical Social Sciences, Pediatrics, and Psychology at Northwestern University. Dr. Schleider also serves as Director of Digital Services at Northwestern’s Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies.

Dr. Schleider’s professional mission is to build, test, and disseminate scalable, evidence-based mental health solutions that bridge previously-unfillable gaps in mental health ecosystems, with a focus on single-session interventions (SSIs) for underserved youth. In support of her work in this area, she has secured >$7 million in federal (NIH, NSF, HRSA), foundation, and industry funding as PI or Project Lead. Dr. Schleider has been recognized via numerous national awards for research excellence and innovation, including the NIH Director’s Early Independence Award. Her work has been featured in media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal and The Atlantic, and she was previously chosen as one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in Healthcare.

Dr. Schleider has published more than 110 peer-reviewed articles. She has also created or co-created seven open-access, single-session mental health programs, which have reached >50,000 people to date. Based on these programs, Dr. Schleider and her colleagues wrote a self-help workbook, The Growth Mindset Workbook for Teens. She also co-edited the Oxford Guide to Brief and Low-Intensity Interventions for Children and Young People and wrote a nonfiction book, LITTLE TREATMENTS, BIG EFFECTS on how single-session interventions can transform mental health.

To support individuals and institutions in scaling evidence-based SSIs, Dr. Schleider regularly consults for national and state-level health care organizations, digital health and social media companies, and providers across the globe.

Dr. Schleider completed her PhD in Clinical Psychology at Harvard University in 2018, along with her Doctoral Internship in Clinical and Community Psychology at Yale School of Medicine.

Nationally Renowned Poet, Storyteller, Educator & Entrepreneur

Tucker Bryant

After spending a decade alongside world-class innovators at institutions like Stanford and Google, Tucker Bryant discovered an unexpected solution to help people confront an uncertain future with confidence — the outlook of a poet. As a nationally renowned poet himself, Bryant shows audiences how to unshackle themselves from their comfort zones and enhance creativity, collaboration, and authenticity in our lives and in the lives of the people we serve. Audiences will leave equipped with the tools to build a culture of creative disruption and bold exploration.

Bryant is an entrepreneur and innovation strategist. After nurturing his craft at Stanford University, he went on to become a lead product marketing manager at Google. This was where he discovered the potential of applying creative tools that poets have relied on for millennia to help drive personal exploration and growth.

Bryant’s innovative keynotes blend poetic storytelling with insights that will be tailored to our mental health audience. His performances have garnered millions of views online and been featured at TEDx and in The New York Times. Bryant has shared the stage with such influential individuals as Mark Cuban, Bill Belichick, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, and Mel Robbins, as well as governors and executives from scores of Fortune 500 companies.

Director of Psychiatry at Modern Minds & Affiliate Associate Professor at MUSC

Kelly Holes-Lewis, M.D.

Dr. Holes-Lewis is the Director of Psychiatry at Modern Minds clinical practice and an Affiliate Associate Professor at the Medical University of South Carolina. She holds board certifications from both the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology as well as the American Board of Obesity Medicine. In addition, she has also completed both a residency and fellowship in Nuclear Medicine and Positron Emission Tomography-CT Imaging. These diverse and unique training experiences have allowed her to see and treat suffering in many forms. Through her extensive clinical work, she has developed an understanding of the healing power of compassion, mindfulness and positive engagement in one’s own healing and care. Though these concepts may seem simple, they are often challenging to find in the world of illness-based medicine. Dr. Holes-Lewis believes that the conscious act of deliberately seeking wellness in all forms is always the first step in finding a better path to peace and healing. She believes that when we are open to new possibilities of healing and wellness; and are ready to learn how to live in the precious present moment, new levels of peace are available to us. Healing happens in a safe, compassionate environment, devoid of judgement and where we understand the connectedness that exists within us all.

Co-Founder & CEO of the Center for Motivation & Change, Licensed Psychologist, & Award Winning Author

Carrie Wilkens, Ph.D.

Carrie Wilkens, Ph.D., is a psychologist with over 25 years of experience in the practice and dissemination of evidence-based treatments for substance use and Post-Traumatic Stress. Dr. Wilkens is the Co-President and CEO of the CMC:Foundation for Change, a not-for-profit with the mission of improving the dissemination of evidence-based ideas and strategies to professionals and loved ones of persons struggling with substance use. The CMC:FFC team’s Invitation to Change approach is an accessible set of understandings and practices that empower families to remain engaged and be effective in helping their struggling loved one make positive changes. The approach has been widely used across the country and is utilized in trainings with laypeople and professionals.

She is co-author of the award-winning book Beyond Addiction: How Science and Kindness Help People Change, a practical guide for families dealing with addiction and substance problems in a loved one based on principles of Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT), and co-author of The Beyond Addiction Workbook for Family and Friends: Evidence-Based Skills to Help a Loved-One Make Positive Change.

