New Profit Inc.

In this episode of our Better Terms podcast miniseries, Reem Aly of the Ohio School-Based Health Alliance and Jordan Lewis of The Confess Project of America reflect on what it takes to build systems of care that last. From school-based healthcare in Ohio to mental health advocacy in barbershops across the country, the conversation explores sustainability, burnout, re-traumatization, and the hidden emotional cost of leading mission-driven work.

Better Terms, brought to you by New Profit, features founders and funders working toward mental health equity — exploring what becomes possible when we move beyond funding into true partnership.

🎧 Listen to the full episode: https://bettertermspodcast.transistor.fm/episodes/step-into-the-gaps

Better Terms is a podcast miniseries featuring the voices of founders and funders working toward mental health equity. Each episode explores the defining moments that shape why they do this work and what becomes possible when funding grows into true partnership.

In the first episode, Aaron Landrum, of The Deloitte Health Institute, and Erica Smith, CEO of
Boys to Men Tucson and member of New Profit's 2025 Mental Health Equity Cohort, reflect on the experiences that shaped their work. From Aaron’s memories of his grandfather in Boston to Erica’s work creating healing spaces for Black and brown men in Tucson, the conversation explores masculinity, vulnerability, systems change, and why “systems need to be restructured — people don’t need to be fixed.”

🎧 Listen to the full episode: https://bettertermspodcast.transistor.fm/episodes/people-dont-need-to-be-fixed