MHA Young Adult Leadership - About
Purpose
This website is designed to support young people who want to make a difference in mental health in their communities. It provides information and guides for youth who want to create or change campaigns, services, programs, and laws that address mental health.
Youth mental health is worsening. We need more resources, but we also need better resources. Young people are growing up in a very different world than those who designed current systems, services, and policies. To improve youth mental health, we need to do something different. And youth and young adults must be central in leading that transformation.
Mental Health America’s Young Leaders programs bring together people, programs, and information that empower young creators, advocates, and leaders to grow and influence their communities.
About Mental Health America:
Founded in 1909 by Clifford W. Beers, Mental Health America (MHA) is the nation’s leading community-based nonprofit dedicated to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness and promoting the overall mental health of all. MHA’s work is driven by its commitment to promote mental health as a critical part of overall wellness, including prevention services for all; early identification and intervention for those at risk; integrated care, services, and supports for those who need them; with recovery as the goal. During his stays in public and private institutions, Beers witnessed and was subjected to horrible abuse. From these experiences, Beers set into motion a reform movement that took shape and is known today as Mental Health America.
MHA’s programs and initiatives fulfill its mission of promoting mental health and preventing mental illness through advocacy, education, research, and services. MHA’s national office and its 200+ affiliates and associates around the country work every day to protect the rights and dignity of individuals with lived experience and ensure that peers and their voices are integrated into all areas of the organization.
Staff
Kelly Davis (she/her) is the Associate Vice President for Peer and Youth Advocacy at Mental Health America (MHA) where she works to promote the expansion of peer support throughout health care. She also leads MHA’s young adult leadership initiatives that are focused on highlighting and expanding young adult-led programs that fill gaps in traditional mental health services and supports. In 2019, Kelly was awarded the Disruptive Innovator Award by the National Association of Peer Supporters (iNAPS), an award given to a young person making positive change in mental health through positive disruption. She is a certified yoga teacher and holds a certificate in Applied Positive Psychology from The Flourishing Center. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Nonprofit Leadership at the University of Pennsylvania. Kelly also serves as the Director of Integrated Youth Development and Program Design for citiesRISE, a global collaboration focused on systems-level change through large-scale alignment and collective action.
Email Kelly at kdavis@mhanational.org.
Learn more about youth and young adult mental health: