Tom lnsel, MD

Tom lnsel, MD, is a psychiatrist and neuroscientist has been a national leader in mental health research, policy, and technology.

From 2002-2015, Dr. Insel served as Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). From 2015 – 2017, he led the Mental Health Team at Verily (formerly Google Life Sciences) in South San Francisco, CA. In 2017, he co-founded Mindstrong Health, a Silicon Valley start-up building tools for people with serious mental illness. 

Since May of 2019, Dr. Insel has been a special advisor to California Governor Gavin Newsom and Chair of the Board of the Steinberg Institute in Sacramento, California.

In 2020, he co-founded Humanest Care, a therapeutic online community for recovery. Dr. Insel also co-founded Vanna Health in 2022 and currently serves as Executive Chair. Vanna Health is focused on the needs of people with serious mental illness and works with community partners to provide the 3 Ps (people, place, and purpose) for recovery.

He is the author of the book Healing: Our Path from Mental Illness to Mental Health, published by Penguin Random House. With journalist co-founders, he recently launched MindSite News (mindsitenews.org), a non-profit digital publication focused on mental health issues.

Dr. Insel is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and has received numerous national and international awards, including honorary degrees in the U.S. and Europe.