The Youth Policy Accelerator (YPA) is designed to amplify youth leadership and provide personal and professional advancement to youth leaders to ensure youth priorities and voices are centered in mental health policy on a national level. It brings together 10 young people with demonstrated policy and programmatic impact to participate in a two-month intensive virtual program.
In this eight-week paid virtual training, members will learn from and build relationships with leaders in the field, develop their personal strengths in policy advocacy, co-create surveys and original research, and develop recommendations and a campaign to advance youth and young adult peer support. Members will attend weekly sessions covering topics including the history of peer support, policy research, government decision-makers, and storytelling.
Learn more about them below!
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Ashley Deare
Clinton, MD
Ashley Deare (she/her) is a 24-year-old public health professional dedicated to advancing mental and behavioral health in underserved communities. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Morgan State University and is currently pursuing a master’s in public health practice and policy at the University of Maryland, College Park, expecting to graduate in December 2025. As a public health analyst intern at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), she supported behavioral health policy initiatives, stakeholder engagement, and data tracking, including developing the HRSA Opioid Rapid Response one-pager and maintaining systems to track state-level behavioral health gaps.
Her prior experience includes working with the Prince George’s County Health Department on billing operations and community outreach and interning with the Black Mental Health Alliance, where she updated the National Provider List and conducted a needs assessment for their resource and referral program. Through these roles, Ashley has strengthened her research, data analysis, and policy evaluation skills. Her passion for public health policy is driven by a commitment to addressing systemic health disparities and improving health outcomes, recognizing that well-crafted policies can bridge healthcare access gaps, enhance equitable services, and foster healthier, more resilient communities.
Ava Havidic
Tamarac, FL
Ava Havidic (she/her) is a Woodruff Scholar at Emory University’s Atlanta campus, one of just 23 students selected for this prestigious distinction. Passionate about international relations and sustainable global business, she aims to advance environmental and youth policy. Ava has been a driving force in education equity and student advocacy, shaping national conversations on governance, especially in mental health spaces. As a student advisor for Broward County Public Schools, the sixth-largest district in the nation, she represented over 250,000 students, ensuring their voices were heard in all board meetings. Her leadership in this role exposed the urgent need for mental health reform, leading to her selection as one of just seven students nationwide to serve as a mental health and well-being network facilitator for the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Ava became the inaugural president of the National Student Board Member Association (NSBMA) and the president of the Broward Youth Coalition, where she was featured in media such as ABC News, the Associated Press, and NBC News for her prevention research of alcohol and other substances, informing 30 million students daily. As a storyteller, she has spoken globally from Congress to Education Week’s Leadership Symposium to Croatian elementary classrooms. Ava is excited to bring her determination to the mission of Mental Health America and this accelerator!
Cole Ramsey
Thorntown, IN
Cole Ramsey (he/him) is an 18-year-old student, born and raised in rural Indiana. He plans to pursue a degree in political science and continue his work in advocacy. Realizing the value of youth voices in addressing youth problems, Cole founded the Boone County Youth Advisory Committee, a group comprised of high school students across Boone County, Indiana, which for the past four years has met with community leaders and state legislators to provide the youth perspective and work towards solutions to the mental health crisis facing their community. His group has worked to encourage legislation in Indiana that would provide public schools with more funding to support counselors and provide mental health resources to all students. This work saw Cole named Mental Health America’s Youth Policy Advocate of the Year in 2024. Recently, he has been working alongside Mental Health America Wabash Valley Region to expand youth advisory committees into counties across Indiana. Cole is extremely passionate about addressing the youth mental health crisis facing rural America through legislative means and hopes to dedicate the next chapter of his life to doing so.
Daniella Ivanir
New York, NY
Daniella Ivanir (she/her) is a passionate mental health advocate focused on understanding and addressing the adolescent mental health crisis and the impact of technology on youth well-being. Her journey began at 15 as a volunteer at the suicide prevention hotline, TeenLine, where she saw firsthand the power of youth peer support.
