Staff

Michael Plant
Founder and Director

Michael is a a post-doctoral Research Fellow at the Wellbeing Research Centre, Oxford. Michael has a PhD in philosophy from the University of Oxford. Previously, he was Peter Singer’s Research Assistant and worked on Hippo, a happiness tracking app start-up. 

Clare Donaldson
Chief Operating Officer

Clare joined HLI after attending Charity Entrepreneurship’s Incubation Program. She has interned in the research team at the nonprofit Development Media International and has a PhD in geophysics from the University of Cambridge.

Justus Baumann​
Research and Community Manager

Justus manages HLI's volunteer research projects. He is founder of the advocacy organisation ThinkLab Mental Health and interned with the mental health NGO Sangath in New Delhi. 

Volunteers

Communications

Barry Grimes
Communications Manager

​Barry coordinates HLI’s communications and stakeholder engagement. He has worked in strategic communication roles across the public, private and not-for-profit sectors and manages communications for the Effective Altruism Global conferences.

Nikita Patel
Website Manager

​Nikita created and maintains the HLI website. She is currently CEO and Co-Founder of Fortify Health and has previously worked at Malaria Consortium as Communications Officer. She has a BA in French and German from the University of Oxford.

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Research

Mental health research

Lucia Coulter

Lucia is a NHS doctor with a special interest in global mental health and a long term involvement with a number of Effective Altruism projects and organisations.

Brendan Eappen

Brendan works on mental health charity evaluations to find the best mental health charities out there. He is the co-founder of Fortify Health and worked with Partners in Health in Peru on the development of their mental health program. ​

Derek Foster

Derek’s academic background is in public health and health economics, with a focus on cost-effectiveness analysis and the measurement of wellbeing. He recently co-authored a chapter of the 2019 Global Happiness and Wellbeing Policy Report, and currently works as a Research Analyst for Rethink Priorities.

Florian Kuhlmeier

Florian is working on researching the most cost-effective mental health interventions. He has a bachelor’s degree in business psychology and is currently working towards a master’s degree in cognitive science in order to understand and apply machine learning models in mental health contexts.

​Jasper Synowski

​Jasper is working on the mental health charity section of the HLI. He has a bachelor’s degree in business psychology and is doing his graduate studies in public health. His focus is on global health with special interests in mental health and pandemic preparedness. ​

​Sonia Vallentin

​​​Sonia is currently studying Global Mental Health at King's College London and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in order to understand how to design and implement interventions that address the mental health treatment gap. She previously studied Music at Durham University and also founded Effective Altruism Durham.

Positive education research

Jide Alaga

​Jide has a BA in political science and philosophy at the University of Toronto. He joined HLI as a volunteer researcher in February and is currently working on a report on the impact of positive education interventions on mental health.

Ulf Johansson

Ulf has a MSc in public health. He is a research assistant in Örebro, Sweden. He has created a volunteer organisation that is trying to reduce loneliness.

Advisors

Peter Singer

Peter is professor of bioethics at Princeton University. He works on practical ethics, and is best known for the book Animal Liberation and for his writings about global poverty.

Peter Brietbart

An advisor and consultant for HLI, Peter is an EA veteran with a background in philosophy, entrepreneurship and project management. Peter is the CEO of anxiety management app Mind Ease.

Julian Jamison ​

Julian is a behavioural development economist with a particular focus on health and welfare analysis. He has a BS in mathematics and a PhD in microeconomic theory, and is currently a professor of economics at the University of Exeter. He also works with the World Bank and multiple governments around the world.

Tatjana Višak

Tatjana Višak is an ethicist and as such mainly interested in issues related to welfare and its promotion. She is currently also doing some practical training in order to be able to help people to flourish. ​

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Contributors

Ethan Bialick

Ethan has four years of experience in meditation and cognitive behavioral therapy. His focus is the increase of access to mental health services.

​Marcin Kowrygo

Marcin is a neuroscientist interested in the multidisciplinary enhancement of human well-being. With experience as a co-founder of Effective Altruism Poland and LEAN strategy officer for Rethink Charity, he provides the HLI with advice on brain research, strategy and organisational growth.

Vanessa See

Vanessa is a researcher on a EU-funded randomised controlled trial on e-mental health. She is pursuing a PhD in Clinical Psychology.

Eemaan Thind

Eemaan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics with a minor in Psychology. She is particularly interested in the impact of culture on the mental health experience and treatment of ethnic minorities and underprivileged groups.