2016 Annual Conference Speakers and Bios

2016 Plenary Speakers and Participants (more to come!):
	Chris Wood is an American stage and television actor. This year, Wood will star in CW’s Containment as Jake, a renegade-turned-cop who finds himself trapped in an office high-rise in the aftermath of a deadly epidemic outbreak in Atlanta, a role that earned Wood a spot on Variety’s 2015 “10 TV Actors to Watch” list. Written and executive produced by Julie Plec, Containment is set for an early 2016 premiere. Most recently, Wood starred as the vengeful yet charming Malachai ‘Kai’ Parker in season 6 of CW’s hit series, The Vampire Diaries - a role that scored him a 2015 Teen Choice Award nomination in the category of Choice TV Villain. Wood’s previous roles include recurring and guest starring roles on CW’s The Carrie Diaries, TNT’s Major Crimes, HBO’s Emmy Award-winning series Girls, and Amazon pilot Browsers. Wood’s theatre credits include ‘Melchior’ in the national tour of Spring Awakening and ‘Joe Hardy’ in Damn Yankees at Paper Mill Playhouse. Wood is a graduate of Elon University and currently resides in Los Angeles.
	Kimberly McCullough is an award-winning actress and director. A graduate of NYU Film School, Kimberly was one of eight women selected to participate in the AFI Directing Workshop for Women in June 2010. As a participant in the program Kimberly wrote and directed the dark comedy Nice Guys Finish Last which won the AFI Nancy Malone Award and was accepted into twelve festivals worldwide. She directed her first episode of television on the Disney Channel series Shake It Up! as well as an episode of K.C. Undercover. In 2015, Kimberly directed an episode of Pretty Little Liars for Freeform in July 2015. Most recently, Kimberly wrote and directed Hey Day, a pilot presentation about the debaucherous, behind-the-scenes world of soap operas in the early 1980s. Hey Day was inspired by the role Kimberly originated as "Robin Scorpio" on the ABC daytime soap opera General Hospital which she played from 1985 through 2001 with a stint in 2014. This role earned Kimberly six Daytime Emmy nominations and two wins. Kimberly's first feature directorial debut, BROKEN HEART, MO, written by Stephanie Sanditz, is currently in development with Radar Pictures and is slated to start production in March 2016.
	Suzy Favor Hamilton is a former professional runner. She won seven USA National titles, set two American Records, was a three-time Olympian, ran her specialty 1500m under 4:00 five times and was the second fastest American Woman in history at 3:57.40, a fraction of a second behind leader, Mary Decker Slaney. In 2000, Suzy was the fastest woman in the world and was named USA Track & Field’s Female Distance Runner of the Year. Suzy went on to have a successful career in real estate and public speaking. In December 2012, The Smoking Gun revealed that Favor-Hamilton was working as an escort earning $600 per hour under the alias Kelly Lundy. Hamilton said that an undiagnosed bipolar disorder contributed to her risky behavior, and has chronicled her story in her book, Fast Girl: A Life Spent Running from Madness.
	Kimberley Clayton Blaine is a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) and is named one of the most powerful moms in social media by Working Mother Magazine.  Kimberley is an inspirational speaker, author, Buddhist and a nationally recognized mindfulness and positive-psychology thought-leader. Today you’ll find Kimberley hosting empowerment retreats all over the country. Her retreats focus on balance and wellness not only for moms but for all women striving to find that perfect mix of mindfulness and empowerment. For the last 10 years Kimberley has launched a national campaign to help American parents be all that they can be in order to give their children a healthy and fair start. Her original web show TheGoToMom.TV, which was launched in 2008, which was launched in 2008, has captured one of the largest growing niche audiences — parents who want to parent more consciously and mindfully, through professionally produced yet authentic and real educational videos.
