Funding Reset to Support Student Needs Through the Lens of Public Health

Meet your hosts

Rebecca M. Langan is Principal at Langan & Associates, LLC, a boutique public affairs firm specializing in government relations, strategic communications, and advocacy. She holds over 25 years of experience in the human service sector, working directly with providers, educators, and elected officials, to advance the complex and dynamic needs of learning communities.

Dr. Alisa Smiley-Rudolph, a native of Selma, Alabama, is the District Mental Health and Truancy Coordinator for Selma City Schools. She supports students with social and emotional learning and collaborates with counselors, principals, teachers, and parents. With over 18 years of mental health experience, she has worked as a mental health therapist, in-home therapist, and youth and family mental health director.

‍Elsa Friis, Ph.D., MSc-GH is a licensed psychologist, researcher, and behavioral health advocate who specializes in utilizing technology to expand access to youth mental health support. She firmly believes in co-creating products in partnership with the youth and stakeholders who will utilize them. She received her MS in global health and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Duke University where she leveraged human-centered design to develop an app to support the implementation of a family therapy intervention in Kenya.