Accelerated by a global pandemic, youth are experiencing a mental health crisis unlike anything we've seen before.

• There aren't enough clinical providers. For every 1,200 students there's only one school psychologist.
• Lack of providers makes support inaccessible. Costs are high and waitlists are as long as 4-6 months
• Support is reactive rather than proactive. Students don't get help until they reach a breaking point
• Educators are burnt out. There's not enough support & educators are feeling the burden

Clayful provides coaching for every student - when & where they need it. We chat with founder Maria Barrera about:

• Maria's experiences as an immigrant from Colombia 
• What it takes to get schools admin, teachers, counselors, parents, and students onboard 
• The financial incentives that make it possible for schools to provide Clayful 
• The importance of providing support, not advice - and the inspiration behind this intention
• How to measure success and what to optimize for -  "We want to reach more kids - but we also want to build their own capacity to coach themselves. If we design for daily use, does that mean we become a crutch? How do you define value? If one session changes a kid's life, is that enough?"

About Maria
Maria ran her first coaching session when she was 15. 

Then as a tutor, and now as founder of Clayful, Maria has always found joy in coaching others through everyday life stressors and challenges. This led her to start a tutoring company while getting her engineering degrees at Stanford University, to leading growth, product, and marketing at edtech leader Nearpod, and to being a part of the early team at HR-focused, a16z-backed, ChartHop. 

Now, she is building Clayful to be the support she wished she had had (and that would have saved her lots in therapy bills!). With Clayful, kids have access to personalized resources that improve their mental wellness, regardless of socio-economic status.

Follow Maria:

• LinkedIn 
• Twitter

Follow Clayful, and bring Clayful to your school;

• LinkedIn 
• Instagram 
• Twitter 
• www.clayfulhealth.com

Part 2 of our conversation with Sharon! Last time on bamboo & glass, we focused on the beginnings of her content creation journey and the tribulations that came with the new chapter. In this episode, we'll chat more about specifically confidence and self-love, and how they go hand-in-hand with putting yourself out there both online and offline, especially when it comes to dating~

About Sharon Lee:
Sharon Lee loves food, media, and Asian American culture. Sharon is a restaurant + media critic who shares her favorite Koreatown/LA spots as well as her takes on whatever show she’s watching (probably a reality dating show on Netflix.) Born in Memphis, Tennessee but raised to be a proud Korean American by Los Angeles, Sharon is grateful to be embraced by Koreatown. Sharon is training for the LA Marathon with Koreatown Run Club, volunteers at Bicycle Meals, and loves to have her Korean corrected by the ajumma's at various Koreatown establishments. Sharon contributes for Netflix Golden, Infatuation LA, Eater LA, Sundae School, and many more fun upcoming projects—stay tuned :)
⟡ tiktok: @helloimsharon

How to support bamboo & glass:  
🌿Share thoughts and ideas with us via Instagram @bambooandglass
🌿Share our Instagram posts & episodes with loved ones - we're on every podcast platform
🌿Treat us to a coffee through Buy Me a Coffee
🌿Invite us to your company/org/school to lead a workshop! DM @bambooandglass or email us at bambooandglass@gmail.com.

Follow bamboo & glass on:
⟡ instagram: @bambooandglass
⟡ substack: bambooandglass.substack.com
⟡ tiktok: @bambooandglass
⟡ twitter: @bambooandglass
⟡ links to various platforms: beacons.ai/bambooandglass
⟡ website: www.bambooandglass.buzzsprout.com

Posting online is scary - especially when you come in with preconceived notions of what it means to gather a following and to put work into that. We spoke with Sharon Lee, a TikToker best known for her LA recs, loving advice from her dad, and hot takes on media, about her journey into TikTok - how she hated (and still hates) influencer culture, how she positions herself to make this endeavor meaningful, and how she even deals with negative feedback from judgmental friends and getting canceled.

Part 2 coming next week!

About Sharon Lee:
Sharon Lee loves food, media, and Asian American culture. Sharon is a restaurant + media critic who shares her favorite Koreatown/LA spots as well as her takes on whatever show she’s watching (probably a reality dating show on Netflix.) Born in Memphis, Tennessee but raised to be a proud Korean American by Los Angeles, Sharon is grateful to be embraced by Koreatown. Sharon is training for the LA Marathon with Koreatown Run Club, volunteers at Bicycle Meals, and loves to have her Korean corrected by the ajumma's at various Koreatown establishments. Sharon contributes for Netflix Golden, Infatuation LA, Eater LA, Sundae School, and many more fun upcoming projects—stay tuned :)
⟡ tiktok: @helloimsharon

How to support bamboo & glass:  
🌿Share thoughts and ideas with us via Instagram @bambooandglass
🌿Share our Instagram posts & episodes with loved ones - we're on every podcast platform
🌿Treat us to a coffee through Buy Me a Coffee
🌿Invite us to your company/org/school to lead a workshop! DM @bambooandglass or email us at bambooandglass@gmail.com.

Follow bamboo & glass on:
⟡ instagram: @bambooandglass
⟡ substack: bambooandglass.substack.com
⟡ tiktok: @bambooandglass
⟡ twitter: @bambooandglass
⟡ links to various platforms: beacons.ai/bambooandglass
⟡ website: www.bambooandglass.buzzsprout.com