	Chris Herren was a high school basketball star from Fall River, Massachusetts, who scored over 2,000 career points while at Durfee High School and was named to the 1994 McDonald's All-American team. Herren realized his lifelong dream of playing in the NBA when he was drafted by the Denver Nuggets in 1999 and then was traded to his hometown team, the Boston Celtics in 2000. After suffering a season-ending injury as a Celtic, Herren went on to play in five countries including Italy, Poland, Turkey, China, and Iran. Herren struggled with substance abuse for much of his basketball career. Alcohol and drug-free since August 1, 2008, he has refocused his life to put his sobriety and family above all else. He shares his harrowing story of abuse and recovery in his memoir, Basketball Junkie, as well as in numerous interviews throughout the Emmy nominated ESPN Films documentary Unguarded, of which he is the subject. In June of 2009, he launched Hoop Dreams with Chris Herren, a basketball player development company that offers basketball training, camps, and clinics to top basketball prospects in New England. Chris founded The Herren Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing treatment navigation, educational and mentoring programs to those touched by addiction and to educate people of all ages on the dangers of substance abuse.
	Brian Dyak is founder and President of the Entertainment Industries Council and the Entertainment and Media Communication Institute. He has successfully constructed a bridge between the entertainment industry and health and social policy issues since 1983. This includes: cause oriented merchandising, media campaigns, and television productions. He is an award-winning executive producer/creator of the PRISM Awards (FX Networks) television special, the only national television show addressing substance abuse and mental health that has aired for ten consecutive years, in the history of television. Mr. Dyak is also an accomplished publisher of Spotlight on Depiction of Health and Social Issues, a multi-volume resource encyclopedia for the creative community. Brian motivates creators and executives to engage in the “art of making a difference.” Brian is often featured in the media as a key link between the entertainment industry, national health and social policy and trends in the popular culture.
	Patrick Mulcahey is an award-winning American television writer. He has won seven Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Writing, sixteen nominations, and two Writers Guild Awards. He has worked on Guiding Light, Santa Barbara, General Hospital and The Bold and the Beautiful. Mulcahey wrote The Bold and the Beautiful's 5,000th episode and his writing team made history in 2015 by introducing the first transgender character on daytime television. He has dedicated much time to activism around education, HIV, homelessness, and LGBTQ equality. He is married to another man named Patrick Mulcahey, to the consternation of TSA agents everywhere.
	Rebecca Palpant Shimkets is the Associate Director for The Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism at The Carter Center Mental Health Program in Atlanta, Georgia. The work of the program that focuses on public policy and stigma reduction is the result of Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter’s advocacy on mental health issues for over 40 years.  Ms. Palpant Shimkets develops and oversees a Journalism Fellowship program that awards stipends each year to professional journalists to produce a significant project on mental health or mental illnesses. The fellowship program has resulted in fellows winning Emmy and Peabody awards and receiving nominations for the Pulitzer Prize among many others. Ms. Palpant Shimkets is an active participant on advisory boards and within national and international work groups related to stigma and accurate portrayals of mental illnesses in the media.
	Kelly Wallace is a digital correspondent and editor-at-large for CNN Digital, focusing on family, career and work/life balance. An award-winning digital journalist and television correspondent, Wallace writes in-depth articles and socially sourced stories and does original web video packages for CNN.com’s Living section and CNN Parents. In addition, she appears regularly on both CNN and HLN TV. Wallace came to CNN from iVillage, where she served as chief correspondent and executive director of digital video. Before iVillage, Wallace worked at CBS News as a general assignment reporter, where she covered stories for the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric and The Early Show. Wallace began her CNN career as an associate producer and then became a CNN TV correspondent covering a wide range of beats for the network, including the White House, the Mideast and John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign.

