We are thrilled to celebrate those individuals and companies who are working to make a difference in youth mental health and suicide prevention. Read more about our JED Gala honorees and presenters below. Thank you!
This event is sold out!
About our host:
Savannah Sellers, Anchor, NBC News NOW; Co-Host, Stay Tuned; NBC News Correspondent
Savannah Sellers co-anchors Morning News NOW on NBC News’ streaming news network NBC News NOW, co-hosts Stay Tuned, NBC News’ flagship Gen Z news program on Snapchat and reports as a correspondent across NBC News.
Since joining NBC News, Sellers’ reporting has primarily focused on the trends and social issues impacting Gen Z and millennial audiences, from gun violence in America to climate change, internet culture and politics. Her headline-making exclusive interview with Anna Sorokin is just one example of the countless interviews she’s held with notable public figures, politicians, celebrities, athletes and more.
Sellers is the recipient of a News & Documentary Emmy for her work as a producer on the NBC Nightly News series “Hooked: America’s Heroin Epidemic.” She also received the 2022 Gracie Award for Online Video Host.
She is originally from San Diego and holds a degree in Broadcast News and International Media from the University of Colorado at Boulder’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
Awards
Phillip M. Satow, Former Chair of the Board, Co-founder & Board Chair Emeritus, The Jed Foundation
Phil Satow is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors of JDS Therapeutics, an innovative health care company in the nutritional supplement industry. Phil, in 2021 and 2024, and his son, Michael, sold divisions of the firm to a major private equity healthcare company and to Otsuka, a public Japanese pharmaceutical company. He was Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of JDS Pharmaceuticals LLC, which developed and marketed branded pharmaceutical products before it was acquired by Noven, a public pharmaceutical company, in 2007. Phil is the former President of Forest Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and former Executive Vice President and member of the Board of Directors of Forest Laboratories, Inc., its parent company. In addition to the Forest Laboratories Board, he was formerly a member of the Board of Directors of three other publicly traded pharmaceutical companies. Phil is also a past President of the Columbia College Alumni Association, a recipient of Columbia’s John Jay Award for Distinguished Professional Achievement and the Alexander Hamilton Award, the highest honor paid to a member of the Columbia College community.
He co-founded The Jed Foundation in 2000 with his wife Donna after the loss of their son, Jed. Phil has subsequently been an active member of the suicide prevention community serving for years as a Board Member of The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and as a former Co-chairman, with the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, of the suicide prevention taskforce which created, A Prioritized Research Agenda for Suicide Prevention: An Action Plan to Save Lives.
Trisha Ayyagari, Global Brand President, Maybelline New York
Trisha is the Global Brand President for the #1 makeup brand in the world, Maybelline New York. With 20 years of beauty industry experience, she continues to drive innovation and the brand evolution. In 2020, Trisha launched the brand’s cause "Brave Together" program with the mission to make mental health support accessible to all, moving forward a vision of empowerment within the beauty industry. She holds a BA from Babson College and an MBA from Columbia University.
Rick Yang, SVMHA High School Winner
Rick Yang (he/him/his) is a 17-year-old senior at Scarsdale High School in Scarsdale, New York and describes himself as a "mental health champion” who experienced feelings of isolation as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and virtual learning. He identifies as Chinese-American and has experienced the cultural struggles associated with help-seeking for mental health issues, prompting him to begin his advocacy work. He is the co-founder and CEO of Frontiers of Fulfillment, a nonprofit that impacts thousands of young people across 30 states by offering advocacy and lobbying workshops to ensure all voices are heard in local, state, and federal mental health policymaking. In his school community, Rick organized SchoolSight: A Comprehensive Mental Health Vision, an initiative that seeks to implement evidence-based mental well-being interventions throughout Westchester County, New York. Rick will attend Harvard University in the fall
Areli Rosales, SVMHA College Winner
Areli Rosales (she/her/hers) is a 20-year-old, first-generation college sophomore from El Paso, Texas studying psychology at the University of Texas at San Antonio and on a path toward master’s and doctoral degrees. Areli was raised in a Hispanic household by her immigrant mother and three sisters along the United States-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, while her father was imprisoned, and mental health was rarely discussed. A sexual assault and suicide attempt survivor, she found strength in her struggles and founded KeepInMind, a nonprofit dedicated to improving mental health awareness by offering support groups and weekly workshops across her campus. Along with being a mental health advocate, Areli is also a podcast host, writer, and short-film producer. On campus, she is committed to raising awareness about sexual violence and providing resources and education to teens, families, and educators by contributing to the development of a national mental health and wellness curriculum.
