Meet the Team

Samantha Wettje, Ed.M.

Samantha is the Co-Founder of 16 Strong Project and an adolescent mental well-being advocate. She created the 16 Strong Project in 2017 in response to what she experienced as a young person, living with a mentally ill and addicted parent, struggling to find answers and understand what was happening in her life. It wasn’t until she finished college, and shared her story with many of her friends, that she realized that she was not the only one, and that what happened to her mattered. So many times people do not realize they are not alone or that what they are experiencing has a name. Determined to ensure that the next generation of youth is equipped to handle their adversity, and not suffer in silence, Samantha created a program to empower resilience to adverse childhood experiences, because she believes what happens to all of us matters.

Samantha has an Ed.M. in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard University and a B.S.in Financial Economics from Binghamton University. Samantha also serves as a mentor for the Youth Commission to the Committee on Gang Prevention and Intervention in San Diego and as a member of the New Jersey ACEs Coalition. In addition to her work with the 16 Strong Project, Samantha previously worked with the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s EASEL Lab for social-emotional learning where she is a co-author on the Navigating SEL From the Inside Out guides published in 2021 and 2022 in partnership with the Wallace Foundation. She currently works for the Morgan Stanley Foundation which focuses on youth health with a specific emphasis on youth mental health.

Samantha is an avid traveler, exercise enthusiast, sports junkie, loves music, reading, ice cream, her cat Boots, and most of all, the New York Mets.

Donna Wettje, MBA

Donna Wettje is a Co-Founder of 16 Strong Project and a lifelong advocate for ensuring every person’s voice is heard.

Donna works with her daughter, Samantha, to raise the collective voice of adolescents in an effort to ensure that young people recognize and resist the negative impact of adverse childhood experiences and break the cycle of generational trauma. Under Donna’s guidance, The 16 Strong Project has connected with thousands of young people across the globe, developed proactive youth-based mental health programming and launched an innovative peer-to-peer adversity resilience model. She is a tireless advocate with nearly thirty years of experience helping young people on their path to speak their truth and be heard.

Nancy Myers

Nancy Myers is the Relationship and Development Director for the 16 Strong Project. At a young age she quickly developed a deep passion for charitable work. This resolve stuck with her through college, leading her to get her BS in Behavioral Science in 1995 from the Pennsylvania State University. Over 28 years later, Nancy is a compassionate changemaker providing support to the 16 Strong Project, by raising awareness about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), empowering and educating underserved youth to tell their story and to recognize the root causes and challenges faced as a result of ACEs. She enjoys spending time with her family, watching her granddaughter compete in drag races and playing with her rescue dogs.

Dana brown

Dana Brown is the ACEs Science Statewide Facilitator, Learn4Life and PACEs Connection Organizational Liaison, and Executive Director of Youth Voice. A social entrepreneur, Dana founded a character development program at Tierrasanta Elementary in San Diego, CA; co-founded OurSOLES (Our Students of Leadership ~ Empowerment ~ Service), founded Youth Leadership TICS (Trauma-Informed Community Schools) and Youth Leadership with McGill School of Success. Dana is a Commissioner on the City of San Diego Commission on Gang Prevention & Intervention and Chair of the Youth Committee., co-chair of the San Diego Trauma-Informed Guide Team , on the Advisory Council of the University of San Diego’s Character Development Center, the steering committee of the Clinton Health Matters Initiative, Strong Families, Thriving Communities, and the leadership team of the Southern California Warrior Spirit with Indigenous communities. An author, Hidden Treasures, Ms. Brown has received many awards over the years, including, the Joy McAllister Advocacy Award from Mental Health America in 2014, President Obama’s USA Volunteer Presidential Award in 2013 (with San Diego Compassion Project), and the City of San Diego’s Human Relations Commission Award in 2009. 

Christina Hamdan

Christina is a Speech-Language Pathologist (M.S., CCC-SLP TSSLD) in the New York City Department of Education and has been a mental health advocate for the greater duration of her academic and professional career. She is a graduate of the University of Delaware, where she was an active member of a community dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide. Christina has collaborated with several non-profit organizations to encourage, inform, and inspire conversations surrounding mental health. Through 16 Strong Project, she has introduced youth in the NYC public school system to the importance of mental health education and resilience to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). These experiences and Christina’s willingness to share personal experiences about her mental health has played a pivotal role in her growth and healing. 

In her free time, Christina enjoys creating art, playing sports, drinking coffee, chasing sunsets, and spending time with loved ones.

Jiwen Fan

Jiwen Fan, a researcher at Harvard Graduate School of Education, specializes in adolescent bullying and empowerment. Her journey, rooted in personal challenges faced during high school, has fueled a profound interest in understanding and preventing school violence. With a robust educational theory background from Trinity College, where she also minored in film studies, her current focus lies in the cultural and societal dynamics of bullying. Her research aims to develop inclusive strategies to combat bullying and create supportive educational environments. Beyond academia, she is committed to providing practical solutions for schools and communities. She is actively involved with the 16 Strong Project's Advocacy Board, offering online resources and support and integrating her passion for film studies to enhance her advocacy and educational outreach. In her free time, she enjoys capturing life's beautiful moments through photography and delving into the study of fragrances, finding tranquility and harmony in these pursuits.

Brittney Domschot

Brittney Domschot received her B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Youth and Society from Michigan State University. She is incredibly passionate about working with and improving the lives of youth and just accepted a job offer working as a behavioral therapist in San Diego. As a child of adverse experiences herself, she aims to spread awareness about ACES and is excited to do so as a social media intern with 16 Strong. She absolutely loves to travel, surf, and try new vegan recipes. She is also currently working on a blog that focuses on her journey with mental health and her traveling adventures.

Hannah Grannis

Hannah Grannis is a Junior at New York University studying Applied Psychology with a concentration in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Studies. She is passionate about youth mental health as well as the protection and support of children and adolescents with traumatic experiences through the application of trauma-informed care. She is currently involved as a researcher in a National Institute of Health-funded study. She also brings years of experience working with kids of diverse ages, backgrounds, and life experiences. Outside of her academic and research pursuits, she enjoys reading, playing with her dogs, and music.

Anisha Ahmed

Anisha Ahmed is currently in her senior year as an Integrative Neuroscience major with a minor in Biological Anthropology at Binghamton University. She is passionate about youth mental health and social-emotional development, especially in school environments, as one's childhood experiences in schools including peer interactions, support systems, and role models play a big role in forming the personality and impacting the mental health of an individual. She is currently an Intern with the Institute for the Study of Resilience in Youth (ISRY) at McLean Hospital, where she works with Dr. Gil Noam and fellow Interns on various projects related to resilience, social-emotional development, and youth mental health. She is excited to see where her work with 16 Strong leads, as it strongly aligns with her passions, and she believes providing resources directly to students is groundbreaking and an amazing idea! In her free time, she enjoys being active, spending time with loved ones, and creating art, whether it's embroidery, creating collages, journaling, or drawing.

Claire Gartner

Claire is a junior at New York University. She is pursuing a major in Psychology and a minor in History. She is especially interested in the fields of developmental psychology and social work and hopes to continue studying how people can build resilience and cope with childhood trauma. She is passionate about expanding the role libraries play in providing mental health resources. She has spent the past two years working with nonprofits and is excited to apply everything she's learned to 16 strong. In her free time she enjoys reading, thrifting, and anything that has to do with animals.