Mental Health America award recipients

“Extra Credit” – Michigan Learning Channel is a 2025 recipient of the Media Award. Teen hosts Paige and Brooke are the heart of “Extra Credit,” where inspiring stories and honest conversations help teens learn, grow, and stay connected. Whether they’re spotlighting community heroes or opening up about mistakes and self-care, each episode gives young people something they can carry with them.

In “Let’s Talk Mental Health,” Paige and Brooke break down common mental health myths and
talk about why it’s so important to check in with the people we care about. The episode also features Caleb’s Kids, a Detroit nonprofit helping young people understand and prioritize mental wellness.

Extra Credit is a Michigan Learning Channel (MLC) program produced by Detroit PBS. MLC is a statewide initiative of all six Michigan PBS stations, delivering 24/7 educational content via broadcast TV, streaming, and an on-demand website with learning resources.

ANXIETY CLUB is a 2025 recipient of the Media Award. ANXIETY CLUB offers a heartfelt and humorous exploration of anxiety through the lens of some of today’s most brilliant comedians: Tiffany Jenkins, Joe List, Marc Maron, Aparna Nancherla, Mark Normand, Baron Vaughn, and Eva Victor. With a mix of stand-up performances, sketch videos, exclusive interviews, and relatable everyday life scenarios, they candidly share their personal struggles with anxiety, the world’s most prevalent mental health condition, affecting more than 300 million people globally.

The film follows Tiffany Jenkins – a comic and author with millions of social media followers – through her private exposure therapy sessions, where she confronts her deepest fears with grit and self-deprecating humor. Additionally, world-renowned meditation teacher and author Tara Brach, PhD, guides Joe List through an intense and transformative meditation experience. Viewers will also discover why Hollywood’s Laugh Factory took the groundbreaking step of hiring a psychologist-in-residence to support its comics.

Join these comedians as they reveal how vulnerability and humor can coexist, turning their mental health battles into powerful narratives that resonate with audiences everywhere. And, have some laughs along the way.

Aria Rani Sindledecker is the 2025 recipient of the mPower Award. Aria Rani Sindledecker is a mental health advocate and neuroscience researcher. A 16-year-old rising senior at Mountain View High School, she has spoken alongside leading UC San Francisco psychiatrists at the SF Commonwealth Club, the UCSF Pritzker Psychiatry Building opening, on NPR, and at numerous national, state, and local panels to elevate the youth voice in mental health. Aria initiated her school’s peer counseling program, leads school and district-wide mental health efforts, and serves on multiple youth advisory boards, including Cal Partners and Bring Change to Mind. A four-time documentary award-winning filmmaker, she uses storytelling to humanize youth mental health, challenge stigma, and spark change. Aria is also a Youth Strategy Advisor for Stanford’s Center for Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing to help develop a state-wide peer support guide. She has conducted neuroscience research at UCSF and UC Riverside, working on a qualitative study to develop solutions in making mental health resources more accessible to youth, and performing an independent research project on autism. Passionate about destigmatizing mental health and advancing brain-based solutions, Aria bridges science and advocacy to drive systemic change.

Carmen Thatcher is the 2025 recipient of the George Goodman Brudney and Ruth P. Brudney Social Work Award. With over 25 years of experience in mental health, education, and social services, I am a Licensed Clinical Social Work Supervisor and hold an advanced master’s degree in Social Work from Our Lady of the Lake University. Currently serving as the Director of Student and Academic Services for the San Antonio Independent School District, I oversee and provide direct practice for a district of 44,000 students and lead teams supporting crisis response, clinical social work, and specialized programs for at-risk youth and families.

Recognized as the 2023 Kathy Armenta Texas School Social Worker of the Year, I am known for innovative solutions and impactful leadership. I developed and implemented a districtwide software platform that identified over 25,000 at-risk students and streamlined access to over 100,000 touch points of support services, including mental health care, counseling, and case management.

As an Adjunct Professor for Alamo Colleges, I teach social work courses and regularly present at national, state, and local conferences on topics of mental health, cultural competence, and social justice. My practice is grounded in evidence-based modalities such as CBT, DBT, and Solution-Focused Therapy, and my work is driven by the principle that “Students and Families Come First.”

Casa de Salud is the 2025 recipient of the Betty Humphrey Equity Champion Award. The mission of Casa de Salud is to provide high-quality clinical and mental health services to uninsured and underinsured individuals, with a focus on immigrants and refugees who face significant barriers to care.

In 2018, responding to community needs, Casa launched the Mental Health Collaborative (MHC) to deliver mental health care for people suffering from depression, anxiety, and trauma. The Mental Health Collaborative (MHC) is a partnership of mental health agencies and professionals that work together to deliver culturally-sensitive behavioral health services to high-need populations: low income, uninsured, and foreign-born patients. Casa convenes partners on-site, who provide trauma-informed and culturally competent therapy. Casa is a trusted bridge to the community and provides administrative support, with a focus on making access for clients as easy as possible. The MHC started with just 4 therapists and has grown to more than 25 mental health partners. In the last 12 months, this partnership provided more than 3,700 mental health care sessions to more than 300 clients.

