S2 E19: Empowering Young Minds— Featuring Malekeh Amini & Laurel Williams

About Malekeh Amini:Malekeh Amini is a veteran in the healthcare industry with more than 25 years in digital health services and a proven track record in entrepreneurship, strategy, business development, fundraising, and operations. Malekeh founded Trayt to help shift the paradigm in how mental healthcare is accessed, delivered, and supported in the United States due to her own experience attempting to navigate the healthcare system. Malekeh brings extensive entrepreneurial, fundraising, P&L, business development, operations, and strategic advisory experience to Trayt, including experience with both SaaS and big data applications with a focus on scalability, and capitalizing on new business opportunities with deep knowledge of the healthcare industry and a strong national network of connections for strategic partnerships. At Trayt, Malekeh serves as Founder and CEO.Prior to Trayt, Malekeh was the Senior Vice President of Product & Business Development at Base Health, where she provided the vision connecting new breakthroughs in medical science to the needs of healthcare organizations and consumers. A former consultant with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and the Parthenon Group, Malekeh advised companies in the pharmaceutical, biotech, health insurance, and hospital industries. Malekeh also sat on the fundraising Board of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, is the Fund Chair for her class at the Harvard Business School, and is Chairman of the Board at Wings Learning Center, a Non-Public School for students with autism and other neurodevelopmental disabilities.Malekeh earned multiple bachelor’s degrees and a master's degree at USC, as well as an MBA from Harvard University. About Laurel Williams:Laurel L. Williams, DO is a Professor in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Williams is the Medical Director for the Centralized Operational Support Hub for the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium coordinating the implementation of a state-wide child psychiatry access network and tele-mental health to youth in schools. Dr. Williams is also the Training Director for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Baylor. Dr. Williams completed both her fellowship and residency training at Baylor College of Medicine in 2004 upon graduation from the University of North Texas School of Osteopathic Medicine in 1999. She graduated with a BS in Psychobiology and a Minor in Fine Arts at the University of Southern California in 1994. In 2020, Dr. Williams received a Women of Excellence Award and a Norton Rose Educational Leadership Faculty Excellence Award at Baylor College of Medicine. In 2021, Greater Houston NAMI presented Dr. Williams with one of the “Heroes and Hope Across Greater Houston awards.” Dr. Williams has special expertise in working with youth who have suicidal and self-injurious behaviors and pregnant and post-partum adolescents. Things You’ll Learn:Early intervention in childhood is crucial for addressing mental health disorders and can have a significant impact on long-term outcomes.The Texas Child Mental Health Consortium shows the power of collaboration and coordination among various stakeholders to enhance access to healthcare and training.Over 10,000 providers in the state of Texas have enrolled in CPAN.Over 500 school districts are currently enrolled in TCHATT with over 2000 campuses.Technology plays a pivotal role in improving access to care, streamlining workflows, and collecting valuable data for informed decision-making in children's mental health.The success of the Texas Consortium's initiatives illustrates the potential for nationwide implementation of similar programs to enhance mental health support for children.Building and maintaining connections among healthcare professiona