senior software product engineer
leader in mental health & suicide prevention
<aside> ✋🏻 Hi there! I’ve got a new portfolio under development and launching soon, but in the meantime, welcome to my curriculum vitae, adapted for Notion.
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Experience | Leadership | Speaking Engagements | Interviews & Storytelling | Publications & Co-Authorships | Education
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Above: Misha speaking at The JED Foundation’s Annual Brightest Night Gala, a suicide prevention fundraiser for college- and high school-aged students.
I am a mission-driven leader at the intersection of mental healthcare advocacy, product innovation, and software engineering.
Before my shift into technology, I encountered the complexities of mental health challenges firsthand– navigating severe depression, stigma, and the challenge of finding the right care for my needs– but through that journey, I found both healing and purpose, committing myself to advocating for the improvement of mental health services.
This commitment led me to a rewarding career in mental health and suicide prevention, where I’ve been interviewed for prestigious news media and feature-length documentaries, testified before Congress, took the stage at the Grammys, and summited mountains for suicide prevention fundraisers. (To this day, I continue to serve in various advisory roles; see “Leadership” for more.) Seeking to amplify my impact, I transitioned into software engineering and product development, where I now focus on building innovative, evidence-based solutions that expand access to quality mental healthcare.
I thrive at the intersection of mission, vision, and execution. By bridging my lived experience, advocacy, and technical expertise, I aim to build the next generation of transformative mental health solutions, driving meaningful change at scale.
With your design, product, and engineering skills, you’re a real multi-talent. I’ve seen your passion for what we’re building, and I know that will extend to whatever you do next. – a former teammate at Vanna Health
MAY 2022 – AUG 2024
Joined seed-stage, SPMI-focused startup as first individual contributor, assisting in product, design, and engineering, in close collaboration with executive leaders.
I accompanied Vanna from seed stage through our $29mil Series A, multiple pilots and markets, and through multiple rounds of product and team evolution.
MAR 2021 – APR 2022
Joined seed-stage SUD-treatment startup as first IC software engineer, assisting in rapid EHR/CRM development, in close collaboration with co-founders, head of engineering, head of design, and in-house clinical team.
Halcyon halted operations due to an inability to raise a Series A. Despite this, what we built remains a great source of pride, as well as a profound source of lessons on the challenges of tech-enabled healthcare services, including the necessity of ruthless feature prioritization.
DEC 2020 – MAR 2021
Utilized product management lens to implement vast improvements to software engineering curriculum, improving student educational experience and achieving stakeholder adoption.
NOV 2019 – DEC 2020
Assisted lead faculty in experiential-learning curriculum development and instruction, including full-stack engineering and computer science fundamentals.
MAY 2017 – SEP 2019
Designed, developed, and delivered advanced branding and website packages, including graphic and print media design, UI designs, and WordPress websites for mental health causes and professionals.
DEC 2013 – PRESENT
See following sections for information on leadership positions, publications/co-authorships, speaking engagements, and media appearances/interviews.
DEC 2015 – JAN 2017
Launched an exploratory entrepreneurial venture focused on the improvement of mental healthcare services by algorithmically evaluating treatment, provider, and user data, and its correlation with treatment outcomes, backed by a sustainable funding model.
After a significant amount of research and development, finding that my subject matter expertise was extremely helpful but my technical expertise and my startup funding acumen were lacking, I retired this venture and focused my efforts on becoming a full-stack software engineer.
JUL 2014 – MAY 2015
Directed $200K SAMHSA Statewide Peer Consumer Networking grant for Washington, D.C., recipient organization, developing organizational and community infrastructure for peer programming.