Meet the Team

Samantha Wettje, Ed.M.

Samantha is the Co-Founder of 16 Strong Project and an adolescent mental well-being advocate. She created the 16 Strong Project in 2017 in response to what she experienced as a young person, living with a mentally ill and addicted parent, struggling to find answers and understand what was happening in her life. It wasn’t until she finished college, and shared her story with many of her friends, that she realized that she was not the only one, and that what happened to her mattered. So many times people do not realize they are not alone or that what they are experiencing has a name. Determined to ensure that the next generation of youth is equipped to handle their adversity, and not suffer in silence, Samantha created a program to empower resilience to adverse childhood experiences, because she believes what happens to all of us matters.

Samantha has an Ed.M. in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard University and a B.S.in Financial Economics from Binghamton University. Samantha also serves as a mentor for the Youth Commission to the Committee on Gang Prevention and Intervention in San Diego and as a member of the New Jersey ACEs Coalition. In addition to her work with the 16 Strong Project, Samantha previously worked with the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s EASEL Lab for social-emotional learning where she is a co-author on the Navigating SEL From the Inside Out guides published in 2021 and 2022 in partnership with the Wallace Foundation. She currently works for the Morgan Stanley Foundation which focuses on youth health with a specific emphasis on youth mental health.

Samantha is an avid traveler, exercise enthusiast, sports junkie, loves music, reading, ice cream, her cat Boots, and most of all, the New York Mets.

Donna Wettje, MBA

Donna Wettje is a Co-Founder of 16 Strong Project and a lifelong advocate for ensuring every person’s voice is heard.

Donna works with her daughter, Samantha, to raise the collective voice of adolescents in an effort to ensure that young people recognize and resist the negative impact of adverse childhood experiences and break the cycle of generational trauma. Under Donna’s guidance, The 16 Strong Project has connected with thousands of young people across the globe, developed proactive youth-based mental health programming and launched an innovative peer-to-peer adversity resilience model. She is a tireless advocate with nearly thirty years of experience helping young people on their path to speak their truth and be heard.

Dana brown

Dana Brown is the ACEs Science Statewide Facilitator, Learn4Life and PACEs Connection Organizational Liaison, and Executive Director of Youth Voice. A social entrepreneur, Dana founded a character development program at Tierrasanta Elementary in San Diego, CA; co-founded OurSOLES (Our Students of Leadership ~ Empowerment ~ Service), founded Youth Leadership TICS (Trauma-Informed Community Schools) and Youth Leadership with McGill School of Success. Dana is a Commissioner on the City of San Diego Commission on Gang Prevention & Intervention and Chair of the Youth Committee., co-chair of the San Diego Trauma-Informed Guide Team , on the Advisory Council of the University of San Diego’s Character Development Center, the steering committee of the Clinton Health Matters Initiative, Strong Families, Thriving Communities, and the leadership team of the Southern California Warrior Spirit with Indigenous communities. An author, Hidden Treasures, Ms. Brown has received many awards over the years, including, the Joy McAllister Advocacy Award from Mental Health America in 2014, President Obama’s USA Volunteer Presidential Award in 2013 (with San Diego Compassion Project), and the City of San Diego’s Human Relations Commission Award in 2009. 

Kathleen Dwyer

Kathleen is our Board Vice President and Education Director. Kathleen recently retired after spending 30 years in the classroom teaching English at high school and college level in the suburbs of NYC. Her involvement with and dedication to the 16 Strong Project was sparked by Clarkstown alumnus and 16 Strong Co-Founder, Samantha Wettje’s, meaningful work with her Assets Leadership course, wherein Samantha impressively conducted lessons involving ACEs and how to identify and mitigate them. This acted as a springboard for Kathleen’s desire to focus on incorporating ACEs activities into her courses.  Kathleen has developed curriculum resources for 16 Strong Project that help students to tell their stories as a means to successfully identify, navigate, and mitigate the circumstances of their lives.  She will continue to use her educational background and professional experience to focus on program development and curriculum design to increase 16 Strong’s impact in educational settings..  She is eager to continue building inclusive and engaging programs that support the emotional well-being of adolescents. Kathleen is active in community service, a member of her parish council, a voracious reader, movie enthusiast, college basketball superfan, and she enjoys spending time with her wonderful husband, children, family, friends, and dog.

Karen Allen

Karen Allen has been an educator for over 20 years in the San Francisco Bay Area. She began her career as a high school French and English teacher. After over 10 years in the classroom, Karen shifted her focus to supporting teachers as a curriculum specialist working with English Language Arts teachers, and then later as School Principal in Alternative Education programs. For the past several years Karen served as the Coordinator for the Marin County Office of Education’s Foster and Homeless Youth Education programs. As the National Education Director for Brighten Leaning, she has had the enormous pleasure of bringing professional learning opportunities to teachers, administrators, school district and county office support staff, parents, and community partners. Karen is committed to sharing meaningful strategies and to helping increase knowledge around trauma informed care; restorative practices; social emotional learning; strengths-based practices; and shares a plentitude of effective strategies that lead to positive outcomes and success.