 
2016 Workshop Speakers:

Scott Baker, MBA is passionate about expanding behavioral health care access. Scott works with hospitals, clinics, insurance payers, managed care companies, EAPs, ACOs, universities, correctional facilities, extended care facilities and other organizations to develop successful telepsychiatry programs. Mr. Baker collaborates with providers, executives and regulators to design and implement quality telepsychiatry programs and frequently shares telepsychiatry best practices through various speaking engagements. In the past he has presented at organizations like Open Minds and the Illinois Organization of Nurse Leaders and on topics such as the use of telebehavioral health in community mental health centers, universities, skilled nursing facilities and more.

Jimmie Briggs is an award-winning human rights activist, journalist and author. A National Magazine Award finalist and recipient of honors from the Open Society Institute, National Association of Black Journalists and the Carter Center for Mental Health Journalism, Jimmie Briggs’ book on child soldiers and war-affected children Innocents Lost: When Child Soldiers Go To War won him accolades in 2005, and took readers into the lives of war-affected children around the world. Further, Briggs has served as an adjunct professor of investigative journalism at the New School for Social Research, and was a George A. Miller Visiting Professor in the Department of African and African-American Studies at the University of Illinois: Champaign-Urbana. He is also the executive director emeritus of Man Up Campaign, an initiative to activate youth to stop violence against women and girls. Presently, he is consulting and working on documentary projects in Ferguson, Missouri and New York City on youth homicide, and trans-generational trauma.

Peter Bruun is an artist, curator and organizer, and is the founder and director of the New Day Campaign, following the death of his daughter Elisef from heroin addiction. The New Day Campaign is a Baltimore-based initiative inaugurated in 2015 using art to challenge stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness and addiction, making the world a more healing place. The vision of the project is vision is that those who suffer from mental illness and addiction are met with compassion and acceptance rather than fear and judgment.

Jose Campos is the Coordinator for Family Support and Consumer Employment Programs at the Arlington County Mental Health Department in Arlington, Virginia. He has been in his current position for 20 years, working directly with education and support groups for family caregivers and with supported employment programs for persons with serious mental illness. He is an Advisory Board Member for CHHD's Mental Health International program. Originally from El Salvador, Jose is fluent in Spanish and works with both English and Spanish speaking populations in Arlington County, where emphasis is on implementing evidence based practices. 

Jennifer Cihi got her start at age 12 when she starred in Annie on Broadway.  She continued on to star in the Nickelodeon show, Roundhouse, and most notably, is the singing voice for the iconic character, Sailor Moon.  Jennifer has personal and professional experience with mental illness and is involved in her local NAMI and DBSA chapters.  As a public figure, Jennifer is able to bring awareness to mental health issues.  She is flown all over the world appearing as a celebrity guest at Comic Cons, where she uses that as a platform to encourage dialogue about these important issues.

Douglas Cootey is the author of "Saying NO to Suicide" and the writer of several ADHD blogs. He has been writing the award winning "A Splintered Mind" since 2005. He has also written "ADDaboy!" for Healthyplace.com, and currently writes "Family Guy" — a ADHD daddy blog — for ADDitudeMag.com. His articles have appeared in ADDitude Magazine, and he is often asked to provide comments on ADHD or Depression for various online health sites and news organizations, including CNN and Yahoo News. Douglas discovered his love for writing while attending art college, which in itself is proof that he has ADHD. He is currently working on a middle grade novel and a new book about fighting Depression. Douglas currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with his youngest two daughters and his vast media collection.

Stefanie DeLeo a published playwright, received her Master’s from NYU in Educational Theatre/Theatre for Social Change.  She studied how theatre can be used as a tool to foster socially conscious dialogue.  In 2007, Stefanie spent three years in South Africa with the Peace Corps, where she implemented theatre programs to encourage communities to engage with difficult topics.  She’s currently teaching 12th grade English in Nashville.  Prior to that, she taught at a school in NYC for gifted kids with a mental illness.  Stefanie is flown all over the world, appearing at Comic Cons to help educate and encourage young writers.

Wonderful Faison is a PhD student at Michigan State University earning her doctorate in Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures. She is an advocate for women of color with mental health challenges. As the loved one of someone facing the challenges of schizophrenia, Wonderful diligently seeks new avenues for better research, health services, and medical resources for women of color with mental health concerns.