Dr. Wilkens is also the Co-Founder and Clinical Director of the Center for Motivation and Change, a group of clinicians serving all ages in NYC, Long Island, Washington, DC, San Diego, CA, and CMC:Berkshires, a private, inpatient/residential program for adults.

Dr. Wilkens has been a Project Director on a large federally-funded Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) grant addressing the problems associated with binge drinking among college students. She is regularly sought out by the media to discuss issues related to substance use disorders and has been on the CBS Morning Show, Katie Couric Show, frequent NPR segments, and podcasts, including Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris. She is also in the HBO documentary Risky Drinking. Dr. Wilkens is a member of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies and the American Association of Addiction Psychiatrists.

Co-Founder & CEO of the Center for Motivation & Change, Licensed Psychologist, Clinical Research Scientist, & Award Winning Author

Jeffrey Foote, Ph.D.

Jeff Foote, PhD is a psychologist and nationally-recognized clinical research scientist with over 30 years of experience utilizing evidence-based treatment approaches for the treatment of substance use issues and Post-traumatic Stress.

Dr. Foote is the Co-President and CEO of the CMC:Foundation for Change (CMC:FFC), a not-for-profit organization with the mission of improving the dissemination of evidence-based ideas and strategies to the families of persons struggling with substance use. The CMC:FFC team’s Invitation to Change approach is an accessible set of understandings and practices that empower families to remain engaged and be effective in helping their struggling loved one make positive changes. The approach has been widely used across the country and is utilized in trainings with laypeople and professionals. He is co-author of the award-winning book Beyond Addiction: How Science and Kindness Help People Change, a practical guide for families dealing with addiction and substance problems in a loved one based on principles of Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT), and co-author of The Beyond Addiction Workbook for Family and Friends: Evidence-Based Skills to Help a Loved-One Make Positive Change.

He is also the Co-Founder of the Center for Motivation and Change (CMC) outpatient programs in NYC, Long Island, Washington, DC, and San Diego, CA, and the residential program CMC:Berkshires in Western Massachusetts.

Dr. Foote was a psychologist for the NY Mets for 11 years and has continued in sports psychology as an independent performance consultant to professional athletes. Before co-founding CMC in 2003, Dr. Foote was the Deputy Director of the Division of Alcohol Treatment and Research at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in NYC and Senior Research Associate at The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA) in NYC. From 1994 to 2001, Dr. Foote served as Chief of the Smithers Addiction Treatment and Research Center and Director of Evaluation and Research. Dr. Foote is a member of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies and the American Association of Addiction Psychiatrists.

Author, Speaker, Psychotherapist

Jeannelle Perkins-Muhammad, Ph.D.

Dr. Jeannelle Perkins-Muhammad is a Psychotherapist, Licensed Family Therapist, and SC State Supervisor with more than 20 years of experience. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland and Capella University. She is licensed in GA, FL, NC, and SC. Dr. Jeannelle is a board member of Charleston Hope; an organization that increases access to mental and behavioral health programs in Title I schools to enhance student well-being. As an adjunct professor at The Citadel in Charleston, SC, and Practicum Supervisor for Capella and Liberty Universities, she focuses on building a new generation of culturally competent clinical counselors.

Dr. Jeannelle was Foundation Fellow of Roper St. Francis Hospital and recipient of the Charleston Area Black Caucus “40 Professionals to Know” award. As a 2024 TEDx Charleston participant, Dr. Jeannelle challenges America to consider how racism impacts black intimacy in the structural, institutional and systemic complexities of cultural conditioning. Her recent book, Into-Me-See, explores the cultural and personal factors that can make it challenging for Black couples to develop and maintain intimacy while offering solutions that strengthen their unity.

As an international speaker, Dr. Jeannelle is sought after by podcasts and organizations on topics ranging from Mental Health and Relationships, Cultural Immersion and Humility, Emotional Intelligence and Resilience, Enhancing Intimacy, Personality Disorders, Military Trauma, Racial Anxiety, Sexual Wellness, and Depression, and much more. Dr. Jeannelle is a consultant on TVOne’s hit show Fatal Attraction. She has been featured in Skirt Magazine, Newsweek, Charleston Magazine, and Vice Magazine. She has been seen on the AFRO News Chicken Boxx, Divorce Magazine-Canada, Fox 24 Charleston, Lowcountry Live, Reicy G., Black Family Table Talk, Growth State-of-Mind, and Her Point of View. Her lived experience with blended families, adoption, divorce, family personality disorders are key to her ability to bring research to life.

Dr. Jeannelle has her finger on the pulse of our community’s mental and emotional health. In her private group practice, TMI Counseling and Coaching, they assist individuals, families, and couples; in rehabilitating, repairing, and revitalizing their commitment to authentic living as a characteristic for building healthy relationships and vibrant communities. She is compassionate, direct, and unapologetic in helping clients overcome their challenges. Her spiritual experience and evidence-based therapeutic approach are a hallmark of allowing you to change your life trajectory.

