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  • Young Leaders

    Leading today and shaping tomorrow for mental health

MHA Young Adult Leadership

leading today and shaping tomorrow

Mental Health America's youth programs empower aspiring and established young advocates to ignite their communities and build a mentally healthy future for all. 

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2022-23 Young Leaders Council members stand together at Conference

Meet the 2023-2024 Young Leaders Council!

Get to know the 10 mental health changemakers on this year's council.

Read their bios

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our impact

Over 100 young people have graduated from MHA's youth leadership programs, with over 2,000 applicants since the launch of our Young Leaders Council.

Program graduates have gained leadership positions in the public and private sectors, including at Google, UNICEF, the National Academies of Sciences, and the White House.

Our youth leadership reports have been used to create policy and advocacy priorities, including updating federal regulations on mental disability-related discrimination and national and state school mental health policies.

celebrating and elevating youth voices

Prameela Boorada headshot

"The community of mental health leaders instilled a strong belief in me that I deserve to be here merely for who I am — I deserve to take up space; I deserve to co-create solutions with influential thought leaders in social impact; and I deserve to be celebrated for getting this far."

Prameela Boorada
2021-22 Young Leaders Council member

Ben Ballman headshot

"I thought I had hit a dead end in the change that I could make in mental health policy. It was only after I was accepted into the Young Mental Health Leaders Council that I received the guidance, education, and support I needed to work within a system that seemed to be fighting against me."

Ben Ballman
2020-21 Young Leaders Council member