Kristen Battista-Frazee, MSW, is a marketing consultant, social worker and freelance writer who has spent her career building marketing programs for non-profit organizations and online learning start-up companies. She has experiences as a brand manager, content strategist and social media and PR specialist. Kristin has published in Thrillist, The Daily Beast, Huffington Post, NASW News, Social Work Today and The New Social Worker Magazine and author of The Pornographer's Daughter (Skyhorse, 2014). She earned a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from Florida State University and a Master of Science in Social Work Degree from Columbia University.

Donna Hardaker is an internationally recognized thought leader and advocate for systemic change in the mental health sector. She is an award-winning expert in the specialized field of workplace mental health training. Donna is the Director of Wellness Works, a workplace mental health training program of Mental Health America of California, and is a leader with The Stability Network. Her background is in mental health policy, adult education, human resources management, coaching, peer support and psychology. Donna shares her personal story of mental illness, addiction and recovery with acuity, thoughtfulness and passion for inclusive, holistic systemic change.

Dr. Praveen Kambam is a board-certified physician, specializing in forensic, child and adolescent, and adult psychiatry, in private practice in Los Angeles.  He is also an Assistant Clinical Professor in Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and an Adjunct Professor at Pepperdine University’s Graduate School of Education and Psychology.  Dr. Kambam has been involved in projects aimed at reducing stigma of, raising awareness about, and improving access to mental health care through media and technology.  Some of his academic interests include the interface of media and mental health issues, professionalism and ethics in psychiatrists’ interactions with the media, and civil and criminal forensic psychiatry.  Having a particular interest in teaching, Dr. Kambam has given numerous presentations at regional and national medical and popular culture conferences, and he has authored several articles and book chapters.

Dr. Tama Lane is a psychologist and advocate for survivors of trauma and torture. Dr. Lane received her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the Illinois School of Professional Psychology.  She completed her two-year fellowship at Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture, a torture treatment center in the New York City area treating survivors of torture and war trauma from 80 different countries.  Dr. Lane has worked at Jacobi Medical Center in New York, providing clinical and therapeutic interventions for children with recent histories of physical and sexual abuse, children infected with HIV, substance abuse outpatients, and inpatient populations.  Dr. Lane has a subspecialty in trauma treatment., and her extensive clinical experience focuses on implementing psychodynamic and cognitive behavioral interventions that address a range of cognitive and emotional conditions in adults, children, and families.

Brian Loew is the CEO of Inspire. Brian created Inspire in 2005 with the goal of accelerating clinical trial recruitment through the use of safe, trusted online social networks, organized by medical condition, for patients and their caregivers. Brian believes that patient contributions to medical progress have been historically underappreciated, and great progress in medical research will result from involving patients and fully valuing their contributions. Previously, Brian was responsible for technology strategy for The Washington Post, where he developed innovative products and acted as a technology liaison between the newspaper and washingtonpost.com. He is a regular author and speaker on topics related to e-health, patient empowerment, and healthcare social media.

Marques Ogden is a former professional football player. Growing up in a single parent home with a father that inspired perseverance and fairness, Marques Ogden learned how to define his values and set goals. Ogden attended Howard University from 1998-2002, where he played Division I football. He followed his dream and his brother Jonathan's footsteps, eventually getting drafted into the NFL in 2003. Overall, he played for 5 years as an offensive lineman with the Titans, Bills, Ravens and Jaguars. During the off-season, Ogden helped train football players in Europe, both physically and mentally. At the age of 27, he founded a construction company called Kayden Premier Enterprises, a business that grew rapidly in its first few years, but Ogden and the business eventually went bankrupt, after Ogden loss almost 2 million dollars on one project in a time period just under 90 days.  At his darkest point, the NFL came in and helped Ogden restructure his life. With hard work and determination, he became a motivational speaker and marketing leader, helping to build others up to succeed. Through it all, Ogden dealt with his own personal demons of drinking and gambling to make it regardless of obstacles that were in his path.

