Ross is our founding Wellness Director who has developed and incorporated our unique Wellness program into our school curriculum. He has also created a Mental Health Education Institute that is hosted by Geffen Academy to provide schools with a common language for mental health and how educators can use their personal stories to normalize mental health in the classroom.

Ross is a social innovator who has pioneered the youth mental health movement. Ross is an expert at creating sustainable mental health curricula and programs that reach large audiences. During the eight years he was Director of the National Mental Health Awareness Campaign, he created the first national youth mental health speaker’s bureau, a program that has inspired millions to address their mental health. Ross has spoken to over 2 million people about the importance of mental health education. He is the co-author of Behind Happy Faces: Taking Charge of Your Mental Health and the author of A Kids Book About Anxiety. In addition, his Behind Happy Faces Mental Health Curriculum is used by over 300,000 middle school, high school, and college students nationwide. His achievements in the field have earned him the 2010 Didi Hirsch Erasing the Stigma Leadership Award, the 2012 Changing Minds Award, the 2016 Excellence in Education Award, and his advocacy work was entered into the Congressional Record. Ross has an MA in Educational Psychology.