Robert Segal, M.A.

CEO

Robert co-founded HelpGuide in 1999 and has been its leader as the organization evolved from a local Santa Monica Rotary Club project into one of the world’s top 10 mental health websites. Robert has over 60 years of experience in management and leadership. In 1955, he completed an innovative 5-year program to earn a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering. The next year, he became the Project Leader of a fast track missile simulator that was part of the U.S. missile defense system. Later, he developed a unique identification friend-or-foe (IFF) video processor for the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory that was patented under Robert’s name. He switched career paths in 1974 and earned an M.A. in Educational Psychology. In the late 1970s, Robert and his wife, Jeanne Segal, Ph.D., coordinated a groundbreaking series of holistic health conferences for the Association for Humanistic Psychology (AHP). In the 1980s, Robert began a successful career in commercial real estate development and management. Robert is very active in the Los Angeles nonprofit community, including nine years on the Board of Directors of the California Community Foundation and 34 years on the Board of Governors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Monica.

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Melinda Smith, M.A.

Executive Director

Melinda sets the strategic vision for HelpGuide, in collaboration with CEO Robert Segal, and oversees content operations and organizational outreach and development. She leads a diverse team of writers, editors, content producers, SEO experts, and web developers and has been a key driver in HelpGuide’s growth into an internationally-acclaimed website that reaches over 50 million people a year. She holds a B.A. in English and an M.A. in psychology.

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Ken Vader

Operations Manager and Lead Web Developer

Ken leads the web development team and manages the day-to-day operations of the HelpGuide team. He oversees the development of the website and manages HelpGuide’s IT group. Ken has a B.S. in Computer Science from Cal State Monterey Bay.

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Chris Saranchock

Creative Director and Producer

Chris creates and produces HelpGuide’s video content and audio meditations and oversees digital marketing. He has been a practicing Buddhist for over 20 years, and studied mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) at the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He holds a degree in business administration from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, as well as a certificate in cinema production.

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Lawrence Robinson

Senior Editor

Lawrence has over 20 years of experience writing about health and fitness. For the last 8 years, he’s been committed to bringing HelpGuide’s empowering message to more and more readers looking to overcome mental health challenges. He is also a published author and has edited several books on psychology.

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Savi Labensart

Executive Secretary

Savi Labensart supports HelpGuide with her skills in bookkeeping, personnel, and communications. Savi has been involved in the non-profit community for many years. She worked as Executive Secretary for the Rotary Club of Santa Monica from 2008 to 2021, and volunteered for the Santa Monica Junior Chamber of Commerce from 2011 to 2018, taking on the presidency in 2012. Savi leads a double life as a musician and vocalist with over 20 years in the music industry, including performance, recording, song writing, stage management, and music services.

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Kai Lundgren

Social Media Manager

Kai was born and raised in Dana Point, CA, and holds a B.A. in English from UCLA. As our resident social media maven, he is responsible for growing HelpGuide’s social media presence and engaging with our online community.

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Kisa Rozenbaoum

Illustrator

Kisa is a freelance illustrator and graphic designer. She currently studies at the Savannah College of Art and Design.

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Monika White, Ph.D.

Board Chair

Monika is a nationally recognized author and lecturer in the field of aging. Dr. White was the president and CEO of the Center for Healthy Aging and an adjunct professor of gerontology at the USC Davis School of Gerontology. She has concentrated her emphasis on care management for older adults and their families.

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Shirley Fredricks

Board Secretary and Treasurer

Shirley is a long-time trustee of the Lawrence Welk Family Foundation and a founding board member of the National Center for Family Philanthropy. Shirley has been engaged in virtually every important movement in the country to educate and inspire family foundations dedicated to supporting the public good.

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Stephanie Mihalas, Ph.D.

Board Member

Stephanie is a licensed and board certified psychologist, as well as a nationally certified school psychologist. She is the founder of The Center for Well Being in Los Angeles, CA. Mihalas provides psychotherapeutic services to children, teens, adults, and families; as well as parent, executive, organizational, and chronic wellness coaching. Her speciality areas include: bullying, trauma, anxiety, chronic illness/rare disease, intergenerational issues, and working with marginalized populations.

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Janice Burrill

Board Member

Janice is a trained attorney and recently retired as a senior wealth manager for Wells Fargo after more than 20 years, previously establishing and managing the Planned Giving Program of Loyola Marymount University. She has held multiple leadership positions on a wide variety of California nonprofit boards.

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Robert Segal, M.A.

CEO

Robert co-founded HelpGuide in 1999 and has been its leader as the organization evolved from a local Santa Monica Rotary Club project into one of the world’s top 10 mental health websites. Robert has over 60 years of experience in management and leadership. In 1955, he completed an innovative 5-year program to earn a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering. The next year, he became the Project Leader of a fast track missile simulator that was part of the U.S. missile defense system. Later, he developed a unique identification friend-or-foe (IFF) video processor for the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory that was patented under Robert’s name. He switched career paths in 1974 and earned an M.A. in Educational Psychology. In the late 1970s, Robert and his wife, Jeanne Segal, Ph.D., coordinated a groundbreaking series of holistic health conferences for the Association for Humanistic Psychology (AHP). In the 1980s, Robert began a successful career in commercial real estate development and management. Robert is very active in the Los Angeles nonprofit community, including nine years on the Board of Directors of the California Community Foundation and 34 years on the Board of Governors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Monica.

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Liz Bremner

Board Member

Liz is the co-founder and President of WiserGiving®, a free online toolkit designed to “make smart philanthropy simple.” For three decades, Liz has provided leadership for new and emerging philanthropic organizations. She has served as president of The Foundation Incubator in Palo Alto, California, president and CEO of the Santa Fe Community Foundation, and was founding executive director of the Los Angeles Women’s Foundation.

Liz has also served on the boards of directors of numerous nonprofits, including the Ms. Foundation for Women, ZeroDivide, Northern New Mexico Grantmakers, and Women and Philanthropy. Formerly she served on the Leadership and Mentoring Team of the Hopi Foundation, as a judge for Stanford University’s BASES Social E-Challenge business plan competition for social enterprises, L.A. Unified School District’s Commission on Sex Equity and co-authored a book on children’s gardening.

Bremner’s contributions have been honored with Full Circle Fund’s Full Impact Award, Women and Philanthropy’s LEAD Award, Women’s Funding Network’s “Changing Face of Philanthropy Award” and with commendations from the State of California, County and City of Los Angeles, and the City of Santa Fe.

A native of the Bay Area, Liz earned a bachelor’s degree in English at the University of California, Davis, and a master’s degree in management at University of Redlands. She resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico with her partner and three sons.

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