ABOUT HEADSTREAM

Amaya is the Manager of Impact and Research for SecondMuse’s North America team, where she leads strategy, implementation, and analysis of research-backed insights to strengthen impact measurement across programs. She also serves as a research manager and strategist on client projects, distilling complex data into clear, actionable guidance. Grounded in participatory action research, Amaya prioritizes elevating community and youth voices throughout her work, especially within education and youth well-being. Before joining SecondMuse, she worked in research and education, focused on improving K–12 and higher education systems. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics and a Master's in Education Policy Analysis. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking, kayaking, songwriting, architectural design, gardening, cooking, and exploring the outdoors.

Bradley Whitaker is a communications and marketing professional at SecondMuse, based in San Antonio, Texas, where he supports Headstream and NASA Space Apps. With experience spanning government, academia, technology, and sports entertainment, he has led impactful projects such as growing The Fumble into a YouTube channel with over one million subscribers, managing social media for California State University, Stanislaus, and contributing to the redesign and training for NASA.gov. He also served as Director of Marketing for the San Antonio Brahmas during their XFL debut, helping achieve the team’s first sellout game at the Alamodome. Bradley is passionate about tackling complex challenges and building programs that make a lasting impact.

Bridgette Nielsen is a Senior Program Manager at SecondMuse, based in Portland, Oregon, where she leads Headstream, a portfolio of initiatives that advance youth mental well-being through cross-sector collaboration, innovation, and community-centered program design. She oversees strategy, program operations, partnerships, and cross-functional implementation, helping translate ambitious ideas into impactful, scalable programs. Over the course of her time at SecondMuse, Bridgette has led and supported a range of global initiatives at the intersection of innovation and social impact. She previously co-led the NASA Space Apps Challenge, the world's largest annual global hackathon, coordinating operations and community strategy for a worldwide network spanning more than 160 countries and over 100,000 participants annually. She also contributed to The Rockefeller Foundation's Food System Vision Prize, supporting a global community of innovators working to reimagine equitable and sustainable food systems. Bridgette is known for building strong partnerships, creating systems that enable collaboration, and leading complex, multi-stakeholder programs from strategy through execution. With a background in research and project management, she enjoys bringing clarity to complexity and designing processes that empower people to do their best work. She believes meaningful, lasting impact is created when communities are trusted as partners, diverse perspectives are valued, and programs are built with learning, inclusion, and adaptability at their core. Outside of work, Bridgette enjoys exploring the Pacific Northwest with her dog, Yuki, whether hiking, camping, or wandering a new trail with an audiobook. She also loves cooking meals to share with friends, experimenting with new recipes, and will happily take any excuse to dance when ABBA comes on.

For the past twenty years, David Ball has focused on creating economic drivers that incentivize positive societal and environmental outcomes. That mission has taken him around the world, from work with the East African Community in Tanzania to Major League Baseball in the Dominican Republic to the National Park Service across the United States. Over the last seven years, David has focused on addressing gaps in youth mental health and well-being support. Leveraging opportunities to influence and change aspects of the social technology, education, and health care sectors, David's initiatives have improved mental health outcomes for more than 12 million young people and caring adults. Currently, David is the Head of Well-being at SecondMuse. He manages a portfolio of programs, including the Headstream Accelerator - the only Accelerator in the world focused on youth mental health - a Youth Collective, and a growing body of work focused on providing schools with assistance to support student mental well-being. David’s early career as a Peace Corps Volunteer and teacher rooted him in the complementary power of education and bringing communities together to collaboratively solve complex challenges.

Sabrina Abdalla is a visionary educator, community builder, multidisciplinary creative, and founder who is passionate about guiding communities towards an innovative and equitable future. With her platform, Cirri, and as a Senior Program Associate at Headstream, Sabrina has demonstrated her expertise in creating programs, workshops, and spaces that resonate with the cultural fabric of society. She is weaving her magic to build a more equitable digital world for the next generation to thrive in, utilizing her unique skill set to empower and uplift those around her. As an artist, Sabrina uses poetry to express her intersectional identities and is committed to combating the historical erasure of Black womanhood. Her passion for storytelling and community-building has allowed her to inspire change in a variety of settings and has made her a powerful force in shaping the world we live in. Sabrina Abdalla's unique background informs her work and passion for creating a more equitable future. Born in Kenya to Somali parents, she grew up in Salt Lake City, where she witnessed firsthand the struggles faced by systemically excluded communities. Her experiences have given her a deep understanding of the importance of community building, the power of education, and cultural storytelling to empower individuals and create lasting change.

Sidrah Durrani is a Program Manager at SecondMuse, where she leads entrepreneurship programs at Headstream, including the Headstream Accelerator and Residency. She supports early-stage digital health and edtech founders advancing youth mental health through cohort-based programming, non-dilutive funding, advisor engagement, and ecosystem partnerships. With a background in developmental psychology, youth co-creation, and participatory research, Sidrah brings an interdisciplinary lens to building programs that are responsive to the communities they serve. She received her master’s in Developmental Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University, and has published research on adolescent well-being, social technologies, and positive youth development with the Youth, Media & Wellbeing Research Lab at Wellesley College. Across her work, Sidrah is interested in shaping more thoughtful, equitable, and community-centered innovation.