Sara POTLER LaHayne
Entrepreneur. Founder. Behavioral & Mental Health Leader. Experience Designer.
Sara Potler LaHayne is a nationally recognized entrepreneur and leader dedicated to transforming how we support the behavioral and mental health of children, educators, and families.
As Head of Behavioral and Mental Health at Riverside Insights, Sara is championing a future where every student is understood, supported, and empowered to thrive.
Previously, Sara founded and served as CEO of Move This World, pioneering a new approach to proactive and preventative mental health for PreK–12 students, educators, and families. Inspired by her experience as a Fulbright Scholar in Colombia, Sara recognized that meaningful skill-building happens when people actively participate, not simply sit and listen. She built Move This World around movement, play, creative expression, and facilitated experiences that invite students and adults to practice skills, connect with one another, and bring learning to life. That idea grew into a nationally recognized organization supporting school communities across the country before being acquired by Riverside Insights.
From an Idea to a Movement
It started at recess in Bogotá, Colombia.
As a Fulbright Scholar, Sara was working with young people who were being taught concepts like empathy and conflict resolution through traditional instruction in the classroom. Then she watched those same students come alive through music, movement, and creative expression outside during recess. That moment sparked a question that would shape the next chapter of her life:
What if learning life skills could be as engaging, meaningful, and empowering as dancing together during recess?
That question became Move This World.
Sara went on to build the organization from the ground up, developing an innovative approach to proactive mental health that uses multimedia, movement, reflection, and creative expression to help students and adults strengthen the skills that support wellbeing, relationships, and learning. That mission entered its next chapter at Riverside Insights.
Connecting Insight to Action
For too long, schools have had to navigate behavioral and mental health through disconnected programs, assessments, interventions, and systems.
Sara believes behavioral and mental health skills aren’t built by simply talking about emotions; they are built by experiencing them. Through movement, play, creative expression, reflection, and active participation, students have opportunities to feel, practice, and embody the skills they need in real life.
At Riverside Insights, she is leading work to create a more connected behavioral and mental health ecosystem combining DESSA’s evidence-based screening, assessment, and progress monitoring with Move This World’s engaging PreK–12 instruction and intervention.
The goal is simple but powerful: help educators understand what students need, take meaningful action, and see whether that support is working. From universal prevention to targeted intervention and individualized support, Sara is working to help schools build stronger systems where students and adults can thrive.
Creating a Future Where People Can Thrive
For Sara, the work has always come back to one belief:
When we give people the tools to understand themselves, connect authentically with others, and navigate challenges with resilience, we create stronger schools, healthier communities, and a better future.
The platform may evolve. The mission remains the same.