Headspace Health, the provider of the world’s most accessible, comprehensive digital mental health platform, announced the appointment of Dr. Wizdom Powell as Chief Social Impact & Diversity Officer. Dr. Powell is a psychologist, tenured professor and nationally recognized expert on racial trauma, healing and health equity.

Integral to Headspace Health’s mission - to transform mental healthcare to improve the health and happiness of the world - is its focus on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEI&B). As Chief Social Impact Officer & Diversity Officer, Dr. Powell will lead Headspace Health’s continued efforts to further incorporate DEI&B, compassionate leadership, and mental health and wellness training into the fabric of the company and workplace culture at large. In addition, she will oversee Headspace Health’s social impact work, focused on supporting the mental health and wellbeing of youth around the world through its Headspace for Teens and Headspace for Educators initiatives, as well as an array of strategic partnerships with nonprofits, government leaders and advocacy groups.

“In my work as a psychologist, in academic settings and in public policy, I’ve yet to come across an organization more uniquely poised than Headspace Health to truly democratize mental health and wellbeing support on a global scale,” said Dr. Powell. “I am honored to collaborate with this team to bridge the gap between our fragmented mental healthcare system and the millions of people around the world who are suffering in silence.”

In her work as a researcher, equity brand strategist and media contributor, Dr. Powell has notably advanced the national conversation on racial justice and mental health. Her scientific research has been covered by outlets ranging from NPR, CNN and Forbes, to The Root, Refinery29 and Ebony Magazine. She was recently named one of the 25 Essential Voices on Black Mental Health. In July, Dr. Powell will join Headspace Health from the University of Connecticut, where she has served as a tenured Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Director of UConn’s Health Disparities Institute. In addition to her work in the academic setting, she currently serves as chair of the American Psychological Association (APA)’s workgroup on Health Disparities in Boys and Men, as well as co-chair of the Health Committee for President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Initiative in Durham County, NC. Dr. Powell is the recipient of numerous global recognitions, including the APA’s (d51) Distinguished Professional Award and the Rockefeller Foundation’s academic writing residency in Bellagio, Italy. She has also held fellowships with the White House, the Ford Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Aspen Institute. Dr. Powell received her Ph.D. and M.S. in Clinical Psychology and M.P.H. from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.