Liz D’Amelio is a clinical social worker based in San Francisco, California. While her clinical practice focused on crisis response and trauma, she maintains an active macro-practice focused on advancing equity in the field of global mental health. She is the founder and Chief Empowerment Officer of the International Mental Health Association, which develops culturally-responsive capacity building projects in collaboration with communities around the world.

Before becoming a social worker, Liz studied internationally and earned her undergraduate degree in anthropology. She worked on a variety of projects involving gender equity both domestically and internationally. Some of her prior focus areas include; women-centered microfinance, maternal & childhood nutrition and women’s leadership education. Her work has taken her to both the west and east coasts of the United States, as well as Bangladesh, Thailand and Myanmar. 

More recently her professional life has focused on gender identity development, racial equity, migration rights and trauma related to COVID-19. In graduate school she earned her Masters in Social Work, completing her clinical practicum working with survivors of torture. Liz is passionate about innovation and in 2020 joined a Venture Co-Lab at MIT focused on advancements in healthcare. She is the founder and CEO of the International Mental Health Association (IMHA), which develops culturally-responsive capacity building projects in collaboration with communities around the world. Their latest mash-up of mental health and innovation is The Blue School, a social change-focused incubator for youth who attend The Tech Academy in Dhaka, Bangladesh.