Alison Dunn
Co-Founder & CEO | NextTherapist
What accomplishments are you most proud of?
My four ambitious, kind, creative and caring children. Funny enough, it was my therapist who helped me really see this. She was asking about my kids, and I said something I thought was true: “I’ve learned I can’t take much credit for what they’ve become — they came that way. But I will take responsibility for the bad.” She wasn’t usually one to stop me and give an opinion, but she stopped me that day. She said, “No, that’s not true. Look at what you’ve taught them, what you’ve helped them build, the support and care, the stabilizing force you are in their lives. Look at their compassion. Where do you think they learned kindness? To watch out for others? To keep trying and growing?” And she went on, and on. Then she had me just sit with it for a moment. She was right, though maybe sometimes I still don’t fully believe it. But nurturing, mentoring and building people isn’t just a business or culture idea, and it doesn’t just happen in the workplace. It’s a daily practice, in all areas of life, and it matters most in your closest relationships. If it’s not real there, it’s not real anywhere.
What unique strengths do you bring to your professional and other roles?
I think one of my biggest strengths is a relentless drive to keep going and to keep things moving forward. I don’t love standing still. If there’s a way to build, improve or help something or someone grow, I’m usually already thinking about how to make it happen faster. I’ve spent time in startups, design, mentorship, marketing and community work; and for a long time, it felt a little scattered, like I was just chasing things I cared about without a clear throughline. But over time, I’ve realized that that’s actually the strength. It’s given me a unique lens, especially in roles that sit at the intersection of people, culture, brand and community.
I’m also deeply curious. I genuinely want to learn from people — how they see the world, what they’ve experienced, what they think we’re missing. Brainstorming is one of my favorite things. I’d almost always rather be in a room throwing around ideas and hearing new perspectives than sticking to what’s already been done.
I don’t assume I have the answer, but I care a lot about finding better ones together.
What’s your next big goal or project in your professional journey?
Right now, my biggest focus is securing funding to expand NextTherapist beyond Utah so we can help more people start and continue their mental health care. We’ve built something we’re really proud of. It’s simple, human and designed to support both sides: making it easier for individuals to find the right therapist and giving therapists the space to focus on care instead of the business side of things. It’s ready to scale.
I’m especially excited about continuing to improve how we match people with the right therapist by bringing in personality and therapy-based assessments to make those connections stronger and using AI to make the process faster and more effective — but never replacing the human side of it. We believe really strongly that healing happens through connection between people.
And more broadly, it’s about shifting how we think about mental health altogether. The goal is pretty simple: We want to make therapy feel normal. Less waiting until things hit a breaking point, and more just having a therapist as part of your life, like you would a dentist.