What do you find most inspiring or powerful about VR? 

In a small hut with a metal roof and only three walls, the sounds of the howler monkeys and the soft beams of morning light coming through the cracks, the soft rustle of leaves and vines just outside, the smell of damp earth after one of the final rains before the dry season, I woke up with a sense of overwhelming peace in this little jungle community sworn to a week of sacred silence. I had the life-saving privilege of taking the time to slow down and heal my body, mind, and spirit. I was surrounded by the awe-inspiring beauty of nature, by trees filled with luscious fruits, with animals playing all around, with a gentle river to wash all my stresses away. I got to live with the kinds of people who wish you a happy solar return on your birthday, and dance by the light of the moon, drink medicinal cacao instead of coffee in the morning and sit in silent meditation every night under the starry sky. I got to deepen my mind-body connection through yoga practices, be uplifted by the primal energy of a sweat lodge,  release fear and pain through breathwork, and let go of self-judgment through free flowing dance. In this community, in this jungle, I was able to be truly present and truly grateful and feel truly connected to the Earth in a way I had always yearned for. I felt part of nature instead of apart from her. I felt safe… 

In a small bedroom in a regular house with a regular roof and regular walls, the sounds of birds and neighborhood cats, the rumble of the garbage truck, and traffic waft through the window. But sitting on an ordinary table in the corner I know there is a small device with the extraordinary power to take me anywhere. Back to the small hut with the metal roof and only three walls, back to warm sandy shores, back to mountain tops, and forests, and desert oases. Back to places I have never even been. Back to places that don’t even exist. Back to that feeling… safe. 

Why is a better future for mental healthcare important to you? 

Mental healthcare is healthcare. Period. And the healthcare system is broken.  

I have a lot of identities, I am an engineer by training, a product manager by profession, a sister and daughter by genetics, a patient to both physical and mental health practitioners, and most importantly a human. I believe that all humans deserve access to high-quality and compassionate mental healthcare, those who have been given a diagnosis and those who have not. I believe that mental healthcare, especially preventative mental healthcare has the potential to drastically impact human health outcomes. I want to live in a world where the norm is caring for our minds, learning to feel and process emotions, taking away the stigma of asking for help, understanding that neurodiversity is part of what makes us a species so beautiful and should be celebrated instead of hidden away. I want to live in a world where wealth, or lack thereof, education, or lack thereof, location, religious belief, age, gender, or sexual identity no longer prevent people from accessing the care they need and deserve. I also know that this world will never come just from wishing, it is a world we have to build with bricks made of compassion, respect, empathy, science, and technology. At BehaVR, I get to add a new facet to my multi-dimensional identity, I am one of many builders of this new world. 

What’s your superpower? 

Remembering bravery is far more important than confidence. Confidence gives you permission to do the things you already can do, repeat the feats you have already achieved with your head held high. But bravery tells you to take on the things that scare, to cross the starting lines of adventures that intimidate you, look failure in the eye and say “we meet again old friend” and then keep going anyway

What’s a hobby, habit or ritual that puts you at ease or strengthens your mental health? 

Hiking on beautiful trails, and lifting weights in dingy old gyms. Or maybe it’s just sweating since it is inevitable in both situations.