About our speakers: 

Senator Noel Frame is an award-winning legislator, who has been honored more than 15 times for her work advocating for youth in foster care and juvenile justice systems, individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and behavioral health challenges, economic development, and fixing the state's upside-down tax code. She serves as Deputy Floor Leader of the Senate, vice chair of the Senate Housing Committee, vice chair of the Senate Business, Financial Services, Gaming & Trade Committee, and as a member of the Senate Human Services Committee.  

Representative Lisa Callan has served in the state legislature since 2018 and represents the 5th Legislative District. She currently serves as a co-chair of the Children & Youth Behavioral Health Work Group, leading a group of hundreds of stakeholders focused on improving behavioral health services and strategies for children, youth, families, and caregivers. Through this work, she’s helped pass many new policies in mental health, substance use, suicide prevention, workforce development, and perinatal-to-young-adult behavioral healthcare.

Reid Saaris is the author of two Children's Alliance reports on youth mental health in Washington, which articulate the gaps and leading solutions. He is also author of The Kid Across the Hall & the Fight for Opportunity in Our Schools with Stanford Press. He is a teacher, the founder of Equal Opportunity Schools, and is currently doing work as both a district administrator and a state policy advisor to help ensure all students get access to the best of what our state has to offer.