Peer Health Exchange

What Peer Health Exchange does

Peer Health Exchange is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2003 and headquartered in Oakland, California, that delivers peer-led health education to young people aged 13-18, with deliberate concentration on Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and LGBTQ+ youth in under-resourced U.S. communities. The organization emerged from a 1999 Yale undergraduate initiative to fill gaps in underfunded public school health programs and now operates programming across 19+ states with a national staff of 51-100. Since inception, PHE reports training over 15,000 college students as peer educators and reaching over 188,000 high school-aged youth via its evidence-based curriculum on mental health, sexual health, and substance use.

PHE's product portfolio pairs in-person programming with a digital platform. The flagship selfsea is a web application and mobile app co-designed with young people, providing anonymous, identity-affirming health resources, PHE-moderated community discussion forums, crisis support integration via Crisis Text Line, and Headspace sign-up pathways (10,000+ Headspace registrations reported). selfsea 2.0 is in development with personalized gamified learning, micro-communities, parent/caregiver resources, and real-time anonymous insights. In-person offerings include a Peer-to-Peer Program training high school students as Peer Facilitators, Community Health Advocacy Groups, the 70+ member Youth Advisory Board, and a 16-member Youth Design Group across 11 states. Following an FY2025 pivot, PHE discontinued Fellow-led school workshops in favor of community-based organizations, the Peer-to-Peer model, and training teachers/community facilitators as curriculum deliverers.

PHE's revenue is philanthropic, comprising individual donations (including employer-matching gifts), corporate partnerships (Pinterest, Headspace, Twilio, Cigna), and foundation grants (The Schultz Family Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Blue Meridian, Gilead Sciences, Rare Impact Fund). Distribution occurs through direct school and community partnerships for curriculum delivery, self-serve digital access on selfsea, and the Youth Mental Health Corps channel serving approximately 250-500 AmeriCorps members across 11 states. Core programming remains free to beneficiaries; the FY25-FY26 strategic plan explores earned-revenue streams including fee-for-service adult training and mission-aligned data-sharing agreements.

Name

Peer Health Exchange

Legal name

Peer Health Exchange, Inc.

Website

https://peerhealthexchange.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Peer Health Exchange is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2003 that delivers peer-led health education and its selfsea digital platform to Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and LGBTQ+ youth aged 13-18 in under-resourced U.S. communities, supported primarily by foundation grants and corporate donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Health Education Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Social Assistance (624)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Health, Wellness & Patient Communities (MPACAJAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Health & Support Communities (BPAMABAL), Peer Feedback, Discussion Forums & Social Learning Communities (EDAFAGAH), Student Support Hotlines & Digital Wellbeing Tools (EDAJAIAL)

Keywords

• Youth health education
• Peer health programs
• Mental health resources
• Digital health platform
• Nonprofit health services

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Tax-deductible donations from individuals supporting youth health education programs. Donors can give online, by check, or by stock. Matching donations from employers are encouraged.
2. Corporate Partnerships: Partnerships with corporations for matching gifts, corporate grants, and pro bono services. Companies can become corporate partners or bring PHE to their communities.
3. Foundation Grants: Funding from philanthropic foundations including major partners listed in the 2025 Impact Report such as The Schultz Family Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, and others supporting youth mental health initiatives.
4. Fee-for-Service Products: Strategic plan mentions exploring fee-for-service products including adult training as well as data sharing agreements with mission-aligned organizations.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Peer Health Exchange delivers peer-based health education and operates selfsea, a co-designed web and mobile platform providing identity-affirming resources on mental health, sexual health, and substance use for young people ages 13-18. The organization combines an evidence-based curriculum delivered through trained Peer Facilitators and community partnerships with a moderated digital community offering anonymous discussion forums, gamified learning, and integrated crisis support.

Product overview

Peer Health Exchange operates a dual-track offering: (1) A suite of digital products centered on selfsea, a web-based platform and mobile app providing identity-affirming health resources on mental and sexual health, with selfsea 2.0 in development; and (2) In-person programming including the PHE Curriculum delivered through Peer-to-Peer Facilitators and Community Health Advocacy Groups. The Youth Advisory Board serves as a cross-cutting engagement mechanism connecting youth to both digital and in-person offerings. All products are co-designed with young people ages 13-18 and target Black, Latinx, and LGBTQ+ youth in under-resourced communities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• selfsea: A web app co-designed with young people to provide youth with safe, inclusive, evidence-based, and identity-affirming health resources and information about mental health, sexual health, and beyond. selfsea is a digital community platform for young people ages 13-18.

