The Next Chapter: Three Years of Youth Digital Safety & Wellbeing at BeMe Health
November marked the end of my chapter at BeMe Health, where I proudly served as the Chief Youth Privacy & Policy Officer, Chief Youth Officer, and Head of BeMe Studios.
As one of BeMe's founding team members, I focused on teen trust and safety and teen mental health, particularly championing mental health awareness for teen boys, military teens, and Native American youth — communities that continue to need focused attention and support.
While three years of work can't be captured in a single post, here are some highlights that showcase the impact I'm most proud of:
Established Industry-Leading Teen Privacy and Safety Standards
I took the lead in creating comprehensive youth safety and policy frameworks:
💠Launched our Trust and Safety Center, Community Guidelines, Policy Center, and teen wellbeing policies, ensuring compliance with state and federal child privacy laws, including COPPA
💠Authored our Ethical Principles for Artificial Intelligence
💠Co-authored articles for the World Economic Forum, KidAware, and Joan Ganz Cooney Center
💠Oversaw our Child Safeguarding training program, including COPPA compliance training, required for every BeMe employee within the first 30 days of employment
💠Ensured product development with Privacy by Design, Wellness by Design, and Child Rights at its core features.
💠Established BeMe’s partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), implementing proactive safety measures and industry-leading protocols to protect youth from CSAM on our platform.
Building BeMe Studios from the Ground Up
Working alongside our talented creative, content, and clinical teams, I led the vision and development of BeMe Studios, where together we achieved:
💠Produced two successful podcasts, BeingMe: A Teen Mental Health Podcast and Teen Mind Matters, that resonated deeply with our teen audience on our social channels, Spotify, and in the BeMe App
💠Won two 2023 Signal Awards for "BeingMe: A Teen Mental Health Podcast"
💠Wrote and produced "Calm the Vote," our BeMe Originals series to help first-time voters cope with election stress
💠BeMe Studios created over 3,000 pieces of BeMe Originals content for BeMe TV. I provided creative input, cultural strategy, and editorial direction for our BeMe Originals.
💠Partnered with our BeMe Creators, like Juan Bendana, to create authentic, supportive media content that genuinely spoke to teens
💠I am proud to have launched BeMe TV — merging teen-driven Supportive Media™ content with clinical guidance to revolutionize mental health support — alongside building comprehensive youth safety frameworks.
BeMe Teen Advisory Board
One of my most meaningful contributions was centering authentic and diverse youth voices within BeMe:
💠Built our teen advisory program from scratch, recruiting exceptional young and diverse teen voices
💠Personally facilitated co-design sessions where teens shaped our app's development
💠Ensured teen perspectives were central to our product decisions, and we see the user as our core stakeholder. Through co-design sessions, they provide invaluable feedback on features and perspectives on youth mental health and technology
💠Our Teen Advisory Board members provide valuable feedback on how technology affects their mental health and how BeMe can better support and protect their privacy and wellness
Youth Impact Through Strategic Leadership
My role as Chief Youth Officer allowed me to:
💠Secure key partnerships with Rock the Vote, Song for Charlie, and National Fentanyl Awareness Day
💠Represent BeMe at the Behavioral Health Tech (BHT 2023) panel discussing teens, social media, and AI
💠Produced our Youth Culture and Policy Brief monthly and then quarterly.
💠Track children's privacy policy and legislation on teens, social media, and content moderation. At the state level, I tracked the Age-Appropriate Design Code legislation and dozens of other child safety bills. On the federal level, I tracked the KOSA and COPPA 2.0 legislation.
💠Write over 80 blog posts sharing our insights on teen mental health
💠Build an Industry Advisory Board featuring leading voices in kidtech, edtech, and youth culture
Looking Ahead
These past three years have transformed my understanding of how technology can support youth mental health. I'm particularly grateful to the product team—brilliant colleagues who have collaborated with me since day one to build something meaningful for teens.
I'm excited to bring my expertise in youth privacy, digital safety, policy, and engagement to new challenges. I'm passionate about innovating to make mental health support more accessible and relevant for all youth communities.
I'm open to discussing new opportunities where I can continue making an impact on youth mental health, teen content, and digital wellbeing.
Connect with me on LinkedIn or my website to explore potential collaborations.
