About

Sounds of Saving (SoS) is a 501c(3) music and mental health non-profit that creates unique video content, experiences, and events to provide awareness, education, resources, and direct paths to treatment—especially for youth and marginalized communities.

Traditional mental healthcare messaging doesn’t necessarily reach those who need it. People in different musical subcultures speak their own language around mental health that doesn’t subscribe to typical messaging.*

But extensive research shows that when details of positive coping during crisis are presented through media, it has a protective quality for those who may be experiencing suicidal ideation and encourages help-seeking and hopefulness. This contagion of hope is known as the Papageno effect—the impact that media can have by presenting non-suicide alternatives to crisis.

We see music, for creators and listeners, as a uniquely powerful space to process struggle and joy and stay connected to each other.

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1: Reduce Stigma, Raise Awareness, Spread Hopefulness
‍By spreading personal stories from artists and fans about managing mental health struggles, we create dialogue that minimizes shame surrounding discussions of mental wellbeing.

‍2: Educate & Engage
‍We host and appear at live events to provide resources about mental health to music fans of all genres, with extra focus on under-represented communities and young people who may be unaware of, or even feel alienated by, the existing culture of mental health care.

‍3: Provide Pathways to Treatment
‍Through the SoS Therapy Fund, we offer grants to fans and artists that cover up to 12 psychotherapy sessions with experienced and culturally competent clinicians in their area or online. We partner with specific clinical networks to increase the likelihood that participants are able to financially afford treatment if desired following the grant period.
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Why We Exist

Americans are experiencing high rates of mental health struggles and suicide. Factors that prevent people from seeking needed mental health treatment include stigma and lack of education and awareness, as well as the high costs, limited options and long waits embedded in our health care system — particularly for marginalized communities and young people.

• 95.6% of Americans with mental health conditions have experienced barriers in accessing care**, with over 50% of mental health issues going unaddressed.***

• 22% of people who need help did not seek it because of stigma; 34% did not seek help due to lack of knowledge on what kind of help to seek or where to get it.***

• Only 9 out of 50 states have any mental health education in school curricula.

*Rowe, P., & Guerin, B. (2018). Contextualizing the mental health of metal youth: A community for Social Protection, identity, and musical empowerment. Journal of Community Psychology, 46(4), 429–441. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.21949
**Coombs NC, Meriwether WE, Caringi J, Newcomer SR. Barriers to healthcare access among U.S. adults with mental health challenges: A population-based study. SSM Popul Health. 2021 Jun 15
***Sapien Labs Mental Health Million Report 2021: Mental Health Has Bigger Challenges Than Stigma

Team

Nick Greto

Co-Founder

‍nick@soundsofsaving.com‍

‍Nick created Sounds of Saving in 2017 as a response to losing his uncle to suicide. He has always found solace in music. Nick grew up in a family of musicians, creates music himself, has written for music publications, and even helped found a small Brooklyn record label.
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A graduate of Widener University with a degree in psychology, he has been involved in technology and music in NYC since 2007. Nick currently resides in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn with his wife, Dana, and two daughters.
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Cassie Archdeacon

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

‍cassie@soundsofsaving.com‍

Cassie is a lifelong music obsessive with a background in arts programming, management, and operations. She started her career in the literary world as an event producer and artist manager, launching a globally accessible virtual writing program that continues to thrive today. She holds an undergraduate degree from NYU Gallatin and an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School, where she served as a teaching fellow.
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Isa Tariq

RESIDENT PROJECT MANAGER

isatariq@soundsofsaving.com‍

Isa Tariq is a facilitator, DJ, and passionate advocate for equitable access to high quality mental health care for all communities. He works regularly with both artists and organizers, bridging the two worlds with the intent of creating experiences that make people more free. Isa grew up listening to U2 and Dipset, reading Audre Lorde and the Boondocks, and using art as a way to process both the world around him and his own emotions. Currently a psychology major at Amherst College, he believes mental health and trauma are linked to every issue of injustice and that art is a powerful asset in the fight for a more just world.
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Charlie Gross

Co-Founder

charlie@soundsofsaving.com

Charlie Gross is a psychotherapist and photographer based in Brooklyn. His photography work explores the overlap between creativity and mental health. In the ‘90s, Charlie was a personal photographer for Beck and based his work largely in the music world. His current work includes a long-term artist residency at Kings County Hospital in which he uses collaborative photography with young adult patients to tell their stories.
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Charlie treated young adult patients with substance use and psychiatric disorders at the Weill Cornell Medical Center and in private practice. He holds a BA in Comparative Literature from Columbia University and an MA in Clinical Psychology from the City University of New York.

Alyssa Goldberg

EDITORIAL LEAD + OPERATIONS ASSISTANT

‍alyssa@soundsofsaving.com‍

Alyssa Goldberg is a passionate mental health advocate, writer, and photographer. Her work utilizes educational and creative media to advance health literacy and aims to bridge the gap between the arts and public health. In her writing, Alyssa’s goal is to amplify voices traditionally disregarded in healthcare and exemplify how personal narratives can be used to holistically address health issues.

Her publications appear in Teen Vogue, Mary Christie Quarterly, Washington Square News, 988 Lifeline, and elsewhere. She holds a BS in Global Public Health and Applied Psychology from NYU, and is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Media, Medicine, and Health at Harvard Medical School to further her expertise in impactful storytelling that advances public health interventions.

