Clifford W. Beers Award Previous Recipients
2024: Renee Jones
Renee Jones is a dedicated mental health professional, speaker, and survivor advocate. Beginning her recovery on February 14, 2000, Renee overcame addiction and sex trafficking, discovering self-love and resilience. Originally from Ohio, she has spread her message of hope and growth to Alabama and Florida, where she now resides.
Renee holds a bachelor’s degree in human services with a concentration in child and family services and a master’s degree in mental health counseling. She is a certified mental health professional in Florida and an active member of several prominent organizations, including the Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network, the National Alcoholism and Addiction Institute, the United States Institute Against Human Trafficking, and the Global Association of Human Trafficking Scholars.
Her leadership roles include service on the Community Health Activation Team and Alcohol, Drug Addiction, and Mental Health Services Board in Cleveland, Ohio, chairing the Pasco County Commission on Human Trafficking, and being a member of the Mental Health Board in Hernando County, Florida.
Renee founded the Reconnection to Life Inc. Women’s Center in Birmingham, Alabama, partnering with local organizations to support women re-entering society after incarceration. She also established I Speak Hope and serves as CEO, providing counseling services through her company, In Community Counseling LLC.
Her contributions to mental health and advocacy have earned her recognition, including the Mental Health Association of Central Alabama Award and the Birmingham Resolution Award. Renee has developed crisis intervention training for law enforcement and spoken on mental health, addiction, domestic violence, and human trafficking at various conferences, such as Counseling and Treating People of Colour, Krimes Against Kids, and the International Human Trafficking & Social Justice Conference.
Renee has shared her experiences through her radio show, "Sisters Talk," and her 2011 book, "Mama Ain’t Teach Me That," providing inspiration and hope to many on their own journeys to recovery and healing.
2023: Antoine B. Craigwell
Trained as a journalist, Antoine wrote for several local and national publications. He graduated from Bernard Baruch College of the City University of New York, and in 2008 he earned awards from the New York Association of Black Journalists. He produced the documentary “You Are Not Alone” (www.yana-thefilm.com) and facilitates discussion fora on depression in Black gay men. He presented a poster exhibition “Examining Depression and HIV in Black gay men” at the 2012 International AIDS Conference in Washington, DC, and in 2013 founded DBGM, Inc. (www.dbgm.org) a non-profit organization committed to raising awareness of the underlying factors contributing to depression and suicidal ideation in Black gay men. Antoine presented workshops on the convergence of HIV and mental health, and as a keynote speaker at several national and international conferences. He provides training in LGBT peoples of color cultural competency, mental health and HIV, for the Washington DC Court System and lectures in this subject to medical students attending Touro College of Osteopathy. He is a certified National Mental Health First Aid Instructor.
2022: Sally Zinman
MHA’s 2022 Clifford W. Beers Award will be presented to mental health advocate Sally Zinman. The Clifford W. Beers Award is presented annually to an individual with the lived experience of mental illness who best reflects the example set by MHA founder Clifford W. Beers in their efforts to improve conditions for and attitudes toward people living with mental health conditions.
Sally Zinman has been a pioneer of the mental health peer movement since the mid 1970’s. Sally's commitment to the rights of people with mental health challenges came from her own horrendous experience in the mental health system. After this experience, she connected with the burgeoning ex-mental patient movement and found a community of people like herself, a family, who inspired and supported her for the next 45 years.
2021: Keris Myrick
MHA’s 2021 Clifford W. Beers Award was presented to mental health advocate and executive Keris Myrick. The Clifford W. Beers Award is MHA’s highest honor and is presented annually to an individual with lived experience who best reflects the example set by MHA founder Clifford W. Beers in efforts to improve conditions for, and attitudes toward, people living with mental health conditions.
Keris Myrick is a leading mental health advocate and executive and currently a co-Director of S2i, the Mental Health Strategic Impact Initiative. S2i is an organization that seeks to advance transformation in mental health for all through policy reform. Prior to her role at S2i, she was Chief of Peer and Allied Health Professions for the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health and served as the Director of the Office of Consumer Affairs for the Center for Mental Health Services at SAMHSA. She is also a past Board President of NAMI, and the former CEO of Project Return Peer Support Network, a Los Angeles-based peer-run nonprofit. In 2006, after working in higher education for much of her life, she changed her career path. Her lived experience with schizoaffective disorder led her to begin attending publicly available mental health conferences. And through people she met at these gatherings, she took her first job in the mental health nonprofit field. Her accomplishments since then amount to 15 years of experience in mental health services innovations, transformation, and peer workforce development.
2020: Maurice Benard
Maurice Benard is a mental health advocate, television and film actor, and New York Times best-selling author. He started his acting career on the soap opera All My Children, from 1987 to 1990. He then went on to start a career on General Hospital, where he has been for over 25 years. Maurice was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder when he was 22 and institutionalized twice. Now 57, he has spent decades advocating for mental health awareness. He has been very public about his diagnosis and struggles, and has used his public platform to educate his fans about mental illness and bipolar. He has worked with multiple mental health organizations - including MHA - over the last two decades, and collaborated with the writers of General Hospital to incorporate his diagnosis into his character Sonny Corinthos’ story line, thereby elevating the conversation and showing viewers the realities of the illness. Benard has won 2 Daytime Emmys for his work on General Hospital. In early 2020 he published his memoir, Nothing General About It: How Love and Lithium Saved Me On and Off General