Presenters
John MacPhee, CEO, The Jed Foundation
John serves as the CEO of The Jed Foundation (JED), a leading nonprofit organization that protects emotional health and prevents suicide for teens and young adults. JED works across the country helping youth, families, schools, and community organizations to take actions to support youth mental health and reduce risks for suicide. Passionate about supporting young adults in their transition to adulthood, John advises several organizations including the S. Jay Levy Fellowship for Future Leaders at City College, Trek Medics, Opera Ebony, the Health Policy and Management Department at the Mailman School of Public Health, and HIV Hero.
Earlier in his career, he served in executive positions and board roles for several pharmaceutical companies, where he oversaw functions such as business development, alliance management, clinical development, regulatory affairs, and commercial operations.
John is a recipient of The Allan Rosenfield Alumni Award for Excellence in the field of public health from the Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. He earned a BA from Columbia College, an MBA from New York University, and an MPH from Columbia University.
Dr. Laura Erickson-Schroth, Chief Medical Officer, The Jed Foundation
Laura is committed to improving mental health through education and resource creation. She provides guidance on how individuals, families, schools, communities, media, and other youth-serving organizations can take actions to protect mental health and prevent suicide, and ensures that all JED content is evidence-based. Before JED, she provided crisis intervention and mental health support to patients in New York City emergency rooms, including as an attending psychiatrist and associate professor at the Columbia University Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program. Her career has focused on LGBTQ mental health, and she continues to see clients at Hetrick-Martin Institute for LGBTQIA+ Youth. Laura obtained her medical degree from Dartmouth Medical School. She completed a psychiatry residency at New York University, public psychiatry fellowship at Columbia University, and consultation-liaison psychiatry fellowship at Mount Sinai.
Performers
Jenn Colella
Jenn Colella is currently starring in “SUFFS” the musical as Carrie Chapman Catt on Broadway, for which she garnered a Drama League Award nomination for Most Distinguished Performer. Jenn starred in the Tony Award-winning musical “Come From Away” as Captain Beverley Bass in a performance that garnered her 2017 Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards and a 2017 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Jenn won a Grammy Award for her work on the “Dear Evan Hansen” cast recording. She has been previously seen in multiple other Broadway and Off-Broadway productions and has garnered TV credits including "Feed the Beast," "Elementary," "All My Children," "Rescue Me," "The Good Wife," and more. She can be seen on in the 2008 film “Uncertainty” and stars in the live capture film “Come From Away” on Apple TV+. She has taught master classes worldwide and is currently teaching the grad actors at Columbia University. Jenn is an MFA acting graduate of UC Irvine.
Young People's Chorus
Young People’s Chorus of New York City (YPC) is a multicultural youth chorus internationally renowned for its superb virtuosity and brilliant showmanship. It was founded on a mission of diversity and artistic excellence in 1988 by Artistic Director Francisco J. Núñez, a MacArthur Fellow and Musical America’s 2018 Educator of the Year. Elizabeth Núñez serves as YPC Creative Director, conductor, choral clinician, soloist, and founding Artistic Director of the SoHarmoniums Women’s Choir. Together, they now oversee one of the highest acclaimed choruses in the world, serving more than 2,000 children in 20 schools throughout New York City in its core after-school performance program, community choruses program, and schools program. YPC was the first American chorus to win first prize in the history of the European Broadcasting Union’s Let the Peoples Sing choral competition; the first youth chorus to open Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival; and the first North American chorus to be named “Choir of the World” in 2018 at the International Choral Kathaumixw.
Liam Pearce
Liam Pearce (He/Him/His) made his Broadway debut last fall in the new musical How to Dance in Ohio (Drama Desk Award Nominee), which he had been working on for two years prior. Regionally he has performed in Rent at Papermill Playhouse, and Legally Blonde at the Muny. All the love in the world to his chosen family of friends in NYC and around the country. Graduate of Pace University with a BFA in Musical Theatre.
