Team

Jim Vollendroff

Jim Vollendroff has been instrumental to the initiation of the work of citiesRISE in Seattle/King County and has worked in the behavioral health field for over 35 years. He spent the first half of his career as a direct service provider starting as a clinician and finally the clinical director of patient services for Providence St. Peter Hospital in Lacey, WA. Jim next worked for the King County Department of Community and Human Services for 16 years, eleven as the Deputy Director and five as the Director of the King County Behavioral Health and Recovery Division. In this leadership position he was responsible for the delivery of a full continuum of mental health and substance use disorder services for the Medicaid and low income community and well as the community crisis responders. In January 2019 Jim became the founding director of the Harborview, University of Washington Behavioral Health Institute. As an individual in long term recovery Jim uses his life experience, educational background and professional experience to bring a unique perspective to the delivery of effective mental health and addiction treatment. Jim has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington.

Kevin Hale

Kevin brings over 10 years of professional experience working in youth empowerment and community development. Kevin is originally from the California Bay Area, and moved to Seattle in 2010 to serve as an AmeriCorps VISTA where he began his journey learning the foundations
of community organizing, undoing institutional racism, and program capacity building. While in Seattle, Kevin gained experience in developing youth-lead programs through his work at the YMCA and Communities in Schools of Seattle. Kevin’s experience in Seattle includes engaging youth leaders to improve outcomes for young adults transitioning from foster care, and developing school and community partnerships to increase educational opportunities for students of color. Kevin moved to New York City in 2017 to pursue an MSW and gain clinical counseling experience, focusing on culturally-responsive interventions for youth and adolescence who have experienced trauma. Kevin has a B.A. in Political Economics from University of California, Berkeley and a Masters of Clinical Social Work from The City University of New York, Silberman School of Social Work.

Gretchen Proulx

Gretchen is a creative expression and trauma therapist, a visual artist, and a social justice worker with the goal of connecting people through transformative creativity. Before attending the University of Washington to earn her Master of Social Work, she always sought opportunities to connect with others and facilitate story sharing, especially amongst young people.

Gretchen’s scope of practice has included educational systems, community-based mental health organizations, and juvenile rehabilitation systems. Within the juvenile rehabilitation system, she worked as a clinician in an acute mental health unit, as well as with police and programs within the system to elevate more equitable treatment. She has worked with King and Pierce counties in Washington state, USA in behavioral interventions, case management, and leadership consultation, and has collaborated with United Way of King County to expand mental health access and resources to students. As the Director of Restorative Justice at a local middle school, Gretchen re-designed the behavioral system to be more therapeutic and restorative. 

In each setting, she has utilized the process of artmaking to inspire connectedness and radical imagination in a way that develops resiliency. Gretchen recognizes that clinical treatment is just one way to support the mental health wellness of people, and she is excited to bring her extensive experience, unique perspective, and unbridled passion to the the citiesRISE team.

Miguel Uribe

Miguel is head of the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health in the School of Medicine at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and a Psychoanalyst at the Colombian Psychoanalytic Association. He is currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana School of Medicine and an Associate Member at Fundación Santa Fe de Bogotá. He also has his own private practice in adult psychiatry. Miguel brings an extensive background to his advisory role at citiesRISE, having also consulted for the World Bank for Mental Health in Latin America and Colombia. He specialized in Consultation Liaison Psychiatry at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá and has a Masters in Public Health from Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA.

Ramon Castano

Ramon Castaño brings a wealth of experience in public health in Latin America. He has developed research on the issue of equity in health financing, financial sustainability of the health system, autonomy of public hospitals and Centers of Excellence in health. Ramon is currently dedicated to promoting innovations in business models in the provision of health services which is vital to informing his role at citiesRISE. He is a corresponding member of the National Academy of Medicine of Colombia and holds a doctor of the Institute of Health Sciences, CES, a Master’s in Management and Health Policy of the Harvard School of Public Health and a PhD in politics and public health from the School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in London.