Board of Advisors

Adrienne C. Moore

actor, Orange is the New Black

Alec Bemis

founder Brassland Records

Alex Rosamilia

musician, founding member Gaslight Anthem, Dead Swords

Bradley Tusk

venture capitalist and philanthropist

Brittney King Brock

Music Executive, Entrepreneur, Wellness Enthusiast, and the founder of King Creative Group, an artist services and management company whose clients include Quality Control Music, Lil Baby, City Girls, & Jamaica Craft. Working with some of music’s top talents over the past 12 years has led to her new role as President of Operations at 10k Projects record label, where she oversees the day to day operations of all artists on the roster including Trippie Redd, Iann Dior & Surfaces. Although the music business is great, her life outside of it as a mom, wife & wellness advocate is even better. Her personal brand Women Like Me is a dedicated platform to educate burned out, busy, overworked women in creative industries on how to slow down and make time to nurture their mind, body, and spirit. Her overall goal is to set a strong example of female leadership, as her motivation is to help young women elevate into positions of power.

Dana Wachs

live sound engineer for Cat Power, Deerhunter, St. Vincent and others, musical director for Rachel Comey & singer songwriter for Vorhees

Dave Bellevue

musician Oxymorrons, worked with the Jed foundation, Time Magazine’s The Future of Mental Health.

Emily Lazar

Grammy winning, American mastering engineer. She is the founder, president, and chief mastering engineer of The Lodge, an audio mastering facility that has operated in New York City's Greenwich Village since 1997.

Gary Gunn

composer, music producer, and audiovisual artist noted for his genre-defying musical aesthetic and forward-thinking application of sound across contemporary art, film, augmented/virtual realities, and botanical environments.

Graham Macindoe

Born in Scotland, Graham MacIndoe studied painting at Edinburgh College of Art and received a master's degree in photography from the Royal College of Art in London. He is an associate professor of photography at Parsons School of Design in New York City and has worked as a photographer for more than 20 years. His documentary and portrait photography focuses on a range of social justice issues, including drug policy and criminal justice reform, as well as music and running—a lifelong passion he continues today. Graham has published and exhibited his work widely, including solo exhibitions at the National Arts Club in New York City in 2021, the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati in 2018, and the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in 2017. In 2020 his photographs were included in group shows at the International Center of Photography in NYC and The Museum of the City of New York. He recently published “Light Years,” a book of photographs taken over 20 years of the Grammy award-winning band The National. In 2017 the Scottish National Portrait Gallery acquired and exhibited a series of photographs he took during a period of addiction, accompanied by text and multimedia describing his trajectory from addiction to recovery. The Guardian called that show, Coming Clean, one of five “best UK exhibitions” to see when it opened.

Jamie Feldman

non-profit, tech start-up and L&D expert

Joanna P. Elliot

nonprofit management consultant including for Jennifer Lopez’s "Lopez Family Foundation" & Linkin Park’s "Music For Relief"

Julia Cumming

singer/songwriter Sunflower Bean & activist

Ken Weinstein

Cofounder and co-president of Big Hassle Media

Lisa Gottheil

Co-founder and partner at Grandstand Media. Has worked in the music business for 30 years. She is on the board of Josh’s Fund, a non-profit that works to provide educational support for nurses working on bone marrow and stem cell transplant units. She is also the co-founder of The Sled, a NYC non-profit that assists underprivileged NYC Public School students and their families, most of whom live in shelters or other temporary housing.

Mark Elzey

Mark Elzey is a fashion, portrait, and commercial photographer working across New York, Los Angeles, and Europe. Originally from Bogalusa, Louisiana, Mark’s life has always been filled with art. From watching his grandmother paint, to early placement in magnet charter schools as a gifted creative, Mark’s world is rooted in self expression and originality. Now residing in Brooklyn, Mark finds the city provides him with an endless source of inspiration.

Meshell Ndegeocello

musician

Nate Auerbach

Partner at Versus Creative, a marketing strategy firm that works to build communities and experiences around music and culture. Leads a breadth of clients that have included Spotify, Instagram, Goldenvoice Concerts, Monotone Artist Management, Solange, the Grateful Dead, Oatly, Rockstar Games and Vinyl Me, Please. Prior to joining Versus, Nate spent a decade in senior roles at the intersection of music and tech, including four years as Head of Music at Tumblr, where he facilitated industry partnerships, editorial and program development, and worked closely with the artist community to engage Tumblr's passionate audience. Before Tumblr, he helmed the digital department at The Collective talent management, where he architected Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Fridays series and led Linkin Park to a #1 album with A Thousand Suns. Nate also held a myriad of roles at Myspace during the social network's heyday. He got his start as a tour manager while finishing college at Syracuse University and, upon graduation, traveled the world with multi-Grammy Award winning band, Ozomatli after bailing them out of jail his first day on the job. Advisor to Vinyl Me, Please and the Black Jewish Entertainment Alliance and the Schusterman Foundation’s Reality initiative. A multi-Clio Award recipient and Billboard Digital Power Player, Nate passionately brings an artist perspective and digital acumen to his partners in his mission to unite fans around the globe.

Owen Grover

Pocketcast CEO

Peter Shapiro

promoter/owner of Brooklyn Bowl & Capitol Theatre

Sunanda Ghosh

Sunanda has over a decade of experience in fundraising and has worked with national and international nonprofits for over 20 years, including The American Friends Service Committee, Human Rights Watch and Mural Arts. Her work has mostly focused on fundraising strategy, leadership gifts, campaign management, planned giving and board development. She is currently based in Philadelphia and has worked in India, South Africa, and Brazil, and speaks fluent Bengali.