Contemporary Violinist and Record Producer

Daniel D.

Award Winning American Singer & Songwriter

Chase Bryant

“This is my shot at redemption,” says Chase Bryant. “This is the second chance I never thought I’d have.”

In fact, by all objective measures, Chase Bryant shouldn’t be here right now, and yet he’s never sounded more alive, more vital, more himself than he does on his extraordinary new album, ‘Upbringing.’ Recorded in the aftermath of a season of darkness and despair, the record is a searing, honest portrait of struggle and resilience from a songwriter finally learning to love and trust himself, flaws and all. Though the journey to this moment nearly put him in the grave, Bryant’s stronger now for his struggles, with a clear head, an open heart, and a remarkable full-length debut to show for it. Some may call it a comeback, but truth be told, it’s really more like a homecoming.

Born and raised in rural Orange Grove, Bryant grew up dreaming of a life in music, inspired in part by his grandfather, who performed with Roy Orbison and Waylon Jennings, and his uncles, who co-founded the chart-topping band Ricochet. Those dreams came true faster than Bryant could have anticipated, though, and fame and success arrived with a hefty price. By 21, he already had two Top 10 singles and tours with the likes of Brantley Gilbert and Tim McGraw under his belt, but it all felt inauthentic, like he was playing a character with expectations he could never live up to. The harder he pushed back, the worse things got, and soon, Bryant barely recognized the man he saw in the mirror.

“I was a very confused individual,” he confesses. “I was cocky. I was arrogant, I was sick. And that led me down a pretty dark hole.” Rock bottom came in a gas station parking lot, when Bryant’s anxiety and depression led him to put a loaded .357 revolver to his head. When no sign arrived from above, Bryant screamed that he was sorry and pulled the trigger. He opened his eyes a few moments later, certain he was dead and waking up on some alternate plane of existence only to realize that something miraculous had happened, that he was somehow still alive. Opening the cylinder on the revolver, he found only five bullets instead of the six he was sure he’d loaded. The empty chamber had spared his life.

And so Bryant began the long and arduous road to recovery, checking into a mental rehabilitation center and enrolling in intensive therapy. He spent the next several years facing his demons head on, learning to be comfortable in his own skin, to make peace with being alone, to be okay with not being okay all the time. In search of perspective, he eventually left Nashville altogether, moving back to Texas and purchasing an old ranch house that had been in his family since the 1960s. There, far removed from the trappings of the music industry and all the baggage that came with it, Bryant felt a weightlessness he hadn’t experienced since childhood, a release from the pressure and expectation that had dogged him ever since he landed his first record deal at the age of 15. With the floodgates open, Bryant entered one of the most prolific creative periods of his life. This time around, though, he wasn’t writing for the radio or the charts; he was writing for himself and anyone else who needed to hear what he had to say.

“I wanted to be that empty chamber for somebody else,” Bryant explains. “I wanted to help people realize that they’re not alone in this fight, that somebody’s out there listening and has their back.”

Award Wining Professor, Psychologist, Scientist, & Author at University of Michigan

Ethan Kross, Ph.D.

Ethan Kross is one of the world’s leading experts on controlling the conscious mind. An award-winning professor and bestselling author in the University of Michigan’s top ranked Psychology Department and its Ross School of Business, he studies how the conversations people have with themselves impact their health, performance, decisions and relationships.

Ethan attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated magna cum laude. After earning his PhD in Psychology from Columbia University, Ethan completed a post-doctoral fellowship in social-affective neuroscience to learn about the neural systems that support self-control. He moved to the University of Michigan in 2008, where he founded the Emotion & Self Control Laboratory.

Ethan’s research has been published in Science, The New England Journal of Medicine, and The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, among other peer-reviewed journals. He has participated in policy discussion at the White House and has been interviewed on CBS Evening News, Good Morning America, Anderson Cooper Full Circle, and NPR’s Morning Edition. His pioneering research has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, Harvard Business Review, USA Today, The Economist, The Atlantic, Forbes, and Time.

Ethan is the author the National Bestseller CHATTER: The Voice in Our Head, Why it Matters and How to Harness It, which was chosen as one of the best new books of the year by the Washington Post, CNN and USA Today and the Winning Winter 2021 selection for Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant, Susan Cain and Dan Pink’s Next Big Idea Book Club. CHATTER is scheduled to be translated into over 40 languages.

Licensed Professional Counselor and Specialist Working with Men and Adolescent Boys

Ward V. B. Lassoe, LPC

Ward Lassoe is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in private practice in Charleston, South Carolina. He works exclusively with teenage boys and adult men, so he’s definitely a “guy” therapist.

He has an unusual background for a counselor. He started out as a TV reporter for local and national networks. He then earned an MBA from Columbia Business School and transitioned into working in the digital media industry. He also served as an adjunct professor at the College of Charleston. Today, he uses his experience in journalism, business, and education on a regular basis in his psychotherapy practice.