Jordan Andrew

Determined to turn his experiences as a young carer of a disabled sibling into his ‘superpower,’ Jordan has dedicated himself to advocating for young people often overlooked by society. Since he was young, Jordan has worked to dismantle the social barriers that stigmatize disabled children in the UK. While studying at the University of Cambridge, Jordan’s dissertation became the first UK-based study to combine photo-taking and interviews to explore resilience in siblings of disabled children. Graduating with five academic prizes in psychology, Jordan continued to advocate for young carers, presenting his work at neuro-disability forums at schools and hospitals across London. Jordan later graduated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where he led two impactful photography advocacy projects: one focused on the experiences of Black boys with autism, and another on children with learning and behavioral differences. Moving forward, Jordan aims to build transatlantic relationships between 'invisible' children in the US and the UK, creating shared opportunities for empowerment and change. In his free time, Jordan enjoys running, swimming, and cooking/baking.

Christina Hamdan

Christina is a Speech-Language Pathologist (M.S., CCC-SLP TSSLD) in the New York City Department of Education and has been a mental health advocate for the greater duration of her academic and professional career. She is a graduate of the University of Delaware, where she was an active member of a community dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide. Christina has collaborated with several non-profit organizations to encourage, inform, and inspire conversations surrounding mental health. Through 16 Strong Project, she has introduced youth in the NYC public school system to the importance of mental health education and resilience to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). These experiences and Christina’s willingness to share personal experiences about her mental health has played a pivotal role in her growth and healing. 

In her free time, Christina enjoys creating art, playing sports, drinking coffee, chasing sunsets, and spending time with loved ones.

Jiwen Fan

Jiwen Fan, a researcher at Harvard Graduate School of Education, specializes in adolescent bullying and empowerment. Her journey, rooted in personal challenges faced during high school, has fueled a profound interest in understanding and preventing school violence. With a robust educational theory background from Trinity College, where she also minored in film studies, her current focus lies in the cultural and societal dynamics of bullying. Her research aims to develop inclusive strategies to combat bullying and create supportive educational environments. Beyond academia, she is committed to providing practical solutions for schools and communities. She is actively involved with the 16 Strong Project's Advocacy Board, offering online resources and support and integrating her passion for film studies to enhance her advocacy and educational outreach. In her free time, she enjoys capturing life's beautiful moments through photography and delving into the study of fragrances, finding tranquility and harmony in these pursuits.

Amelia McCarthy

Amelia McCarthy is a Master of Public Health candidate at the Boston University School of Public Health, concentrating in Health Policy and Law. She is deeply committed to advancing health equity, with a particular focus on expanding access to health resources, tools, and supportive networks for marginalized populations. She is passionate about youth mental health and is dedicated to creating inclusive, empowering spaces where children can feel confident, creative, and in control of their well-being. With a background as a two-sport collegiate athlete, she is especially interested in the intersection of mental health and athletics. Outside of her academic work, she enjoys running, hiking, skiing, and drinking coffee! 

Brittney Cross

Brittney Cross is a graduate of The George Washington University, where she received her Bachelor's in Economics and Public Health in 2022. She is passionate about how to address mental health issues at the population level and scaling solutions to help people live to their fullest potential. Within the mental health sphere, she is interested in how mind-body practices can cultivate healing, mental health equity, environmental determinants of mental health, and technological determinants of mental health. She is excited to be a part of 16 Strong's work as a Youth Engagement Specialist to empower adolescents on how they can best educate their communities on ACEs and be mental health ambassadors for their peers. 

Skylah Nix

Skylah Nix is a full time student at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She is currently majoring in Criminology and minoring in Counseling. She plans on becoming a crime scene investigator in the future. Skylah is a part of the Apple Corps program at John Jay and she discovered the 16 Strong Project while searching for community service sites to fulfill her program requirement. Throughout her time with 16 Strong, Skylah discovered her passion for advocating for ACE’s and Mental Health. She loved being able to talk about and give advice to the public about Childhood Adversities and how they can seek help. In her free time Skylah likes to run and make purses out of rubber bands.

Tea Anzur

Tea Anzur was born and raised in Serbia, Belgrade. Tea is a former student-athlete and rower who is passionate about community leadership, resilience, and mental health awareness. Tea received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she studied the connections between performance, wellbeing, and personal growth in both the classroom and on the water. As an athlete in the UMass rowing program, Tea experienced firsthand the value of teamwork, determination, and mental toughness. She gained a profound understanding of the impact mental health has on both overall quality of life and athletic performance as a result of juggling intense academic work with the demanding schedule of a Division I sport. These experiences ignited a desire to help people, particularly young athletes, deal with the demands of high performance. With a background in psychological science and personal experience as a student-athlete, Tea offers a realistic, sympathetic, and inspiring viewpoint. She is dedicated to fostering resilience, lowering stigma, and enabling young people to lay solid mental health foundations. Through community involvement, storytelling, or peer mentoring, Tea aims to support others in discovering strength in vulnerability and trust in their capacity to succeed. 

