Mental Wellness Innovations™
A non-profit organization
Mission/Impact
Our Mission
Mental Wellness Innovations™ (MWI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting mental health literacy and holistic self-care for children, teens, and families.
We pioneer child-friendly, culturally neutral, effective, natural, and safe therapeutic options designed to complement organizations that support the basic physical needs of children and their families.
MWI also intervenes in traumatic situations, teaching self-care skills that rebalance the stress response and build resilience.
Through these combined efforts, we help children overcome ongoing challenges and flourish into adulthood in mind, body, and spirit.
Our Impact
The Feel Better Pack initiative began in 2005 as a recovery tool for hospitalized children undergoing surgeries and cancer treatments.
In 2006, we expanded the program, distributing Packs internationally to children displaced by the tsunami in Thailand. We continued this outreach in 2010, delivering Packs to Haiti after the earthquake and to Laos following the 2018 floods.
Most recently, Feel Better Packs have been utilized in classrooms within under-resourced schools in Cleveland, OH, and sent to North Carolina and Florida to support children displaced by recent hurricanes.
To date, MWI has delivered over 50,000 Feel Better Packs worldwide.
The core values that guide our work:
Unconditional love and support for all children.
Understanding that all children can engage in self-care skills to help heal themselves in mind, body, and spirit with evidence-based therapies.
A passionate commitment to preventing the negative impact of toxic stress from traumatic experiences and environments on the mind and body, by intervening as early as possible to avoid future medical and mental health disorders.
Child, teen, and individual empowerment—helping families actively participate in their own health and wellness by engaging in self-care skills.
Belief in the Power of the Pack—providing simple, cost-effective, engaging solutions that are user-friendly, environmentally friendly, and culturally agnostic. Solutions that help reverse the harmful effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) inherent in humanitarian disasters worldwide.
MWI is a non-profit effort, and all funds raised will be focused on the crucial areas of development, distribution, and education, ensuring that our mission and initiatives can reach as many children and families as possible.
MEET THE FOUNDER
Timothy Culbert, MD
Tim Culbert, MD is a developmental and behavioral pediatrician who has spent more than three decades helping children and families develop practical skills for resilience, emotional regulation, and mental well-being. Throughout his career, Dr. Culbert has been passionate about giving young people tools they can use in everyday life to better understand their emotions, calm their bodies, and manage stress.
During his time at Children’s Minnesota, Dr. Culbert worked with an interdisciplinary team to develop innovative approaches to teaching mind-body skills to children, parents, and healthcare providers. One of these initiatives included the creation of Comfort Kits and accompanying instructional materials designed to help hospitalized children learn simple techniques—such as breathing, imagery, and relaxation—to cope with pain, anxiety, and medical procedures.
Today, these tools have evolved into what are now called Feel Better Packs—portable kits that bring the same practical mind-body strategies beyond the hospital setting and into schools, homes, and communities, helping children build everyday mental wellness skills.
Dr. Culbert has also helped advance children’s mental health literacy through writing and education. He co-authored Be the Boss of Your Stress, part of a series designed to help children ages 6–12 understand their emotions and develop lifelong self-care skills. In 2026, two new books will expand this work: Be the Boss of Your Life, which focuses on helping children understand and heal from trauma using mind-body strategies, and Glow, a guide to mindful meditation designed to introduce children to simple, accessible mindfulness practices.
In 2023, Dr. Culbert was diagnosed with ALS. While the diagnosis has brought new challenges, it has also strengthened his commitment to ensuring that children and families have access to practical, empowering tools for mental wellness.
Mental Wellness Innovations represents Dr. Culbert’s living legacy—bringing together decades of clinical experience, evidence-based mind-body approaches, and educational resources to help children, families, and communities build resilience and emotional well-being. Through this work, Dr. Culbert hopes to expand access to tools that empower young people to take an active role in their mental health for years to come.
Meet the Team
Board of Directors
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Dr. Tim Culbert
Founder and CEO
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Angela Culbert
Co-Founder & Operations
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Rollyn Renstrom
Chief Financial Officer
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Dr. Gerard Banez,
Community Psychology Expert, Cleveland Clinic
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Kaitlin Brown
Lead Teacher, Ronald McDonald House Charities Upper Midwest
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Kathy Flaminio
Mind-Body Skills Expert Education Committee Chair
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Dr. Kevin Harrington
Psychologist and Family Perspective Expert
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Chrissy Mignogna
Mind-Body Skills Expert
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Dr. Karen Olness
International Health, Developmental & Behavior Pediatrician
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Dr. Lynda Richtsmeier Cyr
Trauma and International Mental Health
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Dr. Anastasia Ristau
Mental Health Expert Research Committee Chair
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Open
Fundraising Philanthropy Committee Chair
Advisory Council of Experts
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Dr. David Alter
Psychology and Mind-Body Skills
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Dr. Henry Emmons
Integrative Psychiatry
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Anjanette Johnson
School Psychology, Social Emotional Learning
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Rebecca Kajander
Mind Body Skills, Integrative Medicine
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Anne Knipe
Legal & Community Advocacy
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Katie Lindenfelser
Integrative Medicine, Music Therapy, Hospice/Palliative Care
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Cheryl Raile
RN, MPH
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Dr. Geoff Raile
Medical Leadership
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Dr. Susan Sencer
Integrative Medicine Expert, Research
Get in Touch!
Inspired to make a difference? We’re thrilled that our mission resonates with you! Share your details, and we’ll reach out shortly. Together, we can make an even greater impact.
