Our Mental Health Speakers bring mental wellness and resilience to the forefront of the conversation. They offer hope and optimism as they facilitate open discussions around challenging subjects such as suicide awareness and self-injury.

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Mental Health & Wellness
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Mental Health & Wellness

Kristina Wong

<p>Kristina Wong is a performance artist, actor, comedian, writer and elected representative in Koreatown Los Angeles. Following its highly acclaimed premiere at New York Theater Workshop, <em>Kristina Wong: Sweatshop Overlord</em>, was a <em>New York Times</em> “Critics Pick.” </p><p>Wong was then named a Pulitzer Prize finalist in Drama, (2022). <em>Sweatshop Overlord</em> also garnered a veritable awards sweep this year including The Drama Desk Award, The Lucille Lortel Award and The Outer Critics Circle Award.

Susannah Cahalan

<p>Susannah Cahalan is an award-winning #1 <em>New York Times</em> best-selling author, journalist, and public speaker.</p><p>Her 2012 memoir <em>Brain on Fire</em>, which has sold over a million copies and was made into a Netflix original movie, one of its most-watched movies of 2016, chronicled her medical misdiagnosis and brief interface with the broken mental health system in America.

Elizabeth Smart

<p>One of the biggest national abduction news stories of our time, the kidnapping and recovery of Elizabeth Smart captured the nation’s attention from June 5, 2002, when she was taken at knifepoint, to when the police safely returned her back to her family on March 12, 2003. Held prisoner for 9 grueling months, repeatedly threatened and tormented, Smart emerged a symbol of perseverance and strength when she triumphantly testified before her captor and the world about her very private nightmare.</p>

Molly Barker

<p>Molly Barker is an American educator, social entrepreneur, and visionary. She is best known as the founder of Girls on the Run International, the self-esteem, youth-development and healthy lifestyle program for third- to eighth-grade girls. </p><p>Molly Barker started Girls on the Run International in 1996 with 13 girls in Charlotte, NC. Since then, the program has grown to include schools in all 50 states, inspiring over 2.5 million girls to know and activate their limitless potential.

Mark Kennedy Shriver

<p>Mark Kennedy Shriver, the son of Sargent and Eunice Kennedy Shriver, is a former Maryland state legislator, a leader in children&#39;s education and poverty prevention, and author of "A Good Man: Rediscovering My Father, Sargent Shriver," a New York Times best-seller. He is Senior Vice President of U.S. Programs for Save Our Children, a leading independent organization creating lasting change in the lives of children in need in the U.S.

Ben Nemtin

<p>Ben co-founded <em>The Buried Life</em> movement and his message of radical possibility has been featured on <em>The Today Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show,</em> and networks like CNN, FOX, and CBS. </p><p>A decade ago, Ben was knocked off his feet by a heavy depression. To help him feel more alive, he and his three best friends created the world’s greatest bucket list, borrowed a rickety old RV, and crisscrossed North America, achieving the unthinkable.

Beverly Gooden

<p>In the wake of high-profile domestic violence incidents, Beverly Gooden created the viral hashtag #WhyIStayed and sparked a national conversation about how society views victims and why we all have a role to play in breaking the culture of silence that perpetuates abuse.</p><p>Beverly Gooden breaks down the myths and misunderstandings around domestic violence to illuminate the complex reasons why victims stay in abusive relationships and what you can do to help. As the “Me Too” movement has shown, what our society considers acceptable can be changed by the work of many

Angelica Ross

<p>From the board room, to film/TV sets and even the Obama White House, Angelica Ross is a leading figure of success and strength in the movement for transgender and racial equality and a star in Ryan Murphy’s hit FX series <em>Pose</em>.</p><p>Making TV history, the show features the largest transgender cast ever for a scripted series - five transgender women of color cast to play five series regular roles, including Angelica’s role as the witty and fiesty ‘Candy Abundance,’ the brashest member of the ‘House of Abundance.’ Angelica’s performance is receiving r