Avery Appling

Avery Appling is a Junior at New York University studying Social Work with concentrations in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Studies and Creative Writing. She is extremely passionate about youth mental health, specifically childhood trauma and LGBTQ+ youth. Following the completion of her bachelor’s degree, she will jointly pursue her MSW and LCSW, with which she plans to work directly with adolescents through clinical practice and trauma-informed care. She is currently involved as a curriculum researcher and developer for the company Your Cooper, which connects thousands of parents and children to various resources and communities that best fit their parenting needs. Furthermore, she worked previously as a Membership Services Intern for The Door - A Center of Alternatives, where she engaged with youth aged 12-24 by conducting intake counseling sessions for new members. She is eager to bring her years of experience working with adolescents to 16 Strong as an intern. Outside of her academic and professional life, she enjoys reading, writing, cycling, hiking, and walking her dog. 

Audrey Henson

Audrey Henson is a student at Binghamton University majoring in psychology, with minors in Health & Wellness Studies, Public Health, and Global Studies. As an adoptee from China who faced various ACEs throughout her childhood, she was driven to join The 16 Strong Project and advocate for its resilience-driven mission. Despite experiencing adversity as a child, Audrey has grown to overcome her past and fight for 16 strong hours of each new day. She is passionate about helping other children and adults recognize they too possess the strength to overcome what has hurt them, day by day. In her future career, she plans to attend graduate school for psychology and work with clients experiencing maladaptive attachment styles brought on by childhood adversity, such as adoption, divorce, and domestic abuse. Audrey is very excited to be joining 16 Strong as a Youth Mental Health Programming Intern, working closely with fellow college students to develop creative, youth-oriented digital media campaigns! 

Stella Tatulli

Stella Tatulli is a freshman at Michigan State University studying Psychology with dual minors in Human Behavior and Social Services and Health Promotion. Stella has a passion for advocacy, specifically related to mental health. Her general professional interest is in improving the lives of others, and she hopes to pursue a path in social services either as a counselor or social worker. Stella has taken strides to destigmatize mental health and improve well-being in her community through the Student Mental Health Committee at Novi High School, as a student advocate on the Novi Community Wellness Center Planning Committee, and through the development of a Happiness Project at MSU. In her personal life, Stella is an avid reader, likes going to the gym, going to concerts, and spending time with her two dogs. Stella believes strongly that empathy is our greatest resource and is committed to advancing conversations about mental health.

Kaycelle Belgado

Kaycelle is an undergraduate senior at CUNY Hunter College studying Psychology and Media Studies. She is passionate about creating educational content destigmatizing, spreading awareness, and advocating for mental health in the youth especially in Asian-American communities. She has prior experience working with children in summer camps as a camp counselor assistant and working in social media, marketing, and graphic design at a local news media company and at various clubs at Hunter College. She has big aspirations of pursuing a career in Youth Mental Health Counseling while doing freelance educational media content on the side. On her free time, she loves playing the ukulele, guitar, drawing, singing, making videos, arts and crafts, and spending time with friends and family. She is excited to join the 16 Strong team and hopes to gain further experiences in uplifting and helping others understand mental health issues revolving around the youth through media.

Yara Ahmed

Yara (any pronouns) is a Junior at Boston University studying Psychology and Cinema & Media Studies. She is currently researching substance use disorder (SUD) and is planning to focus on its impact on motivation and habit formation. Besides that she is an advocate for mental health resources and financial support especially for low-income and queer individuals and is passionate about creating creative resources to help younger people with understanding their experiences. Outside of classes, she enjoys watching films, birding around the city, and baking banana bread with her friends!

Cecilia Jiang

Cecilia Jiang is a junior at New York University majoring in Psychology with a minor in Child and Adolescent Mental Health. She is a dedicated mental health advocate committed to supporting children and underrepresented communities.

As a member of the 16 Strong Project, Cecilia promotes awareness of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and the importance of early intervention. Her work is grounded in a trauma-informed perspective and a deep interest in how early life experiences shape emotional development and long-term well-being. She aspires to pursue a career in child-centered therapy, supporting young people as they navigate emotional and developmental challenges.

Cecilia’s experience includes contributing to psychological research examining the effects of music therapy on reducing emotional distress among individuals facing health-related challenges.

In her free time, she enjoys reading, photography, and painting.

Kennedy Brown

Kennedy Brown is a student at the University of Miami majoring in Global Health Studies with a minor in Psychology. She is deeply passionate about mental health advocacy and amplifying the voices of underrepresented minority communities and women. This commitment is reflected in her leadership as a peer educator for C.O.P.E. (Counseling Outreach Peer Education), her internship at the University of Miami School of Medicine, involvement with 16 Strong, and her leadership within the Multicultural Students Association (MSA). In all of her efforts, she works collaboratively to reduce mental health stigma and promote health equity and wellness across diverse populations.

Kennedy is pursuing a medical career focused on clinical mental health and strives to provide effective, patient-centered care that addresses the unique needs of the individual. In her free time, Kennedy loves staying active, enjoys trying new activities and foods, and spending quality time with animals and loved ones.