Laura Marshall has two decades’ experience in broadcast journalism and health care public relations. She earned her M.A. with honors in interdisciplinary health communication and is a doctoral candidate in Mass Communications at UNC-Chapel Hill. Laura focuses on audience understanding and comprehension of complex health issues, particularly in situations where politics influences message content. Laura has researched health care professionals’ guidelines for domestic violence screening; public health communication in wartime; and how conflicting information affects individual feelings of self-efficacy. As a health care communications professional, Laura has created, directed and implemented international communications programs, media training programs for physicians and clinical researchers, and led Georgia’s Medicaid communications.

Chelsea Malone is a native of Morgantown, West Virginia and a 2015 graduate of West Virginia University with a degree in Finance. Her experience with depression and anxiety in high school encouraged her to compete for the title of Miss West Virginia, as part of the Miss America Organization, to speak about her platform "Break The Silence." She is the current Miss West Virginia, a position that allows her to travel the state of West Virginia speaking to K-12 students about mental health. It is her goal to reach all 55 counties with her message in order to break the stigma surrounding mental health.

Sam Nickels is the Director for the Center for Health and Human Development and Doctoral candidate at James Madison University School of Strategic Leadership. With thirty years of experience working in the nonprofit sector, he is the former director of Crossing Creeks (a residential community for persons with severe mental illness in a farm setting), and currently provide research and consulting for a number of national and regional programs in Central America funded by the Inter-American Foundation, the Pan American Health Organization, and the Dorothy Ann Foundation. He is the co-founder of the Jane Addams public benefits program at Bread for the City and Zacchaeus Free Medical Clinic in Washington DC. 

Mark Nolte is the founder & CEO of Start Talking. Start Talking is a software platform that allows patients the opportunity to do online counseling/therapy with their therapist. This online therapy/counseling offers patients the ability to connect with licensed professional therapists in a discrete privately secure session at their convenience from their home. Mr. Nolte is also a member of The Stability Network. A coalition of successful professionals who live, or have lived, with mental health conditions. Who share their stories and experiences in order to help other people with such conditions recover faster and stay well longer. Mr. Nolte in the healthcare field for over 30 years working for companies of Johnson & Johnson, Stryker and his own company Mark Medical Inc.

Amy Oestreicher is a PTSD peer-to-peer specialist, artist, author, speaker for RAINN, writer for The Huffington Post, award-winning health advocate, actress and playwright, eagerly sharing the lessons learned from trauma through her writing, performance, art and speaking. In 2012, she wrote, directed and starred in a one-woman musical about her life, Gutless & Grateful, touring theatres across the country for three years, and earning rave reviews and accolades since it’s BroadwayWorld Award-nominated NYC debut. As a visual artist, her art has been featured in esteemed galleries solo exhibitions, and her mixed media workshops emphasize creativity as an essential mindset. Determined to bridge the gap of communication between wellness resources on college campuses and students, Amy is currently touring college campuses with a program combining mental health advocacy, sexual assault awareness and Broadway Theatre.

Beth Pausic, Psy.D, is a licensed clinical psychologist based in New York City. She serves as the Global Director of Clinical Services at Big White Wall. In this role she provides clinical and administrative oversight and support for the Wall Guide Team. Prior to joining the Big White Wall, Beth worked at a large behavioral health care agency where she focused on evidence-based clinical decision-making to implement best practice approaches to treatment. Her work included agency-wide workshops and training direct service staff to understand and effectively use data in clinical work. She was also a leader in planning and executing the agency transition to managed care. Dr. Pausic has over 15 years’ experience providing clinical treatment to individuals and families in a broad range of settings including the psychiatric emergency room, in-patient, state hospital, foster care, out-patient and residential care. She has worked with individuals with dementia and Alzheimer’s, intellectual and developmental disabilities and those with serious and persistent mental illness. As a Clinic Director, she oversaw two out-patient clinics that served a population with epilepsy and traumatic brain injuries.

