Our Founders

Dr. Lizzie Cleary is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in oncology, grief, and helping people find meaning in life’s most challenging experiences. Dr. Cleary graduated from Harvard with a B.A. in Psychology and from UCLA with a Ph.D. in Clinical and Health Psychology.

With over a decade of experience at the Simms/Mann UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology, she served as Director of Clinical Training and Senior Psychologist, providing care to patients with cancer and training clinicians across disciplines, including psychology, psychiatry, and social work.

In her private practice, Dr. Cleary supports individuals navigating grief, cancer diagnoses, survivorship, and caregiver stress. Her therapeutic approach integrates Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), emphasizing emotional regulation, self-compassion, connection, and resilience.

Beyond clinical work, Dr. Cleary offers educational consultations to families, workplaces, and communities seeking to support loved ones facing cancer or grief. She trains clinicians who serve oncology practices across the country in her role as a Clinical Advisor for CollaHealth and teaches psycho-oncology within health systems. Dr. Cleary also mentors students and early-career professionals from underrepresented backgrounds in mental health fields.

Dr. Katy Jakle is a Los Angeles-based, licensed clinical psychologist specializing in anxiety, sleep, traumatic stress and shame. She holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Psychology from Stanford University and her doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University. 

With more than 15 years of clinical experience, she has served in university counseling centers, the Veterans Health Administration, and private practice, where she blends evidence-based treatments with authenticity, clarity, and collaboration.

In her private practice, Dr. Jakle supports adults seeking relief from insomnia, chronic worry, generalized and social anxiety, self-criticism and trauma disorders. She draws on therapies such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Compassion Focused Therapy, helping clients build emotional flexibility, self-compassion, and a greater sense of purpose and calm.

Beyond therapy, Dr. Jakle has designed and written about sleep-focused interventions, and delivered workshops on treatment modalities and sleep-related interventions. As a co-founder of Wise Mind Advisors, she now brings this expertise to media and business teams.

Dr. Jakle is a Diplomate in Behavioral Sleep Medicine and an advocate for psychological approaches that are both rigorously effective and deeply human.

Dr. Ani Vartazarian is a licensed clinical psychologist in California and New York who specializes in evidence-based treatment for anxiety, perfectionism, maternal mental health, and insomnia. She earned her undergraduate degree in Psychology from UC Berkeley and her master’s and doctoral degrees in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University.

Dr. Vartazarian is a Clinical Instructor at UCLA, where she serves as an attending psychologist in the Insomnia Clinic at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. She is also an adjunct faculty member at Pepperdine University, where she has taught graduate courses in multicultural psychology.

Before establishing her private practice, Dr. Vartazarian spent four years at UCLA Counseling and Psychological Services as a staff psychologist and clinical supervisor, following her APA-accredited internship and postdoctoral fellowship in evidence-based treatments for mood and anxiety disorders. She received specialized training in exposure and response prevention (ERP) for OCD, the Unified Protocol for emotional disorders, and cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I). She is a certified CBT-I clinician through a program developed at Harvard Medical School.

Drawing on her clinical and academic background, Dr. Vartazarian now partners with organizations to design programs that reduce burnout, enhance mental health, and support employees through life transitions. She offers consulting, workshops, and strategic guidance that translate cutting-edge psychology into practical, effective solutions.

Dr. Bonnie Zucker is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in the treatment and prevention of anxiety disorders. She completed her undergraduate work at Cornell University and obtained a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at UCLA. 

Dr. Zucker has co-authored several scholarly articles and enjoys writing for the general population. In addition to having a blog through Psychology Today, she has a book in contract with New Harbinger Publications called Freedom from Panic: Evidence-Based Techniques to End Avoidance and Stop Panic Before It Stops You.

In addition to her private practice, Dr. Zucker is on the clinical faculty at UCLA. Previously she has been a faculty member and the Director of Adult Behavior Therapy Programs at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and the Assistant Training Director at UCLA Counseling and Psychological Services (UCLA-CAPS). She has also trained thousands of mental health clinicians in treating anxiety through in-person and online programs.

Dr. Zucker brings her media experience to Wise Mind Advisors, as she has served as a consultant on dozens of reality television shows. She currently co-hosts a popular podcast called Anxiety Matters.