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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.
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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.
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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.
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
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Joe Belliotti
SVP Brand Strategy, Mayflower Entertainment
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JohnMark Conklin
VP, Communications, Publicis Groupe's MSLGroup
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René Jones
Chief of Social Impact & Partner, United Talent Agency (UTA)
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Deborah Radel
President, DRPR
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Kelle Rozell
Founder, Black Dollar Index & CMO, Color Of Change
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Jared Schoenfeld
Founder & Principal, 4B Advisory
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Valerie Van Galder
CEO, Depressed Cake Shop
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Zak Williams
Entrepreneur, Investor & Mental Health Advocate