M Suresh Kumar

Dr. M. Suresh Kumar is an accomplished Psychiatrist in Chennai, India, currently associated with the Psymed Hospital (Chetput) as Director & Consultant Psychiatrist and practicing at his private clinic in T Nagar. He was formerly a Consultant Psychiatrist at the Institute of Mental Health and Professor of Psychiatry at the Madras Medical College, Chennai and has been involved in research and has served as an investigator for several research projects in substance use and mental health for over 25 years. Dr. Kumar brings a special level of understanding to citiesRISE work in Chennai after extensive involvement in the field of drug use prevention, treatment and mental health as a service provider, teacher, trainer, researcher and international consultant. He holds positions on a number of international boards, task forces and working groups, relating to injecting drug use, HIV/AIDS and harm reduction. He is a former Hubert H Humphrey Fellow in substance use and obtained a Master’s Degree in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore, Maryland.

Shiva Prakash

Dr. Shiva Prakash is a trained Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist who has trained and worked both in the United States and in India. He currently works with a NGO serving the mental health needs of people in India. Dr. Prakash has an active interest in empowering young people, not only with information about mental health, but also with ways and means of creating support for each other and building a positive environment for themselves and future generations. He is interested in research surrounding interventions that are directed towards youth, while engaging in their mental health and well-being journey.

Fredric Azariah

Fredric comes to citiesRISE with over 10 years of experience as a public health researcher. He worked at Sangath in Goa, India where he became Executive Director, managing the overall operations of the organization across all locations. He is experienced at implementing policies and procedures, liaising with and representing organizations to develop strong partnerships. He brings strong fundraising and administrative capacity to his citiesRISE role. Fredric has a BS in Homoeopathic Medicine and Surgery from Goa University and an MSc in Public Health from Oxford Brookes University, in Oxford, UK.

Shravan Raghav

Shravan Raghav is the founder of The Safe Place, a youth-led cohort based out of Chennai, India that advocates for mental health and promotes awareness through creative and interactive techniques. He helps The Safe Place conduct various mental health focused events in the city of Chennai and creates various digital segments and campaigns to advocate for mental health literacy. Shravan is currently pursuing his B.S. in Psychology from University of Madras, India. He is passionate about positive psychology and hopes to work in the field through storytelling and motivational coaching.

Jaya Srinivasan

Jaya Srinivasan has a decade of experience in business development and communications supporting her role as Chennai Program Manager. Previously, she worked as the Clients Manager at Ennovent, a catalyst for businesses with sustainable solutions for low-income markets. Jaya has a strong interest in mental health and the well-being of young people and, having lived and worked in different cities across the country, she is keenly aware of the dynamics of urban India, which has built her understanding of the key drivers of mental health challenges and the need for solutions, especially among youth. Jaya previously worked at Driptech, a drip irrigation startup catering primarily to smallholder farmers. Focus on Human Rights and Political Economy of Global Finance; MA dissertation on the influence of neoliberalism in the propagation of microcredit, viewed through the governmentality framework. Jaya earned a BA in Technology from ANITS, Andhra University and an MA in International Relations from University of Sussex in Brighton, UK.

Boniface Chitayi

Dr. Chitayi is the team and technical lead for citiesRISE Nairobi. As the President of the Kenya Psychiatric Association (KPA) he took part in the planning of the inaugural national mental health conference in Kenya in 2019 and led the May mental health awareness month campaign of 2020 through the KPA/citiesRISE partnership. Dr. Chitayi has been a member of several ministry of health committees working on initiatives around implementation of the national mental health policy 2015-2030, and is currently a member of the Technical Working Group (TWG) developing the national suicide prevention strategy. He holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBChB) and Master of Medicine in Psychiatry both from the University of Nairobi.

Milka Waruguru

Milka is a public health professional who is passionate about mental health and development. She has over 10 years’ experience in mental health research, evaluations and policy,  working with community based organizations in Kenya and collaborating with partners internationally. She has participated in and led several collaborative research projects in Kenya and beyond. Milka contributed to mental health evidence generation and advocacy in Kenya with her well documented work and co-authorship with other research team members in three reputable international journals. She was involved in the formative stages of citiesRISE’s work in Kenya through a partnership with BasicNeeds, and has played a key role in the early stages of the development of that platform. Milka looks forward to working with the team to enhance evidence generation and documentation to ultimately influence practice, programs, and to support policy work.