Thomas Robert Kitt
Thomas Robert Kitt is an American composer, conductor, orchestrator, and musician. For his score for the musical Next to Normal, he shared the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama with Brian Yorkey.He has also won two Tony Awards and an Outer Critics Circle Award for Next to Normal, as well as Tony and Outer Critics Circle nominations for If/Then and SpongeBob SquarePants. He has been nominated for eight Drama Desk Awards, winning one, and a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album for Jagged Little Pill in 2021.
Support JED
Unable to attend our 2024 gala, consider donating to The Jed Foundation and support youth mental health.
Thank You To Our Gala Supporters
Partner
Hogan Lovells; Jed David Satow Family Foundation; Maybelline New York; William Meury; Pharmavite; Nancy and Fred Poses; Corinne and Robert Rooney
Sponsor
The Crimson Lion / Lavine Family Foundation; Cindy and Joe Gregory; Lynn and Robert Johnston; Jolene McCaw Family Foundation; Karen Ling; Andrea and Tom Mendell; Cheryl and Philip Milstein; Kayla and Richard Pechter; Barbara & Michael Satow;
Patron
Allianz; Celeste and Wendell Birkhofer; Susan and Jonathan Bram; Bristol Myers Squibb; Margaret Jan and Alex Chi; Julie Satow and Stuart Elliott; GradGuard; Melanie and Matthew Lippman; Morgan Stanley; Ella Foshay and Michael Rothfeld; Patty and Doug Sacks; Sarah and David Solomon;
Supporter
AbbVie, Inc.; Jurate Kazickas and Roger Altman; Alvarez & Marsal; Janice and Robert Anestis; The Bausch Foundation; Calcium + Company; The Centene Foundation; Computero; Karen and Michael Donovan; EBA Foundation; GeneDX; Golieb Family Foundation; Shelly London and Larry Kanter; Finn Partners; Peter R. & Cynthia K. Kellogg Foundation; Kenvue; Leslie and Michael Koby; Daniel and Randi Kreisler and Family; Rita and Larry Lieberman; Lundbeck; Nora and Marc Mazur; Medscape; MTV Networks; National Basketball Association; Saint Laurent, Cassandra and Lukas Spiss; Stern; Stern Family Philanthropic Foundation; Jane & Leopold Swergold; KyleCares; Victoria’s Secret/PINK; William Hood & Company; Lisa and Richard Witten
Contributions
Gerard Azzari; Jeanne Andlinger; Cory Aronstam; Kathy and Timothy Balconi; Lisa and David Carnoy; Central Synagogue; Columbia College; Ed Coller; CVS Health; Alyssa Dweck; Beth and Rob Elliott; Genine Fidler; Mimi and Ed; Fiorentino; Andrea Flink; Alice and Trip Gabriel; Galen Partners; Michael Gould; Carol Ostrow and Michael Graff; Angela and William Haines; Mary Ellen & Gates Hawn; Susan and Bill Hazelton; Alison & John Henderson; The Howard & Sarah D. Solomon Foundation; Thomas Insel; Janis and Paul Jarosz; Ann and Bruce Kaplan; Christopher Kosseff; Joan Mirviss & Robert Levine; Kyle Ambrogi Foundation; Louise D. and Morton J. Macks Family Foundation, Inc; Juliana and Jonathan May; Rhonda Mims; Kassie and Carlos Muñoz; Esther Muller; Sheila Nevins; Heather Paley; Joni Evans and Robert Perkins; Dorothy and Charles Plohn, Jr.; Marian Pollack; The Pomeranc Family and Sixty Hotels Group; Gary Rachelefsky; Michele Rechler; Marcia Resnick; Tobi and David Rispoli; Kerry Rubinstein; Jay Scheinberg; Barrie Mandel & Harvey Schneier; Jill & Howard Sharfstein; Anahaita Kotval & Zubeen Shroff; Roz Sky; Sonny Stafford; Kyra Barry and James Valentini; Dawn and Scott Walters; Roberta Satow and Richard Wool