Child Mind Institute Raises More Than $600,000 At Its Annual Bay Area Fall Luncheon

New York Times bestselling author, Jennifer Wallace, told families how to avoid burnout and overcome “toxic achievement culture”

San Mateo, CA – The Child Mind Institute hosted its 2024 Fall Luncheon and panel discussion on Thursday, September 12 at the Sharon Heights Golf and Country Club in Menlo Park. The annual event raised more than $600,000 to help support youth and families struggling with mental health and learning disorders in California.

Moderated by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, an outspoken advocate for youth mental health and First Partner of California, the discussion centered on how the constant push to perform takes a toll on our children’s mental health. Award-winning journalist, author, and mom of three Jennifer Wallace shared insights on how parents can help children value themselves from her book, Never Enough: When Achievement Pressure Becomes Toxic – and What We Can Do About It.

“This is an issue that won’t go away anytime soon,” said Dr. Harold Koplewicz, President and Medical Director of the Child Mind Institute. “At the Child Mind Institute, we see parents and their kids come up against this toxic achievement culture and try to help them cultivate a healthy approach to school, extracurriculars, and online communities. We’re thrilled to be able to bring an expert like Jennifer Wallace to our community.”

Wallace was joined by Dr. Omar Gudiño, Deputy Clinical Director and Senior Psychologist at the Child Mind Institute, San Francisco Bay Area. Dr. Gudiño has dedicated his career to advancing evidence-based and culturally responsive services to meet the needs of children, families, and communities—and is a board-certified child and adolescent psychologist with particular expertise in anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and trauma- and stress-related disorders.

The Child Mind Institute is dedicated to transforming the lives of children and families struggling with mental health and learning disorders. It also supports youth mental health fitness through initiatives such as the California Healthy Minds, Thriving Kids Project, and helps build the mental health workforce of tomorrow through mentorship programs like the Youth Mental Health Academy.

Luncheon co-chairs included Devon Briger, Lisa Domenico Brooke, Abby Durban, Kristin Noto, and Linnea Roberts. The host committee included Megan and Harris Barton, Karen and Ronnie Lott, Jennifer Sills, and Danna and Alex Slusky.

About the Child Mind Institute

We are the leading independent nonprofit in children’s mental health providing gold-standard, evidence-based care, delivering educational resources to millions of families each year, training educators in underserved communities, and developing open science initiatives and tomorrow’s breakthrough treatments.

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For press questions, contact our press team at childmindinstitute@ssmandl.com or our media officer at mediaoffice@childmind.org.