Our Story

Brain Nerds was born from both pain and hope. For founder Carolina Rosario, a journalist and news anchor, mental health is not just a subject she reports on — it’s personal. From a young age, she witnessed her mother’s long battle with chronic depression. Later, she faced the devastating loss of loved ones to suicide — young lives cut short, whose absence is still deeply felt. These experiences carved a mark on her, but they also planted an unshakable commitment: to help prevent others from carrying the same invisible weight. In her career, Carolina has told countless stories. Yet one story keeps returning to her heart — the reality of youth mental health. The numbers are sobering. Suicide is now the second leading cause of death among young people ages 10 to 24 in the United States. Even more alarming, suicide rates among preteens have risen steadily since 2008, especially among girls. Brain Nerds was created as a direct response to this silent crisis. It is a movement to give children and adolescents tools, language, and support so they can face their emotions with courage rather than silence. Through community workshops, school programs, social media campaigns, and family resources, Brain Nerds seeks to make emotional education as normal as math or reading. The goal is simple but urgent: to make conversations about feelings accessible, clear, and stigma-free. Carolina often recalls something someone once told her: “When I want to understand mental health, I read children’s books… because they speak to me more clearly.” That direct, simple, and empathetic way of approaching emotions is exactly what Brain Nerds brings to every initiative.