Richard Clarke Heyes

Clinical R&D Manager — Clinical + Product

Alongside

Dec 2022 – Present

Lead clinical product and AI strategy for a well-being app for students, school staff, and families that uses conversational AI to support mental wellness, navigate crises, and build coping skills.

• Built AI-powered conversation tools from the ground up — now used by thousands of students — covering topics like anxiety, self-advocacy, crisis support, identity, and school stress.
• Shaped how each AI character (Nova, Kiwi, Jinx) communicates and behaves: how it remembers prior conversations, handles sensitive topics safely, and adjusts its language for a younger audience.
• Developed systems to regularly review and test AI responses for accuracy, clinical appropriateness, and reading level — catching problems before they reach users.
• Worked with engineers to create reusable AI building blocks and quality-checking processes that make it faster and safer to build new features.
• Continuously evolved the AI design approach as the technology has advanced — moving beyond basic text instructions to more sophisticated techniques that combine external tools, structured workflows, and dynamic behaviors.

• Worked across product, design, data, engineering, go-to-market, and marketing teams to align AI work with broader company goals.
• Gathered and analyzed user feedback, conversation data, and usability testing results to guide ongoing product improvements.
• Co-led a redesign of the follow-up experience after in-app exercises, improving how users reflect and share feedback.

• Managed Alongside's High School Internship Program to gather real user perspectives and validate early design decisions.
• Served as the internal clinical expert informing product decisions, content development, and safety standards.

Founding Clinical Consultant

Little Otter

Dec 2020 – 2022

Served as Little Otter's first therapist — seeing their earliest clients through my own private practice (Mapping Possibilities) before the company had in-house clinical staff.

• Advised on how to build and structure a therapy practice from the ground up, including client intake, documentation, and administrative workflows.
• Guided the team on therapist licensure requirements across different states and what it takes to practice legally in each.
• Helped the founding team understand counseling theories and approaches, and how the work of a licensed therapist differs from clinical psychology and psychiatry.
• Supported early efforts to attract and onboard therapy clients to the platform.

• Delivered therapy for children, teens, and families as the company's first full-time clinical hire; provided supervision and oversight for clinicians.
• Collaborated with product and content teams to build clinical pathways and in-app educational content.
• Developed the Couples' Counseling Clinical Pathway used across the organization.

Family Wellness Counselor

Cortica – Advanced Therapies for Autism

Sep 2020 – Apr 2021

• Provided therapy for families navigating autism and co-occurring conditions.
• Conducted diagnostic assessments (ADOS-2, SRS-2).
• Designed parent coaching and advocacy strategies.

Small Business Owner / Therapist

Mapping Possibilities

2019 – Present

• Operate a thriving private practice; manage business operations, marketing, and billing.
• Facilitate peer consultations and provide narrative- and solution-focused therapy.

Lead Therapist & Behavior Supervisor

San Diego Center for Children

2017 – 2019

• Supervised clinical staff across school and outpatient settings.
• Co-developed the ASD Thrive program; analyzed outcomes and authored reports.
• Trained teachers and districts in behavioral support strategies.

• Provided individual therapy, group work, classroom consultation, and assessments across diverse settings.