Additional info on the MHC can be found here: https://casadesaludstl.org/mentalhealth

Jasmin Goodwin is the 2025 recipient of the Youth Policy Advocacy Award. Jasmin is a senior at School Without Walls HS in DC, and she proudly serves as the President of Penguins Minds Matter (OMM club at Walls) and a member of OMM Team Advisory Council. A little bit about Jasmin: She is a passionate dancer, singer, and entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of Custom Royalty Crochet which is a crochet business in the DMV area.

Although she is a senior, she has an unwavering commitment to health advocacy for all, especially those who feel silenced or misunderstood. As a member of OMM TAC council and general school community, she hopes to continue to be a leader and change maker in the lives of others.

Liza Ramrayka for KALW Public Radio is a 2025 recipient of the Media Award. During and after lockdown, the media had focused on youth mental health – the impact of hours of online schooling and the lack of social interaction. But it struck me that AANHPI  (American Asian, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander) seniors were a complex group that had been overlooked and underserved. With families out all day, they often experienced loneliness, anxiety from hate crime, and language barriers that stop them accessing mental health services. The stigma attached to mental health issues is an additional – and huge – barrier. In a three-part series for KALW Public Radio, supported by USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism’s California Impact Fund, I investigated the need for systemic change in mental healthcare for Bay Area AANHPI seniors, from culturally-tailored services to more investment in a bilingual/bicultural workforce. Aired on KALW’s award-winning magazine show Crosscurrents in May 2024, this deeply-reported series came to life through extensive community engagement leading to trust building and authentic storytelling, to offer solutions-based reporting.

Scott Strode is the 2025 recipient of the Clifford W. Beers Award. Scott Strode, 51, has been sober for 22 years. Raised by a mother, who was a Fortune 500 company CEO and U.S. Ambassador who spent the majority of her time at work, a mentally unstable father, and an alcoholic step-father, Scott’s childhood was tumultuous and primed him to be a victim of substance usage. For instance, Scott’s father lived in a home with only three walls due to an incomplete renovation project he started during a manic episode. Exposed to chaos and alcoholism early in life, Scott had his first beer at the age of 11 and did cocaine for the first time when he was 15. In his 20s, he began working at a shipyard in Boston as a carpenter and a counselor for at-risk youth enrolled in sailing programs. The turning point in Scott’s sobriety journey was when he realized that getting blackout drunk every night was profoundly impacting his ability to pursue both his fitness activities and his mentoring of young people. He realized he was living a double life. While working with at-risk youth in the sailing program, he discovered the healing power of the great outdoors. Scott began to drink less, and started mountain climbing and running marathons more.  Climbing mountains and crossing finish lines helped heal his self-esteem, which made it possible for him to remain sober. It is also through sport that he found a new sober and supportive community. So, Scott set out to build a scalable way for more people to find their way to recovery through a sober active community, thus creating The Phoenix.

Stephen McCaffrey is the 2025 recipient of the Joseph de Raismes, III Policy Award. Stephen is the President and CEO of Mental Health America of Indiana.  Stephen previously served on the national Board of Mental Health America and as past Co-Chair of the national MHA Public Policy Committee.  He had been previously elected to the Board of Directors of the National Mental Health Association in 1996, where he served as the Vice Chair for Public Affairs. Stephen previously served on the NMHA Public Policy and Affiliate Relations Committees and the NMHA Executive Director Advisory Council.  Stephen also served as a member of Mental Health America’s national Regional Policy Council.

Stephen currently serves on the Commission on Aging and is Chair of the Parity Subcommittee of the Commission on Improving the Status of Children in Indiana.  Stephen currently serves on the Board of Directors of Managed Health Services (Centene) and previously served on the Cenpatico National Advisory Board.

He recently served on the Indiana Behavioral Health Commission, served as the Chair of the Indiana Division of Mental Health Advisory Committee and as Chair of the Attorney General’s Task Force on Prescription Drug Abuse.  He previously served as a member of the federal HHS Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Effective Health Care Stakeholder Group and was Co-Chairman of the DMHA/DDARS Dual Diagnosis Task Force.

United By Wellness by the Mental Health Association New Jersey (MHANJ) is the 2025 The Richard Van Horn Innovation in Programming Award winner. United By Wellness (UBW) is a virtual wellness center, sponsored by the Mental Health Association New Jersey (MHANJ) where peers offer skills and tools for recovery to people living with mental health and/or substance use disorder(s). This is accomplished by providing no-cost support, education and advocacy in virtual support groups across a diverse community. Since 2021, UBW boasts over 3,000 members and 10,000 virtual groups provides. Members currently have access to 60+ groups a week, including nights and weekends. UBW offers mutual support, socialization, individual and systems advocacy in a virtual peer community. All center leadership and operational services are designed and administered by trained, “united”, peer specialists. UBW expands MHANJ’s peer services beyond physical barriers to reach a broader, more diverse/isolated audience while creating new partnerships and collaborations that strengthen the peer movement and MHANJ’s recognition across our state.