Our Team
A Mission Born From Personal & Professional Experience
CEO & Co-Founder
Mitul Desai
Mitul has been helping care for his brother, who lives with schizophrenia, for the past two decades, an experience that exposed how little practical support families receive.
Before cofounding The Care Hack, Mitul led global, cross-functional teams in product development and data services at Mastercard, managing complex initiatives at scale. Mitul began his career working in healthcare law and finance, with senior roles at Merck and Piper Jaffray (now Piper Sandler).
He serves on the Board of NAMI-NYC and writes and speaks extensively about family caregiving and serious mental illness. His work has appeared in Forbes and USA Today. Mitul created The Care Hack with Eli to ensure that no other family has to suffer in isolation the way his did.
Chief Clinical Advisor
Stephanie LeMelle, MD
Dr. LeMelle is the Director of Public Psychiatry Education at Columbia University. She is a Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center, and was the Clinical Director at New York State Psychiatric Institute. She has been the Co-Director and then Director of the Public Psychiatry Fellowship for fifteen years. She is a nationally-recognized expert in public psychiatry, mental health education, and a thought leader in the treatment and care of people with serious mental illness (SMI).
CMO & Co-Founder
Eli Shalenberg, MD
Eli is a community psychiatrist with a decade of experience working with families living with serious mental illness in New York City. Trying to fill gaps in the healthcare system, Eli eventually realized that healthcare services need to be reshaped around caregivers. He joined Mitul to found The Care Hack with the mission to provide comprehensive caregiver support. He also has a background in generating data for digital health products, and building services for mental health startups.
Lead Coach
Katharine Fuentes
Katharine is an LMSW with an extensive background in family therapy, individual coaching, and case management for people with mental illness and their families. At The Care Hack she works directly with caregivers, helping them plan ahead, cope with challenges, and access the right services. She directs our coaching program to ensure that direct human support is always available to our members.
Product and Operations Analyst
Yuwei Marques-Luo
Yuwei supports operations across product and sales at The Care Hack. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Fordham University and is currently completing postbaccalaureate coursework in Natural Language Processing at Columbia University. Yuwei brings a thoughtful, detail-oriented approach to her work and plays a key role in keeping day-to-day execution running smoothly.