New York – September 17, 2026 -- Lavender, the largest nurse-owned telepsychiatry practice in the United States, has appointed Kara Birch, DNP, PMHNP-BC, FNP-BC, as Director of Clinical Excellence and Anna Lau, MSN, PMHNP-BC, WHNP-BC, as Director of Nursing Operations, formalizing leadership over a network of more than 140 nurse practitioners operating across more than 40 states.
Birch takes charge of clinical standards after designing quality systems for a 5,000-clinician network
Birch joined Lavender's executive team in February 2026 with more than 13 years of clinical strategy experience across academic medicine, community health and digital health. She previously built the quality review system for Headway's network of over 5,000 clinicians and holds a Full Professor role at the UCSF School of Nursing, where she launched California's first statewide psychiatric nurse practitioner program across four UC campuses. She now leads clinical quality, policy, education and credentialing across Lavender.
Lau oversees day-to-day operations for a 140-plus nurse practitioner workforce
Lau was appointed Director of Nursing Operations in late 2025 after joining Lavender as a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner in 2023. She manages operational support for more than 140 nurse practitioners with a team of four leads, drawing on more than 15 years of experience in psychiatric care, women's health and public health.
Co-founder frames the appointments as protection against inconsistent care standards during expansion
"Expanding access is essential, but access alone is not enough," said Brighid Gannon, DNP, PMHNP-BC, co-founder of Lavender. She said patients need assurance that care is consistently held to a high standard, and that clinicians need leadership and systems to enact those standards as the practice scales nationally.