In 2023, Daniella graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, earning a degree in psychology with a minor in public policy. While there, she founded Lean On Me UC Berkeley, the first anonymous peer support text line on campus.
As youth engagement and advocacy manager at the digital well-being nonprofit, #HalfTheStory, Daniella leads all teen-centered programming, including the Digital Civics Academy, a program empowering young leaders to create a healthier digital future. Through her work at #HalfTheStory and as a nextGen advisor for NAMI New York State, she has advocated for national and state policies promoting youth peer support and kids’ online safety.
Ernesto Isaac Lara
Boston, MA and San Francisco, CA
Ernesto Isaac Lara (he/him) is a youth well-being activist, lived experience researcher, and peer support advocate on a mission to create a happier, healthier global community. Rooted in his healing journey and experience providing peer support to his mentees at the University of California, San Diego, Isaac has dedicated his early career to expanding access to peer support training and services. Currently, Isaac works at the Mental Health for All Lab at Harvard Medical School, where he leads the EMPOWER Peer Support Initiative. This endeavor aims to develop a digital, global peer support curriculum to equip those with lived experience of recovery to support their peers struggling with serious mental health challenges. Isaac furthers his mission through his engagement with organizations such as the Global Mental Health Peer Network, NAMI, Flourish Labs, Stanford Psychiatry, and Lancet Psychiatry. In recognition of his advocacy and research, he was awarded the 2024 Mental Health America mPower Award.
Minh Anh Nguyen
Portland, OR
Minh Nguyen (he/him) is a first-year undergraduate student of psychology at Reed College. He has worked as a peer crisis intervention specialist with Youthline Lines for Life, as well as being an dvocate with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Minh has certifications with Youthline, as well as being certified for Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA), and Psychological First Aid (PFA). Additionally, he has made many contributions to the field of mental health; appearing in 988 training modules for youth in crisis, as well as shortly working as a program development tester for ReflexAI’s language model simulation of youth in crisis, and Mindset AI under DIVE STUDIOS with their Emotional Support language model. Minh is deeply passionate about the advancement of the mental health field and cares a lot about the ongoing stigmatization that continues to affect those with mental/emotional afflictions. With his current experience, as well as being a YPA member, Minh hopes to be able to make the conversations around mental health safer, whether it be through advocacy or policy work/research.
Morgan Schaffer
Jacksonville, AL
Morgan Schaffer (she/her) is a 23-year-old mental health advocate and peer support specialist from Jacksonville, Ala., who is dedicated to advancing mental health awareness. With lived experience navigating mental health challenges and systems, she uses her unique perspective to empower others through empathetic peer support and community-driven initiatives. Morgan is a graduate student at Jacksonville State University and will obtain her master’s degree in social work in May 2025. At JSU, she serves as president of both the Social Work Club and the Delta Beta Chapter of the Phi Alpha Social Work Honor Society. She has three and a half years of community-based mental health experience as a certified peer specialist and intensive care coordinator for youth in Alabama. She is a prevention educator for HopeUNITED, an anti-trafficking initiative at United Way of East Central Alabama. Morgan serves on the Alabama Department of Mental Health’s Mental Illness Planning Council as the youth consumer representative and the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program’s Planning and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness Advisory Council. She is a recipient of the Respect Award presented by the Alabama Department of Mental Health’s Office of Peer Programs and Wings Across Alabama. As an Asian American, Morgan draws on her own experiences and cultural background to appreciate intersectionality and aims to break down barriers to mental health care to ensure that all individuals – especially those with lived experiences of marginalization – receive compassionate care. Committed to reducing stigma and promoting mental health equity, she actively engages in advocacy work to influence policies that improve access to care, promote mental wellness, and ensure inclusivity. Through her advocacy work and lived experience, Morgan is helping to create a future where mental health is prioritized and treated with care, dignity, and worth to all. She is extremely passionate about her work and is immensely eager to be part of the 2025 Youth Policy Accelerator Cohort.
