Anne Petraro - Hyppolite on Healing, Purpose, and the Power of Leading Without Noise.

Anne Petraro-Hyppolite is a licensed mental health counselor, consultant, author, and advocate whose work spans clinical practice, systems leadership, and cross-sector mental health engagement. 

ANNE PETRARO-HYPPOLITE

With more than 27 years of experience, her career has been shaped not by one institution, but by sustained work across diverse and often complex environments. Anne’s professional journey includes extensive experience in outpatient and inpatient mental health settings, rehabilitation and intervention programs, court-involved systems, correctional facilities, including Rikers Island and Nassau County Correctional Facility, and services supporting individuals with developmental and learning disabilities. Working within these varied spaces has informed her deep understanding of trauma, access, neurodiversity, and the structural realities that shape mental healthcare delivery.

Her academic foundation began at Hofstra University, where she completed a liberal arts degree in psychology, history, and English, followed by graduate studies in rehabilitation counseling and mental health counseling. She later pursued addiction studies, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy training, healthcare administration, and PhD-level coursework in mental health counseling, allowing her to move fluidly between care, consultation, and systems leadership. Through Petraro Consulting, Anne advises mental health organizations, professionals, and initiatives, drawing on lived experience, operational insight, and ethical care frameworks. Her consulting work reflects a career spent inside systems,  understanding both where they succeed and where they fail the people they are meant to serve.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Anne returned to her creative roots, completing both a BFA and MFA in Fine Arts. This period of artistic practice deepened her perspective on trauma, memory, and emotional expression, influencing how she approaches both clinical and consultative work today.

Anne is the author of Therapized, a memoir that blends personal narrative with clinical reflection. Intentionally unpolished and honest, the book explores healing as nonlinear and deeply human, offering readers recognition rather than resolution.

At the center of Anne’s work is a belief in intergenerational responsibility. Her perspective has been shaped by family, particularly through the advocacy of her son, youth changemaker Joe Petraro, and the grounded partnership of her husband, Ozzie Hyppolite. Together, they reflect a life rooted in service, faith, and quiet leadership.

Anne Petraro-Hyppolite’s work is not defined by one title or institution, but by presence across spaces where care is most needed, shaping conversations, systems, and lives through steady, deliberate action.

Behind the Scenes with Anne Petraro - Hyppolite: Exclusive Interview! 

L’Heure: When did you first realize that impact doesn’t always need to be loud to be meaningful?

Anne: I realized it in moments that felt natural rather than dramatic. Impact showed up quietly, when someone felt safe enough to return, when a clinician stayed connected to the work, when a system softened just enough to let a human through. It never felt like effort or sacrifice, it felt like alignment. That’s when I understood that real impact doesn’t announce itself. It integrates. It becomes part of how people live.

Discover the full story of Anne's journey. Click here to read the complete article.