Jeannette Porter earned a B.A. in economics from Swarthmore College in 1989, then spent a decade in fund development and communications in the non-profit sector in her native New York City. After a move to Southside Virginia, she became a print journalist, spending seven years covering her rural county for the local weekly and earning an M.S. in multimedia journalism with honors from Virginia Commonwealth University.  Jeannette is now a second-year Roy H. Park Fellow at the School of Media and Journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill, studying patterns of communication about mental health and illness in the African-American community.

Corie Posey is a native of Clarksburg, West Virginia and a 2015 graduate of West Virginia University. After being diagnosed with depression and anxiety in her freshman year of college, she went on to compete in the Miss America Organization with the platform of mental health awareness. She has held West Virginia's local titles of Miss Harrison County 2014, Miss Morgantown 2015, and Miss Capital City 2016. With her titles, she has traveled to schools in her region to speak to students of all ages about the importance of speaking openly about mental health in order to break the stigma encourage those struggling with mental health disorders to reach out for help.

Dr. Vasilis Pozios is a board-certified physician specializing in forensic and adult psychiatry.  He is also the Assistant Medical Director of MHM Services, Inc., Michigan.  Born and raised in Detroit, he received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Tufts University in Boston.  He completed residency training in general psychiatry at the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor.  Dr. Pozios was then trained in forensic psychiatry by preeminent forensic psychiatrist Phillip J. Resnick, M.D., at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.  He has treated child and adult patients in various settings, including the psychiatric emergency room and correctional facilities.  Dr. Pozios has consulted with governmental agencies, media outlets, and non-profit organizations on media depictions of mental health and substance abuse issues and their impact on public perception.

Gayathri Ramprasad is the Founder and President of ASHA International a nonprofit organization promoting personal, organizational, and community wellness. And, the author of Shadows in the Sun: Healing from Depression and Finding the Light Within. Her successful battle in overcoming life-threatening mental illness and her amazing recovery taught her the power of hope and holistic wellness. Now, she shares that message with others. Since the launch of ASHA International’s wellness campaign, Healthy Minds, Healthy Lives in 2006, Gayathri’s keynotes, wellness workshops, and cultural competence trainings have reached more than 30,000 people nationally and internationally, with a resounding message of hope and healing. Gayathri is a Certified Peer Specialist (CPS), a member of the Global Speakers Federation and winner of the prestigious Eli Lilly Welcome Back Award for Lifetime Achievement and the Voice Award for Consumer Leadership sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. She is also the winner of the 2008 Outstanding Alumna Award from her alma mater George Fox University.

John Shuchart is a successful entrepreneur, educator, and author of “You are not the brightest of my four sons”… and other depressing things that have been said to me. He speaks to audiences across the country about mental illness, its stigma and using humor to reframe traumatic events and “unstick” the negative, depression-inducing emotions tied to them. A member of the NAMI Kansas board of directors, Shuchart began his career as a middle-school teacher before entering the insurance industry and developing a breakthrough product that, for the first time, made it possible for parents to purchase life insurance on their mentally handicapped children. He later sold his thriving insurance business to return to the classroom, where created a unique curriculum called AFTER for students impacted by the September 11^th terrorist attacks, and published two books, including one with the foreword written by Israeli President Shimon Peres.

Gina Sprague is a Doctoral student at California School of Professional Psychology-Los Angeles, CA.  She has worked in the field of mental health for 10 years.  She attended University of Wisconsin-Stout for her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, and Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, FL for her Masters of Science in Counseling Psychology.  She is currently an intern at BHC Alhambra Psychiatric Hospital where she provides clinical assessment in the assessment and referral department.  In addition, she provides crisis counseling for the Los Angeles Police Department for victims of suicides, homicides and other traumatic events.