Nita Ugbedeojo Akoh
Boston, MA
Nita Ugbedeojo Akoh (she/her) is a 24-year-old entrepreneur, mental health advocate, and behavioral neuroscience researcher originally from Port Harcourt, Nigeria, now residing in Boston, Mass. She is the founder and CEO of MyAtlas, a pioneering digital health platform that leverages AI and digital phenotyping to provide personalized behavioral health support. With a background in behavioral neuroscience, Nita combines scientific expertise with technology to develop data-driven solutions that make mental health care more precise, accessible, and effective. Her dedication to mental health innovation has earned her several accolades, including the Paul and Grace Ward Martinez Research Fellowship, induction into Northeastern University’s Huntington 100, and second place in the Women Who Empower Innovator Awards. She actively participates in behavioral health technology discussions and has been featured in interviews and podcasts, sharing insights into breaking barriers in mental health care. Through MyAtlas and her advocacy, Nita is committed to reshaping the mental health landscape by ensuring that young adults receive proactive and culturally relevant support.
Quinn Merriss
Cincinnati, OH
Quinn Merriss (they/them) is a 19 year old embarking on their freshman year at Bowling Green State University beginning in Fall 2025. They are working to pursue a Master’s degree in social work. They are passionate about youth mental health advocacy with a focus on LGBTQ+ youth and system-involved youth (including homelessness, foster care, and juvenile justice systems). Identifying as transgender/agender, queer, disabled, and formerly homeless, Merriss centers their identity and life experiences throughout their advocacy work.
Quinn lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is currently serving as an executive board member and youth fellow for Hopeful Empowered Youth (HEY!) – a diverse and innovative coalition working collaboratively with over 200 organizations to improve youth mental well-being across 12 counties in Ohio and Kentucky. Additionally, they serve on the Youth Action Board (YAB) for Lighthouse Youth and Family Services, where they strive to connect at-risk youth to services and advocate for crucial legislation to support them and the organizations that serve them, including meeting with Rep. Greg Landsman to champion legislation supporting homeless youth throughout the United States.
Quinn’s passion for mental health advocacy comes from their lived experiences with mental illness, homelessness, and trauma, as well as witnessing the impact of mental illness, addiction, and homelessness on their loved ones and community. Throughout all of their previous and current work, they’ve spoken with community leaders, helped create training materials to guide organizational strategy, and advocated for youth leadership in diverse settings.
Saran Tugsjargal
Alameda, CA
Saran Tugsjargal (she/her) is an incoming freshman at Rice University, where she will study social policy analysis and political science. A globally and U.S. Congress-recognized disability rights leader, she drives policy reforms, amplifies Black, Indigenous, and people of color and marginalized voices, and holds officials accountable to create lasting systemic change. Drawing from her lived experiences in an education system that segregated and labeled her, she now fights to dismantle oppressive systems. She is the first Mongolian American to serve as a youth commissioner on the California Department of Education’s Advisory Commission on Special Education, where she co-chairs the Family and Youth Voices Committee, representing over 850,000 students with disabilities and advising the governor, state legislature, county office educations, and more than 10 state agencies. She has championed key legislative initiatives, all signed into law, including AB 2173, which replaced “emotional disturbance” with “emotional disability” to eliminate stigmatizing labels in education and juvenile justice schools; AB 2105, securing medical coverage for individuals with PANS/PANDAS; and SB 445, creating a standardized, statewide individualized education program (IEP) template.
Saran has spoken at over 10 conferences, engaging more than 5,000 policymakers nationwide on the importance of resource equity and using lived experiences to shape policy. She also co-authored a juvenile justice publication with experts from LACOE and Disability Rights California, outlining key considerations for redesigning California’s county juvenile justice schools to serve students with disabilities better. As a national youth fellow for the U.S. Department of Labor’s CAPE-Youth, she represents over 2.3 million students with disabilities nationwide, working with five southern and midwestern states to improve education-to-employment transitions. As a member of YPA, she hopes to ground conversations and drive policy change at the intersection of mental health and disability justice in education, collaborating with fellow YPA members and policymakers to break barriers and ensure access to mental health resources in juvenile justice and education systems across all 50 states.