Mental Health America’s Annual Conference 2022 - Agenda

CONFERENCE AGENDA

Please note the agenda is subject to change; full details are to be announced soon.

MHA's 2022 Annual Conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill located at 400 New Jersey Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001 June 9-11, 2022 with Affiliate Pre-Conference Day on June 8. 

Virtual attendees will have the option to watch in-person sessions as they stream live on the virtual platform or view the on-demand recording afterward. Sessions streaming exclusively on the virtual platform will be made available throughout the event for all attendees to access.

After the event, live-streamed session recordings from Affiliate Pre-Conference Day and MHA's 2022 Annual Conference will be available for 30 days until July 9, 2022, to all registered attendees on the virtual platform.

All times are listed in Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). 

Register Today. 

*Denotes in-person only event, will not be live streamed

Policy Institute

*Denotes in-person only event, will not be live streamed

Tuesday, June 07, 2022
Time Session
11:00 am - 2:30 pm Virtual Policy Institute

A Bi-Directional Approach To Bring Together Public Health And Mental Health

Affiliate Pre-Conference Day

Wednesday, June 08, 2022
Time Session
8:00 am – 5:00 pm Registration *
8:00 am - 8:30 am Pre-Conference Kick-Off & Networking Breakfast *
8:30 am – 8:45 am Break
8:45 am – 9:45 am Breakout Sessions
  • A Virtual Peer Recovery Center-expanding MHA's Community - Robert Kley, Carolyn Quinn and Michelle Price, Mental Health Association in New Jersey
  • Creating A Vision for Workplace Mental Health In Your State - Suzi Craig, Mental Health Connecticut
10:00 am – 11:00 am Breakout Sessions
  • County Level Challenges - County Level Solutions - Ben Harrington, Mental Health Association of East Tennessee; Larsen Jay, Knox County Commission
  • Improving Mental Health Care Together with PsychU - Becky Wong, Dennis Sholler and Dennis Pabis, Otsuka
11:15 am – 12:15 pm Breakout Sessions
  • Mental Health in the Food & Beverage Industry: Developing an Innovative Partnership to Address Unmet Needs - Renae Vania-Tomczak, Mental Health America of Greater Houston; Catarina Bill, Southern Smoke Foundation; and John Vincent, University of Houston, Department of Psychology
  • Building Relationships, Changing Lives - Deanna Ackerman and Robert Davison, Mental Health Association of Essex and Morris 
12:30 pm – 1:15 pm Lunch*
  • A Salute to MHA Affiliate Leaders
1:30 pm – 2:30 pm Breakout Sessions
  • Growing Your MHA While Keeping True to the MHA Mission of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion - Andrew O'Grady, Mental Health America of Dutchess County
  • Technology Innovation for Team Burnout - Mary Jones, Mental Health Association of South Central Kansas
2:45 pm – 3:45 pm Breakout Sessions
  • What’s the Cost? Using an ROI Approach to Fund Your Programs - Shannah Mulvihill, Mental Health Minnesota
  • Addressing the Youth Mental Health Crisis In Partnership with Young People - Kelly Davis, Mental Health America; Suzanne King, Mental Health America of Eastern Missouri
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm Breakout Sessions
  • Care Not Cuffs: Pathways to Providing Health Care for Health Needs - Vincent Atchity, Mental Health Colorado
  • Creating Environments Where Person Centered Planning Drives Recovery-Oriented Transformation - Remi Kyek, Mental Health Connecticut
5:15 pm – 6:15 pm Delegate Assembly

Speakers: Peter Carson, MHA Board Chair; Schroeder Stribling, MHA President and CEO
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Affiliate Reception *

