In 2025, My Good Brain expanded to San Diego, opening our second California chapter at Liberty Station while continuing to grow and serve families across the SF Bay Area. Here is what we accomplished together.
Dear Friends, Families, and Supporters,
As I reflect on 2025, I am filled with deep gratitude and a profound sense of possibility. This was the year My Good Brain became a two-chapter organization. In August, we opened our first physical studio at Liberty Station in San Diego, while continuing to grow and serve the SF Bay Area community that has supported us since we launched in 2021.
2025 exceeded every goal we set. We distributed 760 Tool Kits, surpassing our 600+ target and bringing our cumulative total to 2,068 kits since 2021, reaching schools across Fremont, Colma, San Mateo County, and Santa Clara County in the Bay Area, and now expanding into San Diego. We launched new programs for our youngest learners through Little Mess Club and Little Sound Minds, created drop-in space for San Diego teens through Teen Creative Arts, and delivered our first Veteran family webinar series alongside Dr. Octaviana Hemmy of the San Diego VA Medical Center.
Our Bay Area programs never missed a beat. Tool Kit distribution continued, library workshop partnerships held strong, and our Starbucks NorCal DAN collaboration kept our volunteer assembly running smoothly. Running two chapters means our mission is reaching more children in more communities than ever before.
February 2026 marked our strongest revenue month since opening Liberty Station, a clear sign that our San Diego community is embracing MGB and investing in its future. None of this happens without community across both regions.
We are just getting started. Thank you for believing in this work.
In August 2025, My Good Brain opened its first permanent studio at 2785 Truxtun Rd, Suite 202 in San Diego, expanding from our SF Bay Area roots to bring a second California chapter to life.
MGB debuted at ArtWalk Liberty Station (August 2–3, 2025), bringing free interactive art activities to the San Diego community. What started as a pop-up became MGB's second permanent chapter, adding a San Diego studio home while our Bay Area chapter continued in full operation.
Monthly free, drop-in community events at Liberty Station launched as a welcoming gateway for new families, no registration, no pressure, just creative expression.
Our signature toddler workshop series filled its first session quickly, leading to a second Monday time slot opening by popular demand in October 2025.
February 2026 marked MGB's strongest revenue month since opening at Liberty Station, a clear sign that the San Diego community is investing in what we're building.
MGB co-created an on-demand webinar for Veteran parents alongside Dr. Octaviana Hemmy, our first formal San Diego institutional partnership. Art-based wellness resources are available to military families anytime.
In 2025, MGB operated programs spanning two regions, three age groups, and multiple community settings.
Our flagship program distributed 760 kits in 2025, surpassing our 600+ goal by 27%. Each quarterly kit contains art activities, SEL books, and coping tools. In the Bay Area, kits reached students in Fremont, Colma, San Mateo County, and Santa Clara County. In Fall 2025, we began donating Tool Kits to Title 1 schools in San Diego, extending our reach to students who need additional support the most.
MGB's new signature toddler workshop series at Liberty Station, paint-based, sensory-forward, and designed to produce functional take-home keepsakes. Caregivers and toddlers bond over creative exploration in a mess-friendly studio environment.
A research-informed toddler music and movement program rooted in Joan Koenig, Music Together, and Kindermusik frameworks. Little Sound Minds launched its first workshop series at Pacific Highlands Ranch Library in summer 2025, bringing sensory-friendly, SEL-rooted music sessions to San Diego families through the public library system. The warm reception led us to bring the full series into our Liberty Station creative studio, where it now runs as a regularly offered class for toddlers and caregivers.
In 2025, MGB established a new partnership with Liberty School, part of the Arts District at Liberty Station in San Diego. Our first partner school program with Dewey Elementary is now underway in Spring 2026: a 6-week arts enrichment program for the TK class, incorporating CBT-based SEL through process painting, calm places, and the CBT triangle, supported by custom slide decks and parent handouts.
Co-hosted by Destini Davis, a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT), and Shyanne Lu, a newly minted college freshman, the My Good Mind podcast brings together clinical expertise and lived Gen Z experience in every episode. The show covers stress, identity, social media, and the real mental health conversations young people are having. Listeners get both the tools and the language to take care of their minds.
MGB co-created "Building Resilient Families Through Art", an on-demand webinar for military Veteran parents developed alongside Dr. Octaviana Hemmy of the San Diego VA Medical Center. The resource introduces art-based coping strategies designed for military families and is available to access at any time.
After years as a digital series, Sunday Art Club officially launched as a live, in-person event in February 2026 with a Lunar New Year themed gathering that drew children and families to our Liberty Station studio. The event marked an exciting new chapter for one of MGB's most beloved community traditions.
Monthly free, themed art events at Liberty Station serving as a welcoming entry point for new San Diego families. Each month features rotating activities, suncatcher making, shamrock weaving, seasonal crafts, designed as process-based, drop-in experiences.
For the second consecutive year, MGB served as a designated internship site for the Child Mind Institute's Youth Mental Health Academy. In 2025, we hosted four summer interns who produced blog posts, online resources, social media assets, and videos on youth mental wellbeing — building on the three-intern cohort from 2024.
New in 2025, MGB partnered with Dr. Octaviana Hemmy to co-create "Building Resilient Families Through Art", an on-demand webinar for Veteran parents and MGB's first formal San Diego institutional collaboration.
