Meet the HabitAware Team

Aneela Idnani Kumar, Designer & "Trichster", co-founder
Aneela is the inspiration for HabitAware. She is a mobile app designer and has produced award-winning interactive advertising campaigns. Aneela has had trichotillomania for 20+ years and is excited to help others like her change their life. 

Sameer Kumar, CEO, co-founder
Sameer is data-driven, having worked in investment analysis, management consulting and corporate strategy. His favorite activities are cooking and playing legos with his son. Sameer is driven by the positive change he has seen in his wife, Aneela.

Kirk Klobe, CTO, co-founder
Kirk has been fascinated with computers since childhood. He was integral to the launch of several IT consulting startups. Kirk can’t resist a good technical challenge, especially when the solution changes people’s lives.

John Pritchard, PhD, Lead Hardware Engineer, co-founder
John is an inventor by nature and is fulfilling his dream of teaching at a university. He has worked in fiber optics and advanced military tech. He once made an LED light suit for fun. John is passionate about making things that are meaningful for others.

Ellen Crupi, Director of Business Development & Awareness
Ellen is a mental health activist and BFRB peer coach committed to educating and reducing the stigma around mental health and BFRBs. She is a BFRB expert trained in Yale University's SPACE program (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions). Ellen has been in trichotillomania recovery for 7+ years and when she is not helping others find positive BFRB change, she is enjoying exercise, baking, and really good coffee.

Hilary Weingarden, PhD, Clinical Research Director 
Hilary is a clinical psychologist and researcher whose love for helping people to manage BFRBs and obsessive compulsive related disorders (OCRDs) led her to HabitAware! Before joining HabitAware, she spent almost a decade at the Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School Center for OCRDs, where she was an assistant professor studying shame in OCRDs and how we can use technology to improve access to and effectiveness of treatment for OCRDs. Outside of work, her favorite ways to spend time are playing with her daughters, getting outside with her dog and family, swimming, and trying new restaurants around Boston.

Mari Larsen, Lead Designer, Marketing Coordinator, & Community Engagement Manager
Mari aims to make positive change through her work and is delighted to do so for the BFRB community. Her experience with Dermatillomania helps inform her work at HabitAware. 

Barbara Lally, Peer Coach
Barbara has turned her relationship with her BFRB into a force of good. Barbara has helped countless others in the BFRB community reach new levels of self-love and self-acceptance through her initiatives, and now with HabitAware. Barbara has lived with trichotillomania for 22 years and is a teacher turned certified professional coach, earning her certification through the University of Central Florida, as well as International Association of Professional Recovery Coaches.