Conference Speakers

Lindsay Bryan-Podvin, owner and founder of Mind Money Balance, is a financial therapist who started her career in the field of mental health treatment and advocacy. As the first financial therapist in Michigan, she combines financial literacy with the emotional and psychological side of money. She always had an interest in mental health and found an even greater love working at the intersection of mental health and money. Her podcast, “Mind Money Balance,” has surpassed 7,000 downloads during its 9-month lifespan. In addition to being a published author of the Plutus-nominated book “The Financial Anxiety Solution,” she has a degree in sociology from Michigan State University, and her Master’s in Social Work from the University of Michigan. She lives with her partner and their dog in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Dr. Joy Cox is a body justice advocate using her skill set in research and leadership to foster social change through the promotion of fat acceptance and diversity and inclusion. With 37 years living as a fat, Black cisgendered woman and 7+ years of professional experience under her belt, Dr. Cox draws on her own experiences and skill set to amplify the voices of those most marginalized in society, bringing attention to matters of intersectionality addressing race, body size, accessibility, and “health.”
Joy has been featured on several podcasts and media productions such as Food Pysch with Christy Harrison, Nalgona Positivity Pride with Gloria Lucas, Fat Women of Color with Ivy Felicia, and Huffington Post’s piece, “Everything You Know About Obesity is Wrong.” She also just authored her first book, Fat Girls in Black Bodies: Creating Communities of Our Own. She is the voice of an overcomer, looking to propel others into a place of freedom designed by their desires.

Diane Gehart, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Marriage and Family Therapy and Counseling Programs at California State University, Northridge and has a private practice in Agoura Hills, California. She has authored several professional books including Mindfulness for Chocolate Lovers: A Lighthearted Way to Stress Less and Savor More Each Day, Mindfulness and Acceptance in Couple and Family Therapy Mastering Competencies in Family Therapy, Theory and Treatment Planning in Counseling and Psychotherapy. You can learn more about her at dianegehart.com; and youtube.com/c/DianeRGehartPhD.

Bandy X. Lee, M.D., M.Div., is a forensic psychiatrist and violence expert who taught at Yale School of Medicine and Yale Law School for 17 years, was a fellow of the National Institute of Mental Health, and consultant to the World Health Organization (WHO). In addition to her clinical work in correctional and public-sector settings, she was director of research for the Center for the Study of Violence, director of Yale’s Violence and Health Study Group, and leader of an academic collaborators group for the WHO. She consulted with governments on violence prevention programming internationally and within the U.S., as well as helped with prison reform, including New York City’s once-notorious Rikers Island. She designed a popular Global Health Studies course at Yale College, which led to the textbook, Violence: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Causes, Consequences, and Cures (Wiley-Blackwell, 2019). She published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and chapters, 17 edited scholarly books and journal special issues, almost 300 op-eds in outlets such as The Guardian, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Independent, and Politico, and the New York Times bestseller, The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 37 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President (Macmillan, 2017 and 2019).

Dr. Jamie Marich (she/they) is a clinical trauma specialist, expressive artist, writer, yogini, performer, short filmmaker, Reiki master, TEDx speaker, and recovery advocate, she unites all of these elements in her mission to inspire healing in others. Jamie maintains a private practice and online education operations in her home base of Warren, OH. Marich is the founder of the Institute for Creative Mindfulness and the developer of the Dancing Mindfulness approach to expressive arts therapy. Marich is the author of several books, including EMDR Made Simple: 4 Approaches for Using EMDR with Every Client (2011), Trauma and the Twelve Steps: A Complete Guide for Recovery Enhancement (2012), Trauma Made Simple: Competencies in Assessment, Treatment, and Working with Survivors, and Dancing Mindfulness: A Creative Path to Healing and Transformation (2015). NALGAP: The Association of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Addiction Professionals and Their Allies awarded Jamie with their esteemed President’s Award in 2015 for her work as an LGBT advocate. The EMDR International Association (EMDRIA) granted Jamie the 2019 Advocacy in EMDR Award for her using her public platform in media and in the addiction field to advance awareness about EMDR therapy. Marich is in long-term addiction recovery and is actively living with a Dissociative Disorder.

Tiffany McLain, LMFT is a therapist & clinical fee strategist for therapists in private practice whose mantra is, “Full fees are the new black.” Via her program, The Lean In. MAKE BANK. Academy, she helps therapists ethically earn 30 to 50% more per month while seeing fewer clients by showing them how to think about and directly address fees in a clinically appropriate manner.

The Lean In. MAKE BANK. Academy is a program that addresses the underlying money mindset stories that keep therapists broke so they can become THAT therapist who charges premium fees, cash pay. With the LIMB 4-step framework to make BANK, regular coaching calls to help you go to the next level, a phenomenal community of funny and intelligent therapists, be ready get real raw and real rich.

Rwenshaun Miller is an accomplished author, motivational speaker, counselor, consultant and philanthropist who has dedicated his life and career to, not only reshaping the negative connotations often associated with mental health, but also directly impacting the lives of those living with mental health challenges. Of all his accolades and roles, Mr. Miller proudly first serves as a Mental Health Change Agent. As a result, Mr. Miller has globally impacted the lives of many through his awareness efforts.

Mr. Miller’s relentless passion and commitment derived from his personal experience living with Bipolar Disorder. Through his journey, Mr. Miller initially encountered similar challenges many face, including that of acceptance of a mental health diagnosis. Eventually, Mr. Miller decided to not allow this diagnosis to define and debilitate him realizing that Bipolar Disorder is not what defines who he is. Thus, he embarked on a path to help uplift, empower, encourage and teach others who live with mental health challenges how to “thrive” in life.

Adriana Rodriguez (She/Her/Ella) is a California Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, she obtained a BA in Sociology from Sacramento State and a MA in Counseling Psychology from the University of San Francisco. Adriana is a bilingual, queer, Salvadorian immigrant woman who is passionate about destigmatizing mental health. Adriana’s lens is intersectional, she is passionate about understanding how intergenerational trauma compounded with personal trauma impacts the mental health of first-generation adult children of immigrants and QTBIPOC. Adriana works with individuals and dyads in private practice in Sacramento, CA.

Dr. Kristin Syme is a biocultural anthropologist that investigates the human universals and cultural particularities of human psychology and behavior. Her research program is driven by the core belief that in order to advance our scientific understanding of human mind and behavior, we have to look outside the confines of our culture. What is normal? What is moral? What is healthy? The answers to these questions vary across time and space. Her research focuses on how human sociality can inform our understanding of depression, suicidality, and other mental health and behavioral issues. She uses a diverse set of research methodologies including ethnographic data, comparative cross-cultural analyses, confirmatory hypothesis testing, and exploratory research methods. A key finding from this research program is that social conflict and powerlessness often go hand-in-hand with depression and suicidality.