NECBHN Annual Conference 2026
What’s Next for the Children’s Behavioral Health Workforce?
Care, Technology and Community
Tuesday September 15, 2026
9:00am - 5:00pm
Wesleyan University, Connecticut
Join national and regional thought leaders to advance solutions for how we can use technology and new models to reimagine behavioral healthcare for children and families across New England…
See our Agenda & Meet our Speakers
Keynote - The Next Decade of Providing Behavioral Health Care
Tom Insel, M.D, psychiatrist and neuroscientist
Tom lnsel, M.D., 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). More recently (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.
Dr. Insel 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. In 2020, he co-founded Humanest Care, a therapeutic online community for recovery. 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. 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.
Session 1 - Big Ideas: Workforce Innovation
In this series of rapid-fire talks, leading thinkers on the behavioral health workforce share ideas for how we can deliver more care and meet children’s needs with the workforce we have.
Speakers:
Laura Bond, PhD, MA, Senior Program Manager, Mental Health for All Lab, Harvard Medical School
Jennifer B Freeman, PhD, Director, Pediatric Anxiety Research Center (PARC), Associate Director of Research, Bradley Hospital
Elizabeth Morrison, CEO & Co-Creator, Lay Counselor Academy
Session 2 - Panel: What Do We Mean by Workforce?
This panel will provide an overview of the current children’s behavioral health workforce landscape across New England, highlighting data and priorities identified by behavioral health workforce centers throughout the region. The session will ground the day’s discussions in a shared understanding of what we know, what gaps remain in our knowledge, and what the workforce may need to look like to meet future behavioral health needs for children and families.
Speakers:
Amy Doyle, MSW, MPH, Director, Massachusetts Health Policy Commission
Aleece Kelly, MPP, Director of System Development Policy, Child Health and Development Institute
Moderator: Sarah Eagan, JD, Executive Director, Center for Children’s Advovacy
Session 3 - Panel: How Is Technology Changing the Workforce?
This panel will explore how technology is changing how behavioral health care is delivered. Speakers will talk about the impact of technology, how we pay for technology-enabled care, and the impact on the existing workforce.
Speakers:
Craig Lund, Co-Founder, CEO, Mightier
Joshua Kemp, Clinical Psychologist & Innovation Officer
Hafeezah Muhammed, CEO, Backpack Healthcare
Moderator: Jason Lang, PhD, Chief Program Officer, Child Health and Development Institute