Essential Connections at the Intersection of Entertainment  and Mental Health

Our Story


Born of our global mental health crisis and steeped in the unrivaled influence of the entertainment industry, Hollywood & Mind is a first-of-its kind venture focused on leveraging the power of talent and executives across music, film, TV, digital, tech, sports & brand—together with brain health experts—to destigmatize mental health, elevate wellness and save lives.

The entertainment industry is in a unique position to effect measurable change. Hollywood & Mind aims to create impactful opportunities for relevant stakeholders to come together and bring that change to life. Through our core tenets of Connection, Creation and Collaboration, we make impact both by facilitating mental health storytelling in the popular culture emanating from Hollywood, and elevating the wellbeing of professionals working across the industry. 

Dan Gillison CEO, NAMI

  • Creation

    Hollywood & Mind is identifying key gaps at the intersection of entertainment and mental wellness, and building solutions to fill them. The Guide, a comprehensive resource hub created for talent (and their teams) so they can optimize their decision to publicly share their mental health stories, launched in beta in summer 2023.

  • Connection

    The heart of our venture is bringing together stakeholders from across the entertainment industry and mental health purview for intersectional conversations that result in the establishment of best practices and new partnerships. We do this primarily through events:

    Hollywood & Mind Summit is our premier annual event that brings together a broad swath of executives, talent and thought leaders to discuss a range of topics. Our inaugural Summit in May 2023 featured Demi Lovato, Charlamagne Tha God, the heads of NAMI, Mental Health America and Project Healthy Minds, among others.

    Hollywood & Mind Spotlight gatherings feature conversations focused on a specific topic, industry, piece of work or art, or person.

    Hollywood & Mind Backstage events are explicitly off-the-record gatherings around the table for a small group of power players.

  • Collaboration

    Hollywood & Mind's unique position as a for-good, for-profit venture enables us to move quickly and open our doors to partner with thought leaders across every sector of the entertainment and brain health ecosystems, as well as optimize opportunities to funnel funds to organizations and companies.

2023 Summit Sizzle

2024 Summit Sizzle

2023 ‘spotlight on loneliness’ Sizzle

Applause For Our Events

OUR TEAM

CATHY APPLEFELD OLSON
Founder & Principal

Nick Berray
Digital Media Producer & Designer


Cathy is a veteran entertainment industry journalist, event producer and entrepreneur who is passionate about destigmatizing mental health. Through decades of reporting for publications including Forbes, Billboard, Cynopsis, Broadcasting & Cable and Multichannel News, she has had the opportunity to talk with both talent and industry executives about their own mental health struggles, approaches to solutions and ways in which the industry can make an impact. These exchanges coupled with conversations around her own kitchen table catalyzed her to launch Hollywood & Mind. As a Forbes contributor, she’s interviewed numerous culture influencers on the topic for her column including Michael Phelps, Jewel, Chris Olsen, Robin Williams’ son Zak Williams, W Kamau Bell, the team behind Wondermind, co-founded by Selena Gomez, Tinx, Naomi Raine, Bretman Rock, Al Roker, Rupi Kaur and many others.

Nick is a digital content creator and graphic designer who loves applying his visual design skills to tell stories. With a background in entertainment and advertising, he played a crucial role in establishing the unique style and branding of Hollywood & Mind. Through his work, Nick has discovered a newfound passion for mental health advocacy. He draws constant inspiration from the brilliant collaborators at Hollywood & Mind and is eager to further his growth as a designer while contributing to meaningful change in the mental health space.

ADVISORY COUNCIL

  • JOE BELLIOTTI

    SVP Brand Strategy, Mayflower Entertainment

    Bio
  • René Jones

    Chief of Social Impact & Partner, United Talent Agency (UTA)

    Bio
  • DEBORAH RADEL

    President, DRPR

    Bio
  • KELLE ROZELL

    Founder, Black Dollar Index & CMO, Color Of Change

    Bio
  • Jared Schoenfeld

    Founder & Principal, 4B Advisory

    Bio
  • VALERIE VAN GALDER

    CEO, Depressed Cake Shop

    Bio
  • ZAK WILLIAMS

    Entrepreneur, Investor & Mental Health Advocate

    Bio

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