An Invitation — Not an Ask
Dear Dr. Reyes, I'm writing because your name came up in three separate conversations last month. Dr. Linden mentioned your recent work on adolescent depression outcomes. Our board chair, Alicia Park, told me about the seminar you gave at Children's. And Ellen Vargas — who I understand is a mutual friend — said you'd been asking what we're up to these days.
I'd love to take you to coffee, on whatever date works for your calendar between now and the end of June. I'm not writing to ask you for money. I'm writing to ask you for 30 minutes, because I think what we're building at Evergreen lines up with the work you care most about, and I'd like your read on it before I take it any further. Briefly: we're launching a program called Open Door that places a licensed therapist inside three Title I high schools in Denver, three days a week, at no cost to students. Early outcomes from the pilot school are strong — 73% of students seen showed measurable symptom improvement within 90 days. The full launch is budgeted at $340,000 and we have about half of it committed. I don't need an answer on any of that now. I'd just like to show you where we are, share what we've learned from the pilot, and hear what you think.
Would coffee in the next six weeks work?