Spread the Light with Dr. Devika B: A transformative well-being movement
Led by pediatrician, author and the former acting Surgeon General of California, Dr. Devika Bhushan, this newsletter shares evidence-based insights for health, resilience, and parenting. It reflects both the latest science and lived expertise.
What’s included?
🗣 Actionable insights about high-impact topics in health, resilience, and parenting — from mental health to microplastics — one small step at a time
💫 Conversations that dispel stigma and instead, spread hope and light — also on YouTube and wherever you find podcasts (Apple; Spotify)
🌏 Original content from nomadic experiences across the globe — to help unite us across borders
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More about Dr. Devika Bhushan
Devika Bhushan, MD, is a pediatrician, public health leader, and author on a mission to drive health innovation, resilience, and equity. She is a sought-after keynote speaker and her expertise spans trauma-informed systems, stress and resilience, mental health, and gender and health equity — with work and perspectives featured on NBC, NPR, The Los Angeles Times, Slate, The Lancet, Pediatrics, and JAMA. She is producing a children’s book series on stress and resilience, in partnership with Dr. Bruce D. Perry.
Dr. Bhushan serves on Stanford’s adjunct faculty and as a senior strategic advisor to entities that aim to advance health, innovation, and equity, ranging from startups to a venture capital firm. She frequently advises on mental health representation in the arts, including to Tony-winning playwright V (formerly Eve Ensler), for the play, This is Crazy. She serves on the national Boards for the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the California Partners Project.
Previously, as California’s acting Surgeon General (2022) and the office’s inaugural Chief Health Officer (2019-2022), Dr. Bhushan was an advisor to California’s Governor and co-led the launch of the $500 million ACEs Aware initiative, focused on healing from childhood trauma.
Dr. Bhushan is an award-winning mental health activist: she has publicly shared her own journey with bipolar disorder, including in the PBS documentary BrainStorm.
Dr. Bhushan trained at Harvard Medical School and Johns Hopkins. She is a parent, an immigrant, and a first-generation Indian American. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and son; they are also frequently on the road together.
Testimonials
“Dr. Devika Bhushan, I am thrilled to discover your groundbreaking site that shatters stigma…. Your powerful interviews with people who experience mental illness provide hope and solace.” —Julie Neches, psychologist, advocate, parent, suicide loss survivor
“I feel the world is making progress every time I hear from you!” —Robert Ribciuc, businessperson, parent, person with lived experience
“This is… what I needed today.” —Vickee Boyd, writer, mother, partner, artist, person with lived experience
“Devika has been the torchbearer for us. I love her various guests and newsletter to reach out to when in a dark place. I hope more people can speak up and be without apology thanks to her lead.” —Vicky Bhundhumani, person with lived experience
“3 weeks later and this op-ed about living with bipolar disorder… is still filling me with joy and purpose. Some pieces of writing you never forget — they become part of the fuel that moves you through each day. I think this is one of them.” —Ari Bloomekatz, Executive Editor of In These Times
“Dr. Devika — I thoroughly enjoyed and totally absorbed your mental health tips. I felt that you were speaking to me. I’m going to work on them all, because you wrote in such a thoughtful way.” —Cheri Weiss Raimondi, person with lived experience
“This amazing human being is the real deal: empathic, heart-centered, and wise. Thank you so much, Dr. Devika Bhushan, for being your authentic self and the leader we all need.” —Emily Williams, CEO, ACEs Aware Family Resilience Network
“From your earliest moments as an intern [physician], I knew you were meant to do amazing things. How incredible to watch you serve truly as a beacon of hope for so many. This… will save lives.” —Dr. Deanna Wilson, MD, MPH, adolescent and addiction physician, researcher, and educator
“Dr. Bhushan is a brilliant thought leader.” —Dr. Lissy Hu, MD, MBA, CEO, Ascend Learning
“Dr. Bhushan… is exactly the kind of visionary that our field needs.” —Dr. Holly Swartz, MD, psychiatrist, researcher, and President, International Society for Bipolar Disorders