Sharon Strouse, MA, ATR-BC, LCPAT is a board certified Art Therapist and licensed clinical professional Art Therapist, author, teacher, facilitator, speaker and survivor. Her world dramatically changed on October 11, 2001 when her seventeen year-old daughter Kristin ended her own life. Sharon's own process of meditation and collage making, in response to the trauma of loss became a template for her work with others. She is a grief and bereavement specialist and national workshop presenter. She is a board member on the Johns Hopkins Medicine: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Sharon is co-founder of The Kristin Rita Strouse Foundation (www.krsf.com) a non-profit dedicated to supporting programs that increase awareness of Mental Health through education and the arts. (www.krsf.com) She is author of Artful Grief: A Diary of Healing. (www.artfulgrief.com).

Francisco X. Stork is the author of six novels including Marcelo in the Real World, which received the 2010 Schneider Award (best book describing a disability) and The Last Summer of the Death Warriors, which was the recipient of the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award (best book for literary excellence, widespread appeal and positive approach to life) and the International Latino Book Award. The Memory of Light, Francisco’s latest novel, tells the story of Vicky Cruz, a sixteen-year-old girl who finds herself in a hospital in Austin, Texas the day after a failed suicide attempt. Francisco draws from his life-long struggles with depression and bipolar disorder in describing Vicky’s hard but hopeful journey toward a meaningful life. Francisco studied at Spring Hill College, a Jesuit College in Mobile Alabama. After four years of graduate studies at Harvard, he entered Columbia Law School. For the last fifteen years of his legal career, Francisco worked as an attorney for a Massachusetts State Agency that develops affordable housing.

Alivia Tagliaferri is an author, documentary filmmaker and playwright. Alivia’s works bring to light a spectrum of social issues such as post-combat stress and PTSD, veteran homelessness, suicide and suicide prevention. Her debut novel Beyond the Wall: The Journey Home is a stirring portrayal of survivor’s guilt and PTSD and was recently adapted into a stage play Beyond The Wall, co-written with two Iraq and Afghanistan War Veterans. She is currently producing, writing and directing Power of One: Preventing Suicide in America. This is Alivia’s third documentary project.

Natasha Tracy is an award-winning writer and speaker  from the Pacific Northwest who has lived with bipolar disorder for 18 years. She works to bring quality, insightful and trusted information on bipolar disorder and related illnesses to the public while engaging with the mental health community. Natasha, a Beatrice Stern Media Award-winner,  is considered a subject matter expert in bipolar disorder and her thoughts on it have been sought by the media and academics. In 2015, Natasha coauthored her first, formal paper, Results From an Online Survey of Patient and Caregiver Perspectives on Unmet Needs in the Treatment of Bipolar Disorder, published in the Primary Care Companion CNS Disorders journal. Natasha weaves her story of battling bipolar disorder into motivational, entertaining and educational presentations and writings.

Lucy Wilmer is a freelance communications consultant and mental health advocate living in North Carolina. She is the Chair of the NAMI North Carolina Consumer Council and serves on their state board. Lucy has a master’s degree in Technical and Professional Communication and has volunteered extensively in the past for MHA in North Carolina revising their training and program manuals and presenting curriculum for the MHA Tar-River Region signature anti-stigma campaign for youth. Lucy’s special interests are media and mental health, medical rhetoric, specifically the rhetoric of disabilities and behavioral/mental health, and considerations of mental wellness within higher education.  

Kimberly Zapata is the creator and voice behind Sunshine Spoils Milk, a blog dedicated to motherhood and mental health. She has written extensively on depression, postpartum depression, eating disorders, and alcoholism, and her work has appeared on Washington Post, Huff Post, The Mighty, Scary Mommy, Babble, YourTango, Yahoo! Health, Mamalode, Bonbon Break, in Lose The Cape: Never Will I Ever (and then I had kids!), and in So Glad They Told Me: Women Get Real About Motherhood (Spring 2016).