In 2013 and 2014, the Yale College Council, the Graduate and Professional Student Senate and Graduate Student Assembly, and the Yale Law School Mental Health Alliance released reports on mental health at Yale. In these reports, student leaders, on behalf of their constituents, expressed concerns regarding information and access to clinical mental health services on campus. Since the release of these reports, key administrators and staff have addressed and continue to respond to many of these concerns, supported by significant student, faculty, and staff contribution and consultation.
Students, and the Yale community as a whole, acknowledge that support for mental health services is only one piece of a larger effort to enhance student well-being and to encourage a culture of holistic wellness at Yale. The student reports, along with conversations between students and administrators, have reinforced the importance of fully promoting and supporting wellness—in all its forms—as one of the principal elements of student and scholarly life at Yale.
In the summer of 2015, Secretary and Vice President for Student Life Kimberly Goff-Crews convened a group of students, faculty, and staff to reinforce and enhance existing efforts for student wellness at Yale. As of August 2015, the committee has crafted a mission and vision for an initiative called “The Wellness Project,” now known as Yale Well:
Vision
The Wellness Project envisions a Yale community in which all students, as individuals and as members of the university, embrace wellness as a core value and as a continual journey toward emotional, physical, social, intellectual, professional, and spiritual well-being.
Mission
To foster an environment that supports and advances students’ well-being, in all its dimensions, through innovative programs, opportunities for self-discovery and growth, and the cultivation of a compassionate campus culture.
As the Project grows and evolves, please check this site for information and updates on these initiatives. In the meantime, use the wellness-related information under the How to Yale Well tab of this website to learn more about opportunities to be well and stay well at Yale. Whether you are interested in learning yoga, attending a religious or spiritual service, developing stress-reduction techniques, or participating in a student organization committed to wellness activities, there are many ways to enrich your life and to practice well-being at Yale and in New Haven.
The Wellness Project Committee
Ricky Belizaire
Community Wellness Specialist
James Benson
Director of Culinary Excellence, Yale Hospitality
Stephen Blum
Senior Director, Strategic Initiatives, AYA
Dr. Marc Brackett*
Director, Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence; Senior Research Scientist in Psychology; Faculty Fellow, Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy
Heather Calabrese
Director of Communications and University Events, Office of the Secretary and Vice President for Student Life
Coreen Coia
Yale College Student Support Counselor
Ryan Croteau
Program Coordinator, Communications, Office of the Secretary and Vice President for Student Life
Evan Cudone
GSAS 2023, Computationl Biology & Bioinformatics
Andrés Fernández Álvarez
Assistant Dean of Student Affairs, Yale School of the Environment
Andrew Forsyth
Assistant Secretary for Student Life, Office of the Secretary and Vice President for Student Life
Amber Garrard
Senior Manager, Office of Sustainability
Lucy Gilchrist
YC’24, Yale Student Mental Health Association
Kimberly Goff-Crews
Chari, The Wellness Project Committee; Secretary and Vice President for University Life
Ryan Hagan
Associate Athletic Director, PWG & Campus Recreation
Lauren Horner
Health Educator, Student Wellness
Radeesha Jayewickreme
YC’22, Yale Student Mental Health Association
Haja Kamara
Community Wellness Specialist
Lisa Kimmel
Director of Wellness and Health Education at Yale Health
Sharon Kugler
University Chaplain
Angelyn Makomenaw
Yale College Student Support Counselor
Jennifer Mendelsohn
Associate Director, Office of Graduate Student Life
Christian Milian
Woodbridge Fellow, Office of the Secretary and Vice President for University Life
Adam Millman
Senior Director, Residential Dining
Shruti Parthasarathy
YC’24
Karen Peart
Deputy Press Secretary, Yale Office of Public Affairs and Communications
Lalani Perry
Assistant Vice President, Internal Communications
Emma Seppala
Co-director, Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence
Dr. Rajita Sinha*
Foundations Fund Professor of Psychiatry and Professor in the Child Study Center and of Neurobiology; Director, Yale Stress Center
Rafi Taherian
Associate Vice President for Yale Hospitality
Alexa Vaghenas
Woodbridge Fellow, Good Life Center
Saijel Verma
YC’23
*faculty advisor
