OUR TEAM

Our experiences fuel our desire for lasting change

Our approach to youth mental health

Mental health advocacy is a vast movement filled with experience and expertise. The Ortus Foundation team works to break down silos and elevate the work of others through partnerships. Our sense of urgency surrounding the youth mental health crisis inspires us to work nimbly and swiftly for positive change.

Meet The Ortus Foundation team

Sabrina Gracias, CFA | Founder

Sabrina Gracias is the founder of The Ortus Foundation, a private foundation elevating awareness, education, and prevention for the mental health crisis among teens and young adults. In conjunction with her foundation’s mission, Sabrina is an early-stage investor in transformational technologies and companies that elevate the mental health space, providing capital to support innovative companies which are accelerating advancement in the field.

Caren Yanis | Philanthropic Advisor

Caren supports The Ortus Foundation with strategic advising. Previously Caren was the executive director of the Oprah Winfrey Foundations and the president of Crown Family Philanthropies in Chicago. She is working with Ortus to build a strategy focused on supporting educational institutions on both prevention and response to youth and young adult mental health.

Marcy Madigan, M. Ed | Program Associate

Marceline Madigan graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in history of art. She went on to earn a Masters in education and has been working with K-12 families since 2009. For Marceline, working directly with students in an educational environment illuminates the urgency to take action in elevating youth mental health. She currently lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband and toddler, where they can often be found playing outdoors and enjoying their supportive community.

Meet our board of directors

Sabrina Gracias, CFA

Sara Crown Star

Sara has been an accomplished leader in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors for over three decades. She is driven by a passion to connect people and ideas. She is a Venture Partner at FemHealth Ventures focused on sourcing, diligence and helping companies grow. As president of SCS Innovations, she guides entrepreneurs advancing healthcare products and technologies around governance, strategy and operations.

Tanya Polsky

Tanya Polsky is a graduate of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She is the president of Polsky Foundation and founder of Our Home Ukraine.

Meet our Innovators board

Antonio Gracias

Antonio is a senior pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in cognitive psychology with honors and a secondary concentration in economics at Harvard University. As a young board member of The Ortus Foundation, Antonio is an active contributor to our mission-driven work and making a difference in the mental health crisis among his peer group of young adults.

Marisa Gracias

Marisa is a sophomore at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Services pursuing a Bachelor of Science in international politics. For the past three years, she has collaborated with neuroscientists from the research firm PsyML on a study pending publication: “The Effects of Attachment Style and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) on Responses to Stressful Vignettes.” Her personal experiences inspire Marisa to use her voice to help others. At age 15, she presented at a TEDx conference on the struggles faced by neurodivergent students.