“turning her own personal loss into a life devoted to improving the human condition”
Dr. Janeane Bernstein is a prominent figure in mental health advocacy and media, known for her ability to combine rigorous journalism with profound personal insight. With a B.S. and M.S. from Syracuse University and a doctorate in Curriculum & Teaching from Boston University, Dr. Bernstein brings a sophisticated, multi-disciplinary approach to public discourse on wellness and emotional resilience. Her work is a direct response to a personal history of trauma and grief, including the loss of a childhood friend, which motivated her to create safe, honest spaces for discussing life's inevitable challenges.
Her public service career began in radio at KUCI 88.9 FM, where she launched the award-winning public affairs show, "Get the Funk Out!" in 2011. This platform evolved into a movement focused on overcoming personal and professional "funks" and building strength through adversity. Capitalizing on this expertise, she authored her first book, Get the Funk Out!, a guide to resilience that shares powerful stories and emphasizes the importance of prioritizing mental, physical, and emotional health.
In response to the global mental health crisis, Dr. Bernstein founded the Outside the Box podcast and event series in 2020. This initiative specifically targets students, teachers, and organizations, aiming to create societal change by fostering open conversations and reducing stigma. The program is built around four core pillars—kindness, compassion, empathy, and connection—to combat social isolation. Her second book, Better Humans, serves as a capstone to this work, offering a reflective and thorough evaluation of the mental health pandemic's impact.
Today, Dr. Bernstein continues to shape the mental health landscape as a highly sought-after speaker and eCornell Course Facilitator, a role that allows her to directly teach and mentor on topics ranging from the science of happiness to purpose-driven living. She is an active member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and was selected as an Age Boom Academy Fellow with the Columbia Journalism School, underscoring her commitment to evidence-based advocacy and digital storytelling that creates better humans in a complex world.
