Dr. Rachel Wernicke, Chief Mental Health Officer for Dalya Partners, is a clinical and consulting psychologist and executive coach.  She started her career as an officer in the U.S. Army where she served in active and reserve duty positions. Since then, she has provided psychological services and held leadership positions in mental health and higher education settings for more than 20 years, including her current role as an Associate Dean and Chief Mental Health Officer at George Mason University.  In this role, she provides strategic oversight for health, mental health, and disability-related student support functions.  Her areas of clinical expertise include college student mental health, anxiety disorder treatment, and trauma.  At Mason, she has worked on mental health-focused initiatives including the implementation of a public health approach to the prevention of suicide and serious substance use.

As a psychology consultant, Rachel has provided keynote talks and workshops to organizations interested in creating cultures of mental health and well-being in the workplace. Her recent Tedx talk, Mental Health in the New Normal, addresses these themes in the post-COVID era.

Rachel holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in psychology from American University and a B.A. in political science from the University of Pennsylvania.  She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in psychology at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School.  She is an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) through the International Coaching Federation.