Samuel Talam

Samuel Talam is the founder of Amazing Minds Kenya, a youth led organization housed within Kenyatta University that equips students and staff with mental health resources. Amazing Minds promotes mental health through art, serves as a peer support and referral link for mental health care and services and offers youth leadership opportunities at the university. Samuel is a recipient of the citiesRISE Youth Challenge Award in 2017. Samuel is currently a student at Kenyatta University.

Maureen Gikonyo

Maureen is a dedicated mental health advocate based in Kenya. She is a co-founder of Speak Mind Love Foundation, a youth-led mental health organization that focuses on advocacy, raising awareness, public education, and building resilience. Maureen is particularly passionate about transforming and empowering communities, ensuring that persons with lived experiences are fully included in mental health decisions, and ensuring that young people have a place of meaningful participation in society. As part of her quest to deepen her knowledge on advocacy, she was selected to attend the Bridge SDG-CRPD Module 1 training by the International Disability Alliance, which she successfully completed. Maureen is a member of the citiesRISE Nairobi Youth Leaders Network as well as a member of the lived experience council of Healthy Brain Global Initiative (HBGI). She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Special Needs Education with a focus on emotional and behavioral disorders.

Nyawira Gitahi

Nyawira has dedicated her career to supporting the research and implementation of health programs that focus on young people. She has more than 15 years of experience in this field within LMIC settings, including multi-country clinical trials, surveillance studies, and programs that address socio-behavioural aspects of health. Nyawira has been an NIH Fogarty fellow grantee and is currently a P.I. for a research grant that focuses on the integration of mental health screening interventions within primary care for youth living with HIV. She is currently a non-tenured scientist at the Kenya Medical Research Institute and a visiting scientist at the Kenyatta National Hospital.

Previously, Nyawira was a project director at LVCT health, where she led large adolescent multi-layered socio-behavioural and biological reproductive health education and HIV prevention programs (DREAMS). She also brings skills in leadership and strategic partnerships as a director of Gold Star Kenya, a Nairobi-based NGO that focuses on health system strengthening, program implementation, and optimizing youth access to care.

Nyawira holds an undergraduate degree in Medicine, a Masters in Public Health, and is currently completing a PhD in Global Health.

Joyce Arita

Joyce is excited to be joining citiesRISE as the Program Coordinator in Nairobi, Kenya. As part of the team that worked on citiesRISE Nairobi landscape mapping and with citiesRISE youth, she brings a unique understanding of mental health in Kenya.

Joyce previously worked with BasicNeeds BasicRights Kenya (BNBR) in various capacities over nine years where, through collaborative use of diverse planning, control, and process management methods and techniques, she successfully coordinated the project and functional activities of the organization. This included, but was not limited to, proposal writing, budgeting, resource management, donor reporting, and monitoring and coordination of collaborative activities with partners and stakeholders.

She has been involved in mental health stakeholder mobilization while at BNBR and in support supervision, mentoring, and coaching of youth-led mental health organizations Amazing Minds Africa and Nzumari Africa – both of which were recipients of the citiesRISE Youth Challenge Award. 

Joyce is passionate about working with young people and helping them to grow healthy minds, develop their voices, influence their communities, and reach their potential. She holds a B.S. in International Business Management from Africa Nazarene University as well as a diploma in Library and Information Science from the University of Nairobi.

Claudia Jasin

Claudia Jasin brings over 25 years of experience working on youth development in California to her role at citiesRISE. Claudia managed and then led the Jamestown Community Center in San Francisco for 18 years with a mission to provide transformative youth development services rooted in cultural and artistic traditions of communities and began working in Sacramento in 2014 with Way Up Sacramento, an initiative of Councilmember Jay Schenirer, working to drive change at a community level in Sacramento’s Oak Park neighborhood. Claudia acted as a project specialist and consultant for Way Up Sacramento and consultant to Sacramento’s City Manager (2017-2018) where she led the development of Sacramento’s Citywide Youth Development Campaign Plan. Claudia also consults with the Sierra Health Foundation to manage the Sacramento Youth Pop Up initiative in order to stay closely connected to the youth segment of the city. She received her BA from The University of Pennsylvania and a Master in Public Policy from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Massachusetts.