Products and services

• selfsea (Web and Mobile App) Co-designed web and mobile platform providing safe, inclusive, evidence-based, and identity-affirming health resources and information on mental health, sexual health, and related topics for young people ages 13-18. The mobile app includes anonymous moderated 'communities' discussion forums organized around shared identity and content topics.
• PHE Health Education Curriculum Evidence-based, skills-based, and youth-informed health education curriculum covering mental health, sexual health, and substance use. Designed to build social-emotional learning competencies, advocacy, and decision-making skills in young people. Delivered through trained Peer Facilitators, teachers, and community facilitators in schools and community settings.
• Peer-to-Peer Program Peer leadership program that trains high school-aged young people (under 18) to become Peer Facilitators who deliver PHE's health education curriculum on mental health, sexual health, and substance use to their peers. Focuses on building advocacy, self-reflection, accessing resources, and decision-making skills among youth leaders.
• Youth Advisory Board (YAB) National youth engagement program with 70+ active members ages 13-18 who advise on health information dissemination, contribute to branding and evaluation, and build leadership and professional development skills. Includes Youth Brand Ambassadors, Community Youth Advocates, Advisory Design Team, and Youth Design Group roles, with paid opportunities.
• Community Health Advocacy Groups In-person youth advocacy groups operating in Midwest (Chicago), Northeast (New York, Boston), and California (Los Angeles, Bay Area) that meet to identify and address community health needs. Offers paid opportunities for youth to develop leadership and project management skills.
• Youth Mental Health Corps (YMHC) Support and Learning Management System Service package supporting the Youth Mental Health Corps, an AmeriCorps initiative for young adults aged 18-24. Includes facilitating Virtual Networking Gatherings for 500 members, managing a Learning Management System with on-demand training modules, providing monthly synchronous/asynchronous trainings, and operating a Fellows Leadership Program.

Quantifiable outcome

• 94% of students correctly define health as complete physical, mental, and social well-being
• +13 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BrightlinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrightline, a virtual behavioral health solution for children, teenagers, and families, partners with PHE to tailor services and resources directly to teens, ensuring more young people get tools, coaching, and clinical care for mental health wellbeing.
• Headspace HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHeadspace Health partners with PHE on Headspace For Teens social impact initiative, focusing on acceptance, access, and action. Youth ages 13-18 can sign up for free Headspace accounts through selfsea with unlimited access to guided meditations, breathing exercises, and mindful videos. Over 10,000 young people signed up and spent 1+ million minutes engaging with mindfulness resources.
• Room to Breathe ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership began in 2016 with shared commitment to improving mental health and social-emotional well-being of youth. Room to Breathe supports organizations delivering SEL well-being programs for youth in schools and adults who support young people.
• Crisis Text LinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCrisis Text Line partnership provides immediate, professional crisis support through a prominent banner on selfsea platform directing youth to text HEALTH to 741741. 68% of texters disclosed something to a Crisis Counselor they had never shared before. Partnership has helped identify and address suicidal ideation in young people.
• Youth Mental Health Corps (YMHC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-sector initiative launched in 2024 by The Schultz Family Foundation and Pinterest in partnership with AmeriCorps. PHE creates collective experiences for YMHC members through virtual gatherings, manages the Learning Management System, and developed the Fellows Leadership Program. Approximately 250 YMHC members serve in 50+ organizations across 11 states.
• Surgo HealthminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPHE is working with Surgo Health to build a Youth Mental Health Tracker (YMHT), a comprehensive tool to monitor and improve youth mental health. Surgo Health conducted a survey of over 5,000 young people, and PHE is gathering additional youth perspectives through interviews with young people aged 13-19.
• AmeriCorpscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal agency partner for Youth Mental Health Corps initiative, providing framework for national service program creating pathways for young adults to support youth mental health.
• The Health GapminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity-based organization partner in Cincinnati where PHE has trained community facilitators to deliver PHE curricula as part of programming pivot.
• Metropolitan State UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner in Denver where PHE has trained community facilitators to deliver PHE curricula as part of programming pivot to community-based delivery.

Scale indicators18 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Born This Way Foundation: Founded by Lady Gaga to support youth mental health and kindness, with peer-led programming and digital resources; comparable mission around youth mental health and identity-affirming content for young people.
• DoSomething.org: Youth-driven nonprofit mobilizing young people around social and health causes through digital campaigns; comparable on youth-led engagement model and identity-driven content targeting teens.
• Active Minds: National nonprofit focused on youth and young adult mental health awareness and education on college and high school campuses; closely comparable to PHE's peer-led youth mental health mission and school/community delivery model.
• Common Sense Media: Provides ratings and educational resources on youth-appropriate digital content; has rated selfsea 4 stars. Comparable as a youth-facing digital health/safety content intermediary serving parents and teens.
• Crisis Text Line: 24/7 crisis text support integrated directly into the selfsea platform; comparable as a youth mental health safety partner with overlapping end-user base and crisis-support mission.
• TeenLine: Peer-support hotline and youth-driven emotional support service operated by teens for teens; directly comparable to PHE's Peer-to-Peer health education model and youth-helping-youth delivery approach.
• Brightline: Virtual behavioral health provider for children, teens, and families; current PHE strategic partner. Comparable mission of providing youth mental health access and a likely integration/distribution partner.
• The Jed Foundation: Nonprofit protecting teen and young adult emotional health and preventing suicide through school-based programs and digital resources; comparable to PHE on youth mental health programming and school partnership channels.

Emerging players

• 7 Cups: Digital platform providing on-demand emotional support and peer listener chat, including teen-facing services; comparable as a youth-friendly digital mental health community with moderated peer interaction.

Broad incumbents

• Headspace Health: Large-scale consumer mental health platform with a dedicated Headspace for Teens product; a current PHE partner via selfsea and a broader incumbent competing for the same teen mental health audience.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/peerhealthexch
• Facebookfacebook.com/peerhealthexchange
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/peer-health-exchange
• Instagraminstagram.com/peerhealthexchange
• TikToktiktok.com/@peerhealthexchange

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Peer Health Exchange