WXR Mental Health Resiliency

Prior to the pandemic, 18.1% of the adult US population suffered from an anxiety disorder, and that number is expected to go up in the next few months (ADAA). Seniors and other groups more vulnerable to COVID-19, children and teens, and healthcare providers are especially at risk (CDC). Our next VR Roundtable will focus on Mental Resilience and the strategies we can all use during this time to promote mental wellness, as well as ways we can support those in our communities. We’ll explore cutting edge technology solutions and fundamental best practices we can all integrate into our daily lives while practicing physical distancing.

This event will be hosted in AltspaceVR. A headset is not required to view the event, but participants will need to download the AltspaceVR app.

The Speakers

Sarah Hill - Founder & CEO, StoryUp XR

Sarah Hill is the CEO of Healium, a virtual and augmented reality tool for anxiety powered by the user's own brainwaves and heart rate. After 20 years as a TV reporter covering trauma, her media diet of reporting the day's headlines ultimately made her sick. Hill developed Healium for herself as well as the 41 million others who struggle with anxiety. Healium is a digi-ceutical for people to detox from what they're consuming digitally. Healium is the world’s first biometrically-powered VR/AR immersive media channel controlled by the user's brainwaves and heart rate via consumer wearables. Hill's XR experiences are clinically validated in 3 peer-reviewed journals and have been viewed more than 7 million times. She is also a former interactive TV news journalist for the NBC, ABC, & CBS affiliates in Missouri. A national Edward R. Murrow, NAB Service to America, National Sigma Delta Chi, and 12-time mid-America Emmy award-winning TV reporter, Hill has 25 years of experience building unique media franchises. She spent decades reporting about the world’s negativity and trauma in Sri Lanka, Zambia, Guatemala, Indonesia, and Congo. Healium's roots are in virtual travel for Veterans. In 2015, Hill’s team built a program called “Honor Everywhere”, that uses Virtual Reality to allow aging Veterans the opportunity to see their WWII, Vietnam, Korea, & Women’s Memorials.  

Skip Rizzo - Director of Medical Virtual Reality, USC

Albert “Skip” Rizzo is a clinical psychologist and Director of Medical Virtual Reality at the University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies. He is also a Research Professor with the USC Dept. of Psychiatry and at the USC Davis School of Gerontology. Over the last 20 years, Rizzo has conducted research on the design, development and evaluation of Virtual Reality systems targeting the areas of clinical assessment, treatment and rehabilitation across the domains of psychological, cognitive and motor functioning in both healthy and clinical populations. This work has focused on PTSD, TBI, Autism, ADHD, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke and other clinical conditions. In spite of the diversity of these clinical R&D areas, the common thread that drives all of his work with digital technologies involves the study of how interactive and immersive Virtual Reality simulations can be usefully applied to address human healthcare needs beyond what is possible with traditional 20th Century tools and methods

Sharon Mozgai - Associate Director of Medical VR - USC

During Sharon’s 15+ years working in both academia and computer science/interactive technologies laboratories, she has bridged diverse fields by wearing many hats: professor, curriculum developer, writer, data analyst, study coordinator, interviewer, psychometrician. These experiences have given her unique insight into successfully navigating multi-disciplinary challenges and effectively speaking the language of multiple stakeholders.

As both a researcher and educator with extensive experience in experimental design, she has conducted quantitative and qualitative research on organizational behavior, applied psychology, natural language processes and human-computer interaction with a focus on embodied virtual agents and virtual reality.

Nina Salomons - Cofounder, XR Diversity Initiative

Nina Salomons is a filmmaker, diversity advocate and XR consultant. She has created, filmed and produced various forms of immersive content. She founded the Women in VR meetup group in London in 2016 and has continued to work for companies that work in immersive technologies such as Unit 9, VRFocus and Cornerstone Partnership for brands and enterprise clients.

A firm diversity and inclusion advocate, she's led the VR and XR diversity Initiatives. To avoid pre-existing problems in film, television, gaming and technology both initiatives focus on making immersive technology accessible and democratic for everybody from the onset. She continues to advocate a safe and ethical space as VR moves online.

She is currently working on bringing VR into prisons for rehabilitation and training as well as consulting for companies such as ImmerseUK and Digital Catapult to grow and diversify immersive companies. She continues to make films both 2D and in VR.

Sarah Ticho - Founder, Hatsumi VR

Sarah has spent her career working across the interdisciplinary arts, academia, healthcare and immersive technology as a producer, curator, artist and researcher. She is the founder of Hatsumi, a research and design studio that works at the intersection of arts, health and immersive technology to develop experiences that challenge how we think and feel about the world and imagine the future of health and wellbeing. She is a freelance producer with Explore Deep and Healthcare Lead at Immerse UK. She is currently training to become a death doula, an emotional support to people and their families that are going through the end of life process.

Moderated by

Malia Probst, Founding Partner, VRScout & Founding Venture Partner, WXR Fund, Wellness Practitioner & Advocate

Malia Probst is an international speaker and leader in the spatial computing industry (VR/AR/XR). She’s an award-winning producer, podcast host, on-air talent, and investor. Malia is also an advocate of LGBTQ+ visibility, empowering creators and founders, and furthering diversity.
Malia is a founding partner at VRScout, one of the world's leading immersive media companies, and a cofounder of the WXR Fund, a venture fund focused on investing in startups with significant female ownership that are building the future with spatial computing and AI.