A Month of Connection, Courage, and Upstream Change

A Letter from One Mind CEO, Kathy Pike, PhD

Dear Friends,

Over the past month, One Mind communities across the country have come together with shared purpose, renewed courage, and a belief that better is possible.

In Napa, we gathered with our One Mind at Work coalition for the 2025 Global Forum to explore what it means to “go upstream” in addressing workforce mental health. We came together not just as professionals, but as people – committed to advancing health and humanity in the systems we lead.

In Pittsburgh, we celebrated the launch of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Workplace Mental Health Regional Coalition at the headquarters of the Richard King Mellon Foundation. This new public-private partnership exemplifies what we know to be true: meaningful, lasting change takes all of us – business, government, health systems, and communities – working side by side.

And in New York City, the legal profession demonstrated what it means to lead. At the 2025 One Mind Legal Summit, hosted by O’Melveny & Myers LLP, legal leaders came together to reframe mental health as a driver of disruption – not distraction. They reminded us that the law, at its best, can be a tool for healing, for prevention, and for building a more just and resilient society.

These gatherings reflect the kind of upstream effort our mission requires – bold, persistent, and grounded in care. They reminded me of time spent with family along the Rogue River in Oregon where the Chinook salmon pursue their legendary upstream journey. The obstacles are many – dams, predators, shallow water – but still, they swim. Driven by something deeper than simple logic. It’s about life and death. Notably, they don’t swim alone. They find strength as they travel together. They also take time along the way to rest in cool pools and take shelter to refuel in side channels. And let’s not forget that their success also depends on the health of the river itself.

That image stays with me. Because in our work to advance mental health, we are also swimming upstream. Whether in law, healthcare, business, or public policy, we are challenging the current – redefining what it means to lead, to care, and to change what no longer serves.

So let us see our work – not just as solving problems, but as practicing care. As shaping systems where healing is possible. Where no one has to swim alone. And where progress is measured not only by innovation, but by the strength of our shared resolve to stay with one another in the work of health and healing.

Thank you for being part of this journey. Let’s keep swimming upstream – together.

With deep gratitude,

Kathleen M. Pike, PhD
Chief Executive Officer, One Mind