WHO WE ARE
Our Founders
Our Governing Board
Our MMM Team
Henry Chen
Administrative Assistant
Henry is a 4th-year at UCLA majoring in Biology with a minor in Global Health. He is very enthusiastic about music, having played the piano for over 14 years, and the violin for 8 years. At UCLA, he is a director for Asian American Tutorial Project club, and a member of the 2019-2020 Asian Greek Council. He aspires to be involved in the medical field as a physician or surgeon in the future, and hopes to give back to his community.
Lauren Ngo
Administrative Assistant
Lauren is a fourth-year Human Biology & Society major at UCLA. In addition to her academics, Lauren is also part of various clubs on campus, including UCLA Women’s Club Water Polo team and UCLA Rotaract Club. Lauren hopes to maintain the Rotary motto of “Service Over Self” after she graduates by pursuing a career in the medical field and continuing her dedication to community service. These ties to Rotary connected her with Music Mends Minds, and she looks forward to contributing to the exciting mission of this non-profit organization.
Samuelle Beltejar
Administrative Assistant
Sam Beltejar is a second-year biochemistry major at UCLA. She is a classically trained violinist who has been playing for over six years. She is also the 2021-2022 Fundraising Director of Alpha Epsilon Delta, a pre-health fraternity and honor society. Because she is a violinist and an aspiring doctor, she loves the intersection of music and healing. Outside of school and music, she is a fencer and an avid language learner who is tryingto learn French and Italian. In the future, she hopes to go to medical school and possibly specialize in cardiology while keeping her passions for music and fencing alive.
Kayla Arellano
Administrative Assistant
Kayla is a second-year Neuroscience major at UCLA who is excited to combine her passions for music and the brain while working with Music Mends Minds. She shares a love for the arts and started singing at the age of 6, competitively trained in 7 different styles of dance, and also learned to play guitar and piano. At UCLA, she enjoys performing with her a cappella group Resonance, serving as the Professional Development Co-Chair for Neuroscience Undergraduate Society, volunteering at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, and teaching underfunded schools about the brain through InterAxon. With a heart for giving back to the community, she is also the founder of Instrumental Outreach: #music4children where she collects instruments to donate to local school music programs. In the future, her career aspiration is to be a pediatric neurologist.
Our Ambassador Board
Our Advisory Board
Daniel Slate
JD. Attorney at Law Buchalter Nemer
David Reuben
MD, Chief Geriatric Medicine Director UCLA Multicampus Program in Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology Professor Department of Medicine
Gary Schneider
J.D. Malpractice Attorney
Jeff Bronstein
MD, Ph.D. Professor Molecular Toxicology, Neurology Member Brain Research Institute, Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Studies, Neuroengineering Training Program
Kathy Shenassa
Ph.D. Scientific Program Coordinator UCLA Center for the Study of Parkinson's Disease, Integrative Center for Neural Repair, UCLA Brain Research Institute
Linda Holloway
Founding Patron Services Manager, Los Angeles Philharmonic
Mark Iacobani
Professor Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences Professor in Residence, The Semel Institute Member
Brain Research Institute, Neuroscience GPB Home Area
Marie-Francoise Chesselet
MD, Ph. D. Chair, and Distinguished Professor Neurobiology Professor, Neurology Member
Brain Research Institute, CTSI, Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Studies, Neuroengineering Training Program, Neuroscience GPB Home Area
Marina Day
Artist and Psychotherapist
Mark Tramo
MD Ph.D. Director
The Institute for Music & Brain Science,
Co-Director, University of California Multi-Campus Music Research Initiative, Associate Clinical Professor Neurology UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Adjunct Ethnomusicology Professor
UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music
Mary Mittelman
Professor and Researcher
NYU School of Medicine Columbia School of Public Health
Michael Thaut
Ph.D. Professor, University of Toronto
Department of Music
Director, University of Toronto Music and Health Sciences Research Collaboratory and Graduate Programs
Trudy Goodman
Founding & Guiding Teacher at InsightLA
Zaldy Tan
MD, MPH, FACP
Director, Cedars-Sinai Health System / Memory and Aging Program
Medical Director, Jona Goldrich Center for Alzheimer’s and Memory Disorders
Carmen & Louis Warschaw Endowed Chair in Neurology
Professor of Neurology and Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center