FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

After growing up with severe anxiety and firsthand experiencing the lack of mental health resources in schools, Tessa founded Upstream Education to ensure teachers have the tools to help their students reduce stress.

She received a B.S. in Social Entrepreneurship from the Watson Institute at Lynn University. Tessa also holds a 200 hour yoga teacher certificate from Strala Yoga. In 2016, Tessa won the Denver Public Schools Imaginarium Innovation Lab's Design Challenge for her idea to create a program of bite-sized, Tier 1 Mental Health tools for high school students. The following year, her first book, I Am Tessa, was published by One Idea Press. In 2021, Tessa delivered her first TEDx talk called “The Power of 5 Minutes for Youth Mental Health.”

Tessa is a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and 2024 Hopelab Young Innovator in Behavioral Health Awardee. In her spare time, Tessa loves to take The Class and explore Colorado with her husband. She lives in Boulder.

DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS

Gina has taught high school English for nearly a decade and discovered the power of social & emotional learning after embedding Upstream Education’s curriculum into her classroom culture.

She now serves as Upstream Education’s Director of Programs and brings a teacher’s perspective to curricular and professional development materials. In her free time, Gina loves to read, cook big family dinners, and get outside with her two sons, and dog. She is based in Traverse City, Michigan.

SCHOOL PROGRAMS & INNOVATION LEAD

Moriah has taught Humanities and Social Studies in middle and high school for several years, empowering students to learn from the past and shape the future. She’s used Upstream Education’s curriculum in her classroom for nearly 10 years and now serves as Upstream Education’s Special Projects Coordinator, supporting initiatives like the Student Task Force Summer Program. Outside of work, Moriah enjoys spending time with her family, baking gluten-free treats, and chatting with friends on the phone. She’s always ready to whip up something sweet or lend an ear—reaching “historical” levels of support one conversation at a time!  

FRACTIONAL CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

Chris is an experienced operations leader who scaffolds Upstream’s vision with scalable and resilient systems. A veteran entrepreneur and early stage business builder, Chris led disruptive digital marketing teams at The New York Times and Newsweek Magazine, founded and bootstrapped a digital product engineering and marketing agency, and served as COO of a high-growth mindful wellness company and a hardtech climate technology startup. He is based in Sea Cliff, NY.

PROGRAM OPERATIONS COORDINATOR

Mikaela has a background in adolescent mental health, with previous clinical roles at Children's Hospital Colorado, the Jefferson Center for Mental Health, and several Denver-area public schools. Through her experience supporting adolescents and their families navigate mental health challenges, she came to understand the powerful impact that social-emotional learning can have on student wellbeing. After implementing Upstream Education's curriculum in sessions with her students and seeing that impact firsthand, she was excited to join the team as Program Operations Coordinator. Outside of work, Mikaela loves cooking, reading, and spending time with her partner and cat, plus starting (if not always finishing) the occasional craft project. She lives in Denver.