About WellFedMinds

WellFedMinds is a women-led nonprofit working at the intersection of nutrition, behavioral health, and community well-being.

Founded by former federal leaders from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, WellFedMinds was created to address a persistent gap in health and community systems: food access, nutrition, culture, and community wisdom are too often disconnected from behavioral health prevention, treatment, and recovery.

We partner with behavioral health providers, healthcare systems, public health and human service agencies, schools, Tribes, and community-based organizations to design practical, scalable approaches that strengthen well-being and protective factors for youth, families, and communities.

Based in Denver, Colorado, WellFedMinds works locally and nationally to advance integrated, community-centered approaches to mental health, substance use prevention, treatment, and recovery.

Why We're Here

WellFedMinds began with a quiet, persistent question:

Why do we treat food, mental health, and community as separate when they have always belonged together?

Throughout our careers in public health, nutrition, and behavioral health, we have worked inside federal agencies, across states and Tribes, and alongside communities doing their very best to support children and families.

Again and again, we witnessed the same truth: when people are nourished physically, emotionally, culturally, and socially, they are better positioned to feel well, engage in care, and sustain recovery.

We created WellFedMinds because prevention begins long before a crisis. It begins in kitchens, gardens, classrooms, care settings, and everyday conversations. It begins with nourishment, connection, and belonging.

What Shaped Us

Our work is grounded in professional expertise and lived experience.

We are public health and nutrition leaders, but we are also mothers, partners, daughters, and neighbors. We have navigated school systems, supported children with different strengths and needs, balanced sports schedules and homework, and experienced the importance of food and connection in everyday family life.

We have seen shared meals foster connection, cultural traditions strengthen identity, and community relationships reduce isolation. We have also seen how fragmented systems can feel overwhelming and far removed from the realities of the people they are intended to serve.

WellFedMinds grew from both federal conference rooms and kitchen tables—from policy and parenting, evidence and experience.

Rocks in a crate that are painted with fruits and veggies on them

What We Believe

Nourishment is more than calories
Food is connected to safety, identity, culture, emotional well-being, and belonging.

Communities already hold wisdom
Youth, families, peers, and communities should help shape the solutions intended for them. Our role is to listen, align resources, and strengthen what is already working.

Prevention should begin early
Children and families deserve environments that support well-being and strengthen protective factors before challenges become crises.

Relationships make change possible
We move at the speed of trust and build alongside partners, not apart from them.

Health is interconnected
Nutrition, food access, mental health, substance use, culture, and community conditions cannot be addressed effectively in isolation.

Learning requires humility
We do not arrive with every answer. We bring evidence, experience, and curiosity—and develop solutions with the people closest to the work.

Where Culture, Care, and Food Come Together

WellFedMinds is building a more connected approach to well-being. One in which nourishing food is accessible and culturally meaningful, behavioral health is part of everyday care, families feel supported, and communities help shape the path forward.

This work is both professional and personal to us. We approach it with care, thoughtfulness, humility, and a deep belief in what becomes possible when people are truly nourished.

Image of the founders wearing hats outdoors

Contact WellFedMinds

Connect with us to explore how we can work together to support your organization and community.

About the Founders

Traci Pole - Co-Founder

Traci Pole is a seasoned public health leader whose 22-year career with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services included leadership roles and initiatives across SAMHSA, CDC, and regional public health systems. Her work focuses on aligning behavioral health, nutrition, and community health systems to strengthen prevention, improve well-being, and support recovery.

Gina O’Brian, RDN – Co-Founder

Gina O’Brian is a registered dietitian and former USDA Regional Lead Nutritionist with three decades of experience in nutrition policy and consumer education, food systems innovation, and federal grant management. Her efforts focus on working alongside communities until all have access to nutritionally supported healthcare and regular nourishing meals.