ShieldMee Inc. · 501(c)(3) Nonprofit
ShieldMee Board of Directors
ShieldMee Inc. is governed by a Board of Directors committed to our mission: expanding access to high-quality mental health care by training clinicians properly and paying them what they’re worth.
Eddie DeHate
Board Member · Bookkeeper & Recovery Coach
Eddie brings nearly 30 years of recovery to ShieldMee’s board, and a lifetime of showing up for other people.
For years, he has driven people to meetings, answered the late-night calls, and sat with people through their hardest first days. He does it because someone once did it for him.
On the board, Eddie keeps ShieldMee’s books in order, making sure every dollar goes where it’s meant to: toward care for people who need it. He also brings something no spreadsheet can: a lived, clear-eyed understanding of what recovery actually takes.
Anyone who knows Eddie will mention his humor. He can be playfully sassy, and he’ll tell you the truth with a grin.
Evan Egener, LPC
Board Member
Evan Egener, LPC, is a Licensed Professional Counselor and the founder of Present Mind Counseling, LLC in Portland, Oregon. He earned his Master’s degree in Applied Psychology from Pacific University, where his clinical training included focused practicum work with Latinx communities. He also holds a certificate in Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy from the Medical University of South Carolina.
Before establishing his private practice, Evan spent four years providing early intervention services to children with autism. This experience deepened his clinical understanding of neurodiverse individuals, their families, and informs his specializations in ADHD, autism, OCD, and anxiety.
His practice serves adults, adolescents, and children, with particular expertise supporting professionals in high-demand fields including technology, law, and medicine. Evan is committed to expanding access to culturally responsive mental health care. He brings clinical practice ownership, hands-on experience with neurodivergent populations, and a shared commitment to clinician development to the ShieldMee Inc. Board of Directors.
Álvaro Flórez
Board Member
Álvaro has spent his career on a simple belief: people others have written off can build meaningful lives.
After earning his MBA from INALDE Business School at Universidad de La Sabana in 2006, he turned his business training toward social entrepreneurship. He built and ran vocational rehabilitation programs that created jobs for people who had been labeled unemployable, and helped them find steady, meaningful work.
Alongside that work, he built a career in real estate, which he continues today, and which now gives him the time to dedicate himself to ShieldMee’s board.
Álvaro brings a strategist’s eye and a social entrepreneur’s conviction: good organizations are built to serve the people the system tends to overlook. Based outside the United States, he also brings an international perspective to ShieldMee’s work.
His advice to anyone, in two words:
“Sea serio.”
(In Colombia, that means: keep your word, and do what you said you’d do.)
Ismael Tijerino, JD
Board Member
Ismael Tijerino is the founder and managing partner of Tijerino Law Group, a civil litigation firm specializing in workers’ compensation across Florida. A first-generation college graduate and the son of Nicaraguan immigrant parents, Ismael built his practice on a simple principle: no one should feel powerless in a system designed to help them.
He earned his law degree from St. Thomas University School of Law, graduating with honors and receiving the Pro Bono Commendation Award. He has been recognized as a National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40 and is a member of the Florida Bar Workers’ Compensation Section and Florida Workers’ Advocates.
Ismael serves on ShieldMee’s Board of Directors because he has seen firsthand what happens when vulnerable populations fall through the cracks of systems that were supposed to protect them. His legal expertise and commitment to underserved communities strengthen ShieldMee’s mission to deliver clinical care where it’s needed most.
Christopher Smith, PsyD
Board Member
Dr. Smith is a licensed forensic psychologist with over 26 years of dedicated service in the healthcare field. Holding a Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) and a Master of Health Administration (MHA), Dr. Smith brings specialized expertise in forensic mental health, clinical assessment, and healthcare systems leadership. Currently serving as a consultant to the Defense Health Agency (DHA) and the Department of Defense (DoD), Dr. Smith supports military health readiness and behavioral health initiatives within the Military Health System. Committed to advancing mental health advocacy and evidence-based care, Dr. Smith contributes valuable insight and strategic guidance to ShieldMee’s mission.