In 2025, Starbucks partners voted for MGB and we were awarded a $4,000 Starbucks Neighborhood Grant, a meaningful recognition from the DAN community that has supported our Tool Kit program with volunteer crews and logistics for years.
In 2025, MGB collaborated with Toyish Labs, the inventors of Clixo, bringing our joint SEL activity booklet to community booths and events across both California chapters. Families in San Diego and the SF Bay Area experienced the MGB x Clixo activities firsthand, with children building rockets, wings, mandalas, and pinwheels while practicing mindfulness and deep breathing. The collaboration has been warmly received, with children and caregivers engaging deeply with the play-based SEL concepts at every stop.
Volunteers are the heart of My Good Brain. From Bay Area Tool Kit crews to San Diego event facilitators and teen podcast hosts, our community makes every program possible.
Tiffany joined the MGB Board as Director in late 2025, bringing strategic vision and operational insight to our growing organization. She is co-leading the planning of MGB's Tool Kit Assembly Day and actively opening doors to new growth opportunities for both chapters.
Kat served as MGB's Resident Artist of the Year in 2025, bringing her creative voice and artistic expertise to our San Diego studio. Her work with MGB included leading original workshops that blended self-expression with emotional exploration, giving youth and families a space to create and connect.
Destini Davis, a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT), and Shyanne Lu, a newly minted college freshman, co-host the My Good Mind podcast, pairing clinical knowledge with real Gen Z perspective to make mental health conversations feel accessible, honest, and relevant to young listeners.
In 2025, MGB renamed the "Parent Volunteer" role to Community Workshop Volunteer, opening our volunteer community to all caring adults, not just parents, and reflecting the diversity of people who show up for our mission.
Since 2021, MGB's website has grown into a free, accessible mental health hub for families, educators, and youth. All resources below reflect cumulative totals since our founding.
2025 laid an extraordinary foundation across both chapters. Here is what MGB is working toward in 2026.
Grow our weekly class offerings for toddlers, elementary-age youth, and teens at Liberty Station, and show up at more community events across San Diego to connect with families who haven't found us yet.
Bring MGB's signature blend of art and mental wellness to multi-day camp experiences at Liberty Station, giving children dedicated time to create, explore, and build emotional skills in community.
Partner with Hsi Fang Temple and other culturally-aligned organizations to bring art-based mindfulness workshops to San Diego's Buddhist and Asian American communities.
Expand MGB's network with pediatric practices, schools, libraries, and family wellness organizations across San Diego County, so more families know where to find us.
Pursue a robust slate of grant opportunities across both chapters, with a dedicated funder calendar and grant writing support, so more of our programs can be free or low-cost to the families who need them.
Deepen our commitment to eco-friendly practices by expanding material partnerships, launching community donation drives, and reducing waste across both studio locations.
Activate at Fremont Art & Wine Festival, Colma, Daly City, and Sunnyvale community events with a portable MGB booth, introducing families to our mission and keeping MGB visible in the communities that have supported us from the start.
Expand Little Mess Club–style workshops to new Bay Area library sites, with bilingual materials in English/Spanish and English/Tagalog, so more young children and caregivers can access MGB's programs close to home.
Distribute Tool Kits to more Bay Area students through new school and organizational partners, continuing a tradition of placing SEL tools directly in the hands of children who need them most.
Recruit and develop young adult volunteers from Bay Area colleges, giving them real leadership experience as Library Facilitators, Tool Kit Assembly Leads, and Events Coordinators. They help us build a strong, sustainable volunteer base.
In 2025, MGB received $30,919.98 in total funding, spanning grants, individual donations, and in-kind contributions from organizations and community partners. This multi-stream model keeps our programs resilient and our mission moving forward.
Grants · Donations · In-Kind · Gift Card
Highest earned revenue since opening Liberty Station
San Diego Symphony ($2,740) · Lisa Libraries ($2,280) · Ridwell ($1,000) · Blick Art gift card ($550) · Clixo ($300)
My Good Brain is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (Tax ID: 86-1952565). Donations are tax-deductible to the full extent permitted by law. To request our most recent Form 990 or audited financials, contact us at mygoodbrain.org.
My Good Brain exists because people believe in this work. Every grant, every donation, every in-kind contribution, and every hour volunteered, carries our mission forward. We are honored to say thank you.
Event tickets provided throughout the year, supporting MGB community access to the arts.
Books donated directly to support MGB's quarterly Tool Kit distributions.
Sustainable art materials repurposed for MGB programs and community events.
Play materials supporting STEAM-integrated SEL activities for youth.
The following individuals made personal financial contributions to My Good Brain in 2025. We are deeply grateful for your generosity and belief in our mission.
Also thank you to the Trono Team and Vipra for their generous organizational donations in support of MGB's general operations.
To every grant maker, donor, in-kind partner, volunteer, school partner, library, and community member who showed up for MGB in 2025, in the Bay Area and in San Diego, we are grateful beyond words. You are the reason children in our communities have access to the tools they need for their mental wellness. Your continued investment carries us into 2026 and beyond.
Every donation, volunteer hour, and partnership helps more children and teens access the creative mental wellness tools they deserve.