Meet the team
The Thriving Minds team brings a uniquely valuable ability to translate ideas into practice, grounded in our first-hand experience as educators. Unlike community-based mental health providers who “push into” schools, Thriving Minds is built from within them. Comprised of former district administrators, school counselors, social workers, and classroom educators, Thriving Minds possesses invaluable knowledge of school culture, district politics, funding streams, and the daily realities faced by educators. This authentic connection to schools allows us to offer consultation that is relevant, realistic, and deeply respected by school leadership. Our professional development is designed by educators, for educators—bridging the gap between mental health and instruction.
Greater than the sum of our parts
Thriving Minds—a partnership between the Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy, bryt, and the Massachusetts School Mental Health Consortium (MASMHC)—has extensive experience designing and implementing professional development and technical assistance to advance comprehensive school mental health systems that improve outcomes for students and strengthen educator capacity. By addressing all aspects of a school mental health system, we help align, improve, and integrate services and ensure all students are connected with the support they need to succeed. Thriving Minds came together because of a shared dedication to building comprehensive school mental health systems to support all students. It is this shared understanding that drives our work. Our partnership brings complementary expertise that strengthens our collective capacity to support statewide implementation.
MASMHC contributes deep expertise in Tier 1 and Tier 2 systems, universal screening, districtwide mental health strategy, and professional learning. MASMHC’s membership now exceeds 180 districts across Massachusetts, and partners of the consortium has grown to include institutions of higher education, regional mental health advocacy agencies, and community-based service providers. Its founder and director, John Crocker, developed Methuen Public Schools’ nationally recognized comprehensive school mental health system and continues to train and coach districts across Massachusetts and the country.
_edited.png){kind=logo}
bryt is nationally recognized for developing one of the most effective Tier 3 intervention models for students experiencing significant mental health challenges. The bryt team has decades of experience helping schools build sustainable systems for student transition support, collaborative care, and intensive intervention, while the Tier 3 bryt Intervention has been demonstrated to improve student outcomes and reduce dropout rates, with 85% or more of students returning to their regular academic schedule following the intervention. The success of bryt’s approach is evident in its rapid growth: as of November 2025, bryt-model interventions are available in roughly 300 schools in six states; two-thirds of all public high school students in Massachusetts are in schools where bryt is available to them if needed.
.png)
The Rennie Center is one of Massachusetts’ leading education research and policy organizations. We have worked directly with school and district staff in communities across the Commonwealth; in the 2024-25 school year alone, the Rennie Center worked with more than 200 Massachusetts districts. Though our work spans multiple subject areas, for over a decade, the Rennie Center has dedicated particular time and attention to advancing evidence-based approaches to supporting students’ social, emotional, and behavioral well-being. From 2018-2025, the Rennie Center partnered with DESE to lead the Systemic Student Support (S3) Academy, helping districts create data-driven referral systems that connect students and families with both school-based and community-based supports. Our work on Thriving Minds builds on these and other experiences, extending our expertise to help build comprehensive approaches to school mental health.
Our Coaches
John Crocker, M.Ed.
Founder and Director, Massachusetts School Mental Health Consortium (MASMHC)
While John’s knowledge of school-based mental health covers great depth and breadth, his key areas of specialty are piloting, improving, and sustaining universal mental health screening. John has deep knowledge and practice leveraging data to improve mental health systems and progress monitoring. John has worked in public education for eighteen years, primarily as the administrator for the Methuen Public Schools Counseling Department. He has overseen the development and expansion of Methuen's comprehensive school mental health system (CSMHS) in partnership with the National Center for School Mental Health (NCSMH). In his role as the Director of School Mental Health & Behavioral Services at Methuen Public Schools, he is charged with overseeing the district-wide implementation and evaluation of Methuen’s CSMHS, including designing and implementing the district's social emotional and mental health services and universal screening practices, providing clinical supervision and professional development to school mental health staff, and fostering measurement-based care and clinical documentation practices. John founded and directs the Massachusetts School Mental Health Consortium (MASMHC), a group of approximately 180 school districts across Massachusetts committed to advocating for and implementing quality and sustainable school mental health services and supports.
John Crocker, M.Ed.
National Director, bryt
Paul’s areas of specialization include MTSS assessment, systems development planning, Student Support Team development, and leadership coaching; they will also ensure high-quality implementation of the bryt Tier 3 Intervention in any PPSD school that decides to adopt the intervention. Before becoming bryt’s inaugural director in 2016, Paul worked for 11 years as a public school principal and assistant superintendent in Holyoke (MA); his leadership focus included Full Service Community School Development, Early Literacy Development, and high-quality educator coaching and evaluation. Paul has additional teaching and leadership experience in adult basic education, public health, and non-profit administration.
Courtney Tucker, Ph.D.
Director of Professional Learning & Team Culture, bryt
Dr. Tucker is a strategist, researcher, and clinical expert. As the Director of Professional Learning and Team Culture for the bryt National Team, she leads the design and implementation of school-based mental health services and professional development for K-12 districts across the country. Her work is dedicated to building equitable, effective, and sustainable systems of support for students and the school communities that serve them. Dr. Tucker is uniquely qualified to lead this initiative, possessing a powerful combination of clinical expertise, research acumen, and direct experience in K-12 program implementation. Her PhD in Educational Studies from Emory University provides a deep, systemic understanding of school culture and instructional design, while her clinical MSW from Smith College School for Social Work grounds her work in evidence-based therapeutic practice. This dual expertise is further strengthened by her significant background in program evaluation and mixed-methods research. In her previous role as bryt’s Associate Director for Business and Partnership Development, Dr. Tucker worked directly with district and school leaders to assess needs, negotiate agreements, and launch new bryt programs, giving her invaluable on-the-ground experience in managing the complexities of school-based partnerships.
Amanda Chung M.P.A.
Senior Associate, Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy
Amanda leads the strategic direction of Thriving Minds for the Rennie Center. As the Thriving Minds project manager, she brings skills leading project work plans, ensuring alignment with scopes of work, and achieving timely delivery of milestones, particularly for projects focused on culturally responsive curricula and school mental health systems. Her experience is highly valuable for all elements of the project management process: she is skilled at coordinating multiple aspects of a project across a large number of schools within a district and she builds and maintains relationships to drive program success. Furthermore, her background includes specific experience in designing and executing community outreach campaigns targeting low-income populations, ensuring that the outreach and recruitment for advisory groups and listening sessions are broad, widespread, and inclusive of diverse voices from across the Commonwealth.
Laura Cinelli, J.D.
Deputy Director, Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy
Laura leads the strategic direction of Thriving Minds for the Rennie Center and manages all operational and financial needs of the project. In her role as Deputy Director of the Rennie Center, she oversees a variety of internal and external responsibilities for the Rennie Center, from budgeting and human resources to board engagement and policy outreach. Prior to joining Rennie, Laura served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Boston Public Schools, where she worked closely with the School Committee to advance district policy-making and managed projects including a working group on measuring school quality.
Complete an interest form
Thank you for your interest in partnering with Thriving Minds to strengthen your school or district's mental health systems. Please complete the form below to help us better understand how we can work with your district or email Amanda Chung (achung@renniecenter.org) for more information.