My Partners

Established in the wake of Jared Zimmerman’s passing in April 2016, Jared's Fund was built from donations by friends, family, and community members who wanted to honor his memory and address the stigma around mental illness. Today, Jared’s Fund runs initiatives like their Youth Fellowship and camp scholarships programs, empowering young people (especially Montclair-area high school students) to lead mental health advocacy and destigmatization projects. The Youth Fellowship that funded this provides a six‑week summer experience, pairing High School students or recent graduates with mentors to develop and implement mental health–focused projects, supported through weekly speaker series, cohort workshops, and leadership training! You can view their website at https://www.jaredsfund.com/ 

My partner Tara Zaretsky, LCSW, is a clinician currently working at Mental Health Association in the Center for Behavioral Health and Riskins Childrens Center (CBH/RCC). She works with children, adolescents and adults using treatment modalities of CBT, DBT, play therapy, and trauma-informed care. Tara has been working as a social worker since 2016 and is dedicated to helping children and their families across the lifespan succeed and make changes for their mental health.