Meet the ADAA Team

Susan K. Gurley
Executive Director

Susan is the Executive Director of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), a non-profit international mental health association. She is a lawyer and advocate with 25 years of leadership experience working in the mental health and access to justice fields, international development and legal reform, and higher education administration.

Prior to joining ADAA, Susan held senior-level positions in several U.S. government agencies, such as the United States Agency for International Development, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Susan served as both the Assistant Dean for International and Graduate Programs, at the Georgetown University School of Law and as an Adjunct Faculty Member. While at Georgetown she created the International Human Rights and National Security Law Certificate Programs. Susan also worked as the Deputy Executive Director of Equal Justice Works, and as the Director of Legal Reform at the East West Management Institute (EWMI), where she managed several overseas offices, created EWMI’s first land reform program, and expanded programming to Asia. She also ran the Association of Corporate Business Travel Executives, where she opened the association’s first office in Latin America and testified before Congress on privacy issues.

Susan has extensive non-profit Board experience. She has served on the Boards of Film Aid International, on the Board of the Conflict Resolution Center of Montgomery County, and currently serves on the Executive Committee of the International Executive Service Corps (IESC). She is also a member of the Board of Directors of INMED Partnerships for Children and serves on the Advisory Committee for Her Wealth, an organization promoting financial literacy for women.

Over the past five years, she has served as a technical expert volunteer on capacity building projects in Cambodia, Philippines, and Tanzania. For her volunteer work, she has been awarded the Frank Pace award by IESC as well as the 2020 Innovator of the Year award by USAID’s Farmer- to- Farmer program.

Susan is a Phi Beta Kappa and received her law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law and is a member of the Virginia Bar. Susan has worked in 30+ countries and speaks French, German, and Hungarian.

Lise Bram
Deputy Executive Director

Lise is a mission-driven marketing and communications professional with many years of private sector and non-profit experience designing and implementing successful marketing and communication strategie that grow impact, build communities, and support meaningful work.

Prior to joining ADAA, Lise worked at the Association of People Supporting Employment First (APSE) as the Marketing and Communications Director. While at APSE, Lise was responsible for enhancing and expanding marketing and communications to diversify revenue streams, grow membership, accreditation and other business models.

Lise also spent 14 years as the Chief Marketing Officer at the Jewish Social Service Agency (JSSA) where she designed, developed and implemented the metro-DC nonprofit agency's internal and external marketing and communication strategies. She earned her BA degree in art history from McGill University, Montreal, Quebec and her MA from the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, England.

Stephen M. Strakowski, MD
Editor-in-Chief, ADAA Journal of Mood & Anxiety Disorders ®

Stephen M. Strakowski, MD, is the Professor and Vice Chair, Research of Psychiatry at Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM). He also serves as Professor of Psychiatry and Associate Vice President, Regional Mental Health at the Dell Medical School, University of Texas in Austin. Previously he served as Vice Dean for Research at Dell Medical School and the University of Cincinnati; at the latter, he also served as Senior Vice President of Strategy. He is the Treasurer for the National Network of Depression Centers, and Director of Strategy for the American Brain Coalition.

Dr. Strakowski graduated summa cum laude from the University of Notre Dame with a BSE in 1984 and alpha omega alpha from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine with an MD in 1988. He completed his residency training at McLean Hospital/Harvard University School of Medicine in 1992. Upon completing residency, he moved to the University of Cincinnati where he remained for 24 years until moving to the University of Texas, and more recently IUSM.

Dr. Strakowski is an internationally recognized and trusted expert in the study and treatment of bipolar and other mood disorders. His research group has been a world leader studying the treatment, outcomes, and neurobiology of these conditions. He also leads work to improve racial equity in psychiatry and the delivery of mental health services. He is recognized as a Best Doctor® and by US News and World Report® as a Top 1% Psychiatrist. He maintains an active clinical practice and research career.

Jolie Busby
Manager, Education and Training

Jolie is an accomplished professional with more than 12 years of experience in public-sector continuing education and training. Prior to joining ADAA, Jolie primarily served in higher education leadership roles where she actively collaborated with faculty, community leaders, and subject matter experts to implement new professional certification programs.

Jolie’s knowledge of adult learning theory and evidence-based design for curriculum and training materials compliments her passion for cultivating relationships that support continuous improvement and mission-centric results.

Jolie earned her Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Educational Technology from the University of Arkansas. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in History degree, along with double minors in Nonprofit Leadership and Psychology, from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Melissa Klein
Senior Communications Consultant

Melissa Klein is a seasoned communications and media strategy expert, currently the Founder & CEO of Melissa Klein Consulting. For more than two decades, she has been a strategic partner to executives, designing and implementing customized media strategies that enhance brand visibility and engagement. Her expertise includes developing personal branding strategies, leading successful product launches that secured features in outlets like Fortune, Forbes, and The New York Times, and managing sensitive media relations for high-profile clients.

Prior to founding her consulting firm in 2014, Melissa served as the Senior Vice President, Global Communications at Fab.com from 2011 to 2012, where she directed global communications and PR strategy. She also held a leadership role at LaunchSquad as a Senior Vice President, managing PR strategies for major clients including Evernote and Eventbrite. She also previously directed government relations for Fortune 500 clients while at Sparber and Associates.

Melissa has guest lectured at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, interned with television producer Ken Burns, and is the author of The Legacy of the Yellow Berets, which was adapted into the Audible podcast Soldiers of Science.
Melissa holds an MA in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University (SAIS), and a BA in History from the University of Michigan.

Maitland Greer
Associate, Strategic Business Development & Operations

Maitland is a marketing, communications and operations professional with almost two decades of experience. Most recently, she is the Director of Business Operations for a consulting firm in Washington, D.C. She was also the Head of Strategic Programs at Palisades Media Ventures at Burson Marsteller and ran pro-social initiatives for clients including McDonald’s, Kellogg, Barilla, Deloitte, James Beard Foundation and the Financial Times.

Maitland spent 5 years in Nickelodeon’s Public Affairs department. She also worked in marketing at the Hearst Corporation, and she was a contributor to Good Housekeeping, Woman’s Day, Redbook, Yahoo! and AOL during her time there. She received her Bachelor of Arts in History at Colgate University and a Masters of Media Students at Parsons at the New School.

Rachel Keeler
Marketing and Communications Consultant

Rachel assists in managing ADAA's website, editing and uploading resources such as blogs, web pages, and personal stories from the community; email marketing and membership; and oversees ADAA's online peer-to-peer support communities, both in English and Spanish. Ms. Keeler also assists with designing graphics, creating flyers and editing our newsletters.

Ms. Keeler has a passion for writing, non-profit efforts, creative works and traveling. She has worked as an editor, journalist and freelance content creator for various non-profit organizations, magazines, and small businesses. Her work has included copywriting, editing, content creation, SEO, email marketing, social media management, graphic design, and web design. Ms. Keeler received her Bachelor of Arts in Communications and a minor in Anthropology at Brigham Young University and speaks Spanish.

Abby Heird
Social Media Consultant

Abby manages the social media channels for ADAA, sharing important information and resources with the ADAA's audience. In her role, Abby creates the images and content for ADAA's social presence to raise awareness of its important mission and available resources.

Abby has a strong marketing background having worked as an inbound content marketing lead for several companies. She has a B.S. in Business with a major in General Marketing from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Mona Ghuneim
Communications Specialist

Mona is a skilled advocate, savvy communicator and talented writer with experience creating and offering technical assistance, producing educational materials, and training a diverse workforce of peer support professionals.

Before joining ADAA, Mona was a regional advisor with Families Together in NY State, a non-profit organization that represents families of youth and children with social, emotional, behavioral and cross-systems challenges. She worked in close partnership with the Office of Mental Health in New York City, educating the public and offering resources, helping clients access mental health services, and assisting them in navigating other social welfare agencies. Mona was part of the Residential Treatment Facility (RTF) Authorization team which determined eligibility of youth for mental health assessments and treatment.

Mona is a board member of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), a national organization that works to identify and promote best practice and policy for youth receiving residential mental health intervention, and to help reintegrate them into the community. She is a Certified Foster Parent Trainer, as well as a former foster parent, and she has served on various health, disability and mental health advisory committees. Ms. Ghuneim is passionate about humanitarian causes and in particular, global mental health awareness, advocacy and stigma-free treatment.

With a master’s in journalism and Middle East Studies from NYU, Mona has worked as a broadcast reporter, journalist, editor and researcher, as well as a managing editor of an international business marketing publication. She is a natural storyteller, currently working on a memoir about her rich cultural history and background. She speaks Arabic, French, Spanish and Italian.