Mental Health

Sylvie Raver leads the SPARC portfolio within the Milken Institute’s Strategic Philanthropy pillar. Previously, she managed SPARC’s Brain Disorders and Mental Health focus areas. She brings her expertise in neuroscience, neurodegenerative disease, mental health, and biomedical research to steer SPARC’s efforts to guide philanthropic capital, design and launch funding programs, and build communities of funders and experts—all toward advancing progress in science and health.  

Prior to joining SPARC, Raver led the Society for Neuroscience’s global programming and policy efforts in neuroscience training for individual scientists and other members. Raver completed postdoctoral training at the National Institute on Aging, received a PhD from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and holds a bachelor’s degree from Lafayette College. 

Cheryl Anne Boyce, PhD, is the director of the mental health focus area on the Science Philanthropy Accelerator for Research and Collaboration (SPARC) team at Milken Institute Strategic Philanthropy. 

Before joining the Milken Institute, Boyce served as an Associate Commissioner at the United States Food and Drug Administration, overseeing programs that advanced clinical research, therapeutic development, and scientific engagement to inform regulatory decision-making. She previously served as the inaugural Assistant Director for Re-engineering the Research Enterprise in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Common Fund, where she led high-risk, high-reward initiatives and landmark clinical and translational research programs. Her NIH career also included leadership roles at the National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, and National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, with a focus on developmental neuroscience, preventive interventions, and implementation science. Her federal service further includes work in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and as a Society for Research in Child Development/American Association for the Advancement of Science Science & Technology Policy Fellow focused on national initiatives on children, trauma, drug abuse, and mental health. Boyce is a co-author of a widely used handbook on writing research grants, which has been downloaded more than 100,000 times. She earned her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, completing clinical and research fellowships at Children’s National Medical Center and the University of Maryland School of Medicine. 

Ishtiaq Mawla applies his background in translational research, business consulting, and stakeholder management to support philanthropists, families, and foundations to SPARC’s Rare Disease, Cancer, and Mental Health focus areas. Ishtiaq received his PhD from the University of Michigan and his undergraduate degree from Connecticut College.

Lillian Parr supports SPARC’s Brain Disorders and Mental Health focus areas. Previously, Parr was a research fellow at the Council on Strategic Risks, where she conducted research on biosecurity and pandemic-prevention policy. Her work focused on a range of issues, including zoonotic spillover prevention, regulation of dual-use life sciences research, and technology for pathogen early warning. Parr holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the College of William & Mary. As an undergraduate, Parr was an iGEM researcher and completed a research fellowship at Caltech.

Samantha Schumm applies her expertise in neuroscience to SPARC’s Mental Health focus area. Previously, Schumm was a program officer with the Board on Health Sciences Policy at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; she directed studies on race and ethnicity in biomedical and genomics research and led working groups on workforce development and manufacturing technologies in regenerative medicine. Schumm holds a PhD in bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Yale University.

Elizabeth Stafford brings expertise in mental health and person-centered research to the Milken Institute’s partnerships with philanthropists and foundations, developing collaborative strategies to optimize philanthropic investment in advancing mental health research priorities. Previously, Stafford served as Director of Research for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). She received a master of public health degree in Epidemiology with a Certificate in Public Health Genetics from the University of Michigan.