MHA's 2022 Annual Conference

Thursday, June 09, 2022
Time Session
9:30 am – 5:00 pm Registration/MHA Store Open*
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Welcome Luncheon*
1:00 pm - 1:45 pm Welcome Session & MHA President/CEO Remarks
  • Peter Carson, MHA Board
  • Schroeder Stribling, MHA President & CEO
1:45 pm - 2:00 pm Break
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Breakout Sessions:
  • Circle Time: Understanding Restorative Justice Circles Efficacy in Creating Equitable Mental Health Outcomes in Youth of Color - Roxana Kazemi, DC VA Counseling and Psychotherapy
  • Understanding and Overcoming Compassion Fatigue - Jeanne Manchin Wong and Lori Karabinchak, Middlesex County Office of Health Services

Virtual Exclusive Session:

  • The Quest for Recovery: A Bipolar Provider's Journey to Stay Healthy and Help Others Do The Same - China Darrington, Thrive Peer Recovery Services
  • Interactive Workshop - Find your Voice, Tell Your Story: The Healing Power of Writing - Janet Reynolds, Janet F. Reynolds Consulting

 

 
3:00 pm – 3:15 pm Break
3:15 pm - 4:15 pm Breakout Sessions:
  • Not Another Bubble Bath: How to Harness Your Body’s Wisdom and Power For Deep Self-Care - Rachel Harlich, LMSW
  • College Life With Psychosis - The Student Lived Experience Perspective- Cecilia McGough, Shira Agam, Dominique, Laura Kordowski, Emeka Chima, Students with Psychosis
  • Fellowships, Leadership Councils, and Advisory Boards - How the drive to “give youth a voice” is well-intentioned but misguided in the executive - Prameela Boorada, MannMukti

Virtual Exclusive Sessions:

  • Changing Minds: Stories Over Stigma - Kristen Harootunian, Minding Your Mind
  • Addressing Substance Use in Crisis-Response Services - Courtney Hunter, Crisis Text Line

 
4:15 pm - 4:30 pm Break
4:30 pm - 5:00 pm Clifford Beers Award Presentation - Sally Zinman
5:00 pm – 6:00 pm Keynote - Andy Grammer, Multi Platinum Pop Artist
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm Welcome Reception*

MHA's 2022 Annual Conference

Friday, June 10, 2022
Time Session
8:30 am – 5:30 pm Registration/MHA Store Open*
9:00 am - 9:30 am Breakfast*
9:30 am - 10:20 am MHA's Young Mental Health Leaders Panel

Panel session on using creativity and lived experience to address the youth mental health crisis

mPower Award presented to Sam Gerry
10:20 am - 10:30 am Break
10:30 am - 11:30 am Breakout Sessions:
  • Optimizing Your District's Mental Health MTSS for Crisis Recognition and Response - Gerard Barone and Coleen Vanderbeek, Effective School Solutions
  • Breaking Down the Insurance Barrier to Equitable Mental Health Care - Caroline Reynolds and Jason S. Cowart, Zuckerman Spaeder LLP; Wendell Potter, Center for Health Democracy
  • BHLC: A Comprehensive, State-Wide System for Equitable Behavioral Health - Donna Volpitta, Pathways to Empower; Scott Hutchins, Michigan Department of Education; Nicholas Jaskiw, Newaygo County Resa

Virtual Exclusive Sessions:

  • Sharing My Journey with Maternal Mental Health - Sneha Kohli Mathur, University of Southern California 
  • Coping with COVID Loss: Using Grief to Create Change - Jessica Alejandro, City University of New York
11:30 am – 12:10 pm Lunch*
12:10 pm – 1:00 pm Media Awards
  • Huffington Post journalists Lindsay Holmes and Catherine Pearson
  • Well Beings & Ken Burns Presents Hiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness, A Film By Erik Ewers & Christopher Loren Ewers. Executive producer Ken Burns. Executive Producers for WETA: John Wilson and Tom Chiodo.
  • WBIR Newsroom & Production Team for WBIR’s Mental Health Monday.
1:00 pm – 1:15 pm Break
1:15 pm - 2:15 pm Breakout Sessions:
  • Music as a Coping Strategy to Reduce Stress During COVID-19 - Rita Sitney, United States Army
  • Language, culture, and mental health literacy - does it really matter? - America Paredes, Mental Health America
  • The Sankofa Griot: Storytelling to Heal Generational Curses - Sherry James, Phoenix Speaks, Inc.

Virtual Exclusive Sessions:

  • Addressing Underserved Communities Through Innovative, Culturally Responsive Solutions - Tia Dole, The Steve Fund; Joan Steinberg, Morgan Stanley; Lauren Carson, Black Girls Smile
  • Only the Strong Survives: Voice of a Veteran - Venita Thomas, Venita Thomas Workforce Development Consulting Services LLC
2:15 pm – 2:30 pm Break
2:30 pm - 3:30 pm Breakout Sessions:
  • Pandemic and Poetry - Donta Gee, NAMI; Adrienne Cherry, In Flight Yoga
  • Mental Health Disparities in Muslim American Communities - Shani Banks, Holistic Muslim Healing

Virtual Exclusive Session:

  • Peer Support Behind the Walls to Build a Pro-social Culture and Promote the Mission of Rehabilitation in Jails and Prisons - Lynn Miller, Advocates; Lee Horton and Dennis Horton, Shining Light Peer Services

 
3:30 pm - 3:45 pm Break
3:45 pm - 4:45 pm Breakout Sessions:
  • Taking the Superhero Cape Off: Protecting Our Mental Health as Women of Color When Supporting Our Traumatized Communities - Laqwanda Roberts Buckley, Healing Black Women, LLC
  • Latino Mental Health - Pierluigi Mancini, Multicultural Development Institute, Inc. 
  • Black Man in America: To Heal and Be The Healer - Gary Taylor, Uphold 31:8

Virtual Exclusive Session:

  • Lighting the Future Combating Stigma: Unlearning the Lies that Keep Us Suffering in Silence - Fereshteh Ganjavi and Rachel Schaffer, Elena's Light

 
4:45 pm - 5:00 pm Break
5:00 pm - 5:45 pm Keynote - Bassey Ikpi, New York Times Best Selling Author
5:45 pm – 6:30 pm MHA Awards

The Betty Humphrey Equity Champion Award - Open Paths Counseling Center

Joseph de Raismes III Policy Award - Cynthia Wainscott 

The George Goodman and Ruth P. Brudney Social Work Award - Stacey Freedenthal

Innovation in Programming Award - Mental Health Health Association in New Jersey 
6:15 pm - 7:30 pm Reception (open to all attendees)*

MHA's 2022 Annual Conference

Saturday, June 11, 2022
Time Session
9:30 am – 12:30 pm Registration/MHA Store Open*
9:00 am - 9:30 am Breakfast*
9:30 am - 10:45 am Keynote - Strategic Leadership During Crisis Times
  • Congressman Jamie Raskin, U.S. Representative for Maryland’s 8th Congressional District
  • Kana Enomoto, Director of Brain Health for McKinsey Health Institute
  • UT State Rep. Steve Eliason and John Draper, EVP at Vibrant Emotional Health
11:00 pm - 12:00 pm Breakout Sessions:
  • The Confess Project: Training Black Barbers to be Mental Health Advocates for Their Clients and Communities - Natasha De Veauuse Brown, GSU School of Public Health; Lorenzo Lewis, The Confess Project
  • Deflection vs. Diversion: A More Equitable Approach to Achieving Community Care - Debbie Plotnick, Mental Health America; Elliot Pinsly, Behavioral Health Foundation

Virtual Exclusive Sessions:

  • Reclaiming Your Story: An Intersectional Approach to Mental Health - Jennifer Lee, The Asian Americans With Disabilities Initiative 

 
12:00 pm - 12:45 pm Lunch*
12:45 pm - 1:25 pm Keynote - Allison Schmitt, 10X World Champion Medalist
1:25 pm - 1:30 pm Closing Remarks