About Us

Executive Board

Email: cbaruch@unc.edu

Callan Baruch - Co-Director

Callan Baruch is an Honors Math and Physics student at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill; he is also pursuing a minor in French. Callan has years of experience coaching, along with fundraising and leadership, through his work as a tennis coach and various clubs and projects he has participated in. Callan has also interned with the Ohio Opioids Project and has witnessed the harm that substance use can cause. He is passionate about educating others on the dangers of substance use and addiction.

Email: pkcarter@unc.edu

Porsha Carter - Co-Director

Porsha Carter is a Sophomore at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill majoring in Sociology with a double minor in Medical Anthropology and Neuroscience.Growing up surrounded by substance use and neglected mental health she took a deep interest in how these issues were presented in different socioeconomic groups and races. She has spent a significant amount of time in her life advocating for herself and others and hopes to inspire everyone to do the same. She is very passionate about social activism, racial equity, proper representation and breaking the stigma surrounding substance use and mental heath. One of her main goals is to help reduce discrimination in the healthcare system and create a safer environment for all people who seek or need medical support.

Email: kready@unc.edu

Kathleen Ready - Substance Use Chair

Kathleen Ready is a junior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel HIll majoring in biochemistry with an interest in pursuing medicine. Kathleen is very interested in reducing the stigma that inhibits people from acknowledging the realities of substance use and therefore prevents the population from properly acting in response to it. Kathleen wants to be on the frontline of the efforts to educate the student population, as well as surrounding communities on proper harm reduction techniques, as well as aid in the distribution of life-saving resources. She is very excited to be a part of this organization and hopes to improve the fight against the dangers of substance use.

Email: nadlytle@unc.edu

Naomi Lytle - Mental Health Chair

Naomi Lytle is a sophomore from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She is majoring in Psychology and Linguistics. She is interested in researching how language can intersect with psychopathology as well as general psychology. She is also interested in pursuing child psychology or studying mood disorders after completing her undergraduate program. She has worked in different positions in the childcare field, such as a youth art school internship and a summer camp leader, and is committed to creating safe environments to learn more about mental health. She enjoys writing, spending time with friends, playing video games, and trying out new foods. Overall, she believes that confronting stereotypes on mental health and providing education on the topic can aid in preventing mental health crises for future generations.

Committee Members

Caroline Clodfelter

Caroline Clodfelter is a psychology major from High Point, North Carolina with minors in neuroscience and medical anthropology. Her interests center around mental health equity and remodeling public perspectives toward substance use. She has long been involved in youth service, mentorship projects, substance use education, and prevention. After enrolling in a course on the opioid epidemic her first year at UNC-Chapel Hill it was apparent that we need a different approach to youth substance and mental health education. She served as Director and Substance Use chair for TEACH her sophomore through senior year at UNC.

Dianne Celemen

Dianne Celemen is a sophomore from Cary, North Carolina majoring in Psychology with a minor in Biology. She is interested in studying the intersection between social and clinical psychology, particularly how social contexts can influence behavior and mental health. Dianne has enjoyed working with several youth organizations in the past, from being a dance class teacher’s assistant to leading youth camp discussion groups. On campus, she is involved with other UNC psychology-based organizations, like HGAPS, and is a research assistant for the Carolina Affective Science Lab. She is eager to incorporate her love for mentoring with important issues about mental health and substance use from a primarily empathic approach.

Zakari Lowenthal Billo

Zakari Lowenthal Billo is a Chemistry major with a double minor in Physics and Music. His primary research interests are pharmacology, addiction studies, and physics. In high school, Zakari was part of the diversity, equity, and inclusion committee and served as a Teacher’s Assistant for Human Development. Mentoring youth at under-resourced community centers and university peers through the Chemistry Department solidified Zakari’s passion for education and community.

Riley Sullivan

Riley Sullivan is a junior majoring in Sociology and Political science. Academically, he enjoys studying mental health and substance use from an intersectional societal perspective. Growing up in the rust belt, they have seen firsthand the effects of the opioid crisis. He has also seen how harm reduction can save lives. His background equips him with a unique holistic understanding and approach to substance use and mental health education, taking a human-first approach. His professional experience is in community-based politics and non-profit administration. Previously, he has interned in the Michigan House of Representatives, worked with diverse populations at a non-profit summer camp in the coastal redwoods of Northern California, and helped organize several grass-roots community organizations. After undergrad, Riley plans on attending law school to pursue a career in criminal defense.

Prima Gurjar

Prima Gurjar is a junior from Waxhaw, North Carolina. She is majoring in Neuroscience with a minor in Medical Anthropology. She is a clinical research assistant at the Carolina Center for Neurostimulation, working on studies related to treatment-resistant depression. She plans on attending medical school after graduating with a specific interest towards neurology and psychology. In addition to this, she is passionate about mental health advocacy and wants to continue working on clinical trials for new treatment options for depression and anxiety. Outside of school, she loves to cook new recipes, read, and go on nature walks!

Maya Arora

Maya Arora is a senior from Harrisburg, PA. She is majoring in neuroscience and minoring in medical Spanish. She currently works in a clinical psychology lab that focuses on substance use disorders. Her interest in substance use education began when she worked as a volunteer in an emergency department in New York City. She hopes to attend medical school in the future. Outside of school, Maya enjoys reading, knitting, and attending trivia at Epilogue. Fun fact, she is very good at identifying celebrities by their smiles!

Founders & Previous Members

Ben Gorman and his peers Katherine Hendry, Francisco Reyes, and Kim Nguyen formed the TEACH Initiative in April 2020, intending to bring substance use and mental health education to youth, using a different approach; near-peer. The group of four all had academic backgrounds in neuroscience, psychology, and health and joined their skillsets into a passion for substance use and mental health education. After graduating in May of 2023, they are off to medical, PA, and nursing schools, and we wish them the best of luck! Current and future members of the TEACH Initiative will be forever grateful to these ambitious and caring folks for creating this community.

Phone: (240) 274-3525

Benjamin Gorman - Founder

Benjamin Gorman has strong interest in mental health and addiction, especially in youth. He has experience in public service and project management, having both participated in and led teams to achieve significant service and research goals. These include working in a small team to design, implement, and publish a study on mental health in UNC first-year students, starting and running a team to create an online centralized educational hub for the UNC Cherokee language-learning program, and leading an independent, funded neuroscience research project.