Our Mission
We catalyze equitable investments, policies, and partnerships to ensure that those impacted by behavioral health challenges thrive.
Why We Exist
The prevalence and severity of behavioral health challenges facing our communities are growing, and the existing system is unable to meet the need. Where effective approaches and models exist, there is insufficient awareness, funding, and capacity to implement them. Where proven models don’t exist, we must reimagine them.
Our Vision
Our vision is a future where individuals at risk of or experiencing behavioral health challenges not only survive but thrive. We are committed to the prevention of behavioral health issues and ensuring that every individual has access to culturally relevant, high-quality services tailored to their unique needs when and where they need them.
Who We Serve
We advocate for the well-being of children and youth in under-resourced and historically marginalized communities through facilitating connections in philanthropy, policy, and communities. Knowing that mental health is strongly influenced by early experiences and the ecosystem surrounding children, we also consider the well-being of parents, caregivers, teachers, and communities at large.
Who We Are
We are a small team with diverse lived and professional experience who are passionate about improving behavioral health outcomes. Our work is guided by a growing Advisory Council made up of philanthropists, community advocates, and civic leaders.
Behavioral Health Catalyst is a fiscally sponsored project of Panorama Global.
Katherine Switz (she/her)
Executive Director
When Katherine was first hospitalized for bipolar disorder, she was greeted with the question, “What kind of insurance do you have?” In that moment, she was lucid enough to realize that she might get care that others wouldn’t. This experience fed her conviction that everyone should be able to live well regardless of behavioral health challenges.
Katherine believes deeply in the power of networks and their role in movement building — and recognizes the importance of them in improving behavioral health. She gets hope and inspiration from the collaborators across sectors she works with every day. As Executive Director of Behavioral Health Catalyst, she enjoys bringing people together to learn, collaborate, and ultimately act. Prior to the BH Catalyst, Katherine founded and led The Stability Network, a movement of people speaking out about their own mental health conditions. Katherine lives with her husband, Mark, and son, Ned, in Seattle. If you run into her, she loves to be asked about the latest book she is reading.
Jackie St. Louis (he/him)
Lead for Community Partnerships, Investments, and Strategies
In his role, Jackie is dedicated to leveraging his dual passions for community organizing and behavioral health system improvement. With a background in public administration, Jackie combines clinical expertise with systemic thinking to enhance behavioral health outcomes, especially for marginalized communities. His work strategically intersects racial equity, behavioral health, and public policy, aiming to foster collaborative relationships with community-based organizations, facilitate meaningful connections, and allocate funds to impactful initiatives.
Jackie is an advocate for social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusivity, ensuring that the voices of marginalized groups, including people of African & Indigenous descent, other persons of color, LGBTQI+, immigrants, and refugees, are not only heard but are also central to developing effective solutions. He is a community engagement innovator who works as an ally to amplify the voices of those with lived experiences in change-making initiatives. Jackie's commitment is driven by a vision where all individuals have the opportunity to live their healthiest, best lives.
Dana Boggess (she/her)
Director of Programs, Strategy, and Operations
When you meet Dana, she will tell you that behavioral health is at the root of everything we experience as modern humans. She looks at the world through the eyes of what “little Dana” would want, and envisions a future where children get the love and support they need to develop into secure, healthy, thriving adults living in connected communities. At Behavioral Health Catalyst, she has found her dream job — to collaborate with empathetic, dedicated people in Washington State in service of that vision. Dana leads in supporting the state's strategic plan for children and youth behavioral health, helps our Executive Director determine how Behavioral Health Catalyst can have the most impact, and manages our growing operations. Dana’s career has taken many turns, and she has consistently excelled at strategy, problem-solving, and bringing structure to ambiguity. In her free time, she enjoys spending time reading, traveling, and connecting with friends. She and her husband share their work-in-progress home with Olive — a stoic, nervous Catahoula Leopard Dog.
Julia Kemner (she/her)
Policy Program Manager
Julia knows that to achieve healthier, more resilient, and empowered communities, we must first ensure the wellness of all people in ways that center their individualized human and cultural needs. In her role as Policy Program Manager, Julia provides strategic support to the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Work Group, where she channels her passion for equitable, culturally competent, and collaborative approaches to behavioral health and systems building. In her past roles, she has led capacity-building for small-to-mid-sized nonprofit organizations, advised a network of global youth-led sustainable development organizations, and has served on community advisory boards to drive equitable partnership development. Julia is committed to finding creative ways to bring together diverse, empathetic, and brave people to solve challenging problems and redefine what interconnected communities look like. Having lived across the Midwest, East Coast, and not-so-far-away Scotland, Julia’s joy comes from solo travel and immersing herself in all the rich beauty the Pacific Northwest has to offer, whether on foot or in her trusty “adventure wagon.”
Rebecca Sanchez Lazer (she/they)
Community Program Manager
Rebecca believes in the power of connection, dialogue, and collective action to improve behavioral health outcomes. She aspires to build meaningful partnerships with individuals and organizations that are doing the work to improve behavioral health in their communities; she is grateful for the opportunity to learn from those who share their knowledge, expertise, and lived experience. Rebecca works with our philanthropic and community programs to catalyze collaboration, drive investment, and spread knowledge on effective behavioral health work happening in Washington State. Before coming to Behavioral Health Catalyst, she worked in social advocacy, including environmental policy and hate and bias incident response. Rebecca lives with her fiancé and two cats, and you can generally find her gardening, cooking, or reading. Rebecca lives with bipolar disorder.
Advisory Council
Lua Belgarde
Traditional Wellness Manager,
Chief Seattle Club
Stephan Blanford
Executive Director,
Children’s Alliance
Mark Fadool
Director, Soccer/Wellness;
Clinician
Cheryl Delostrinos
Social impact leader;
Former Director of Development at Young Women Empowered
Nick MacPhee
Founding philanthropist, BH Catalyst;
Former Corporate Executive and Nonprofit Leader
Kathy Surace-Smith
Corporate executive and philanthropist;
Former Co-Chair, BH Catalyst
Explore more
Learn more about our philanthropy, policy, and community work. Keep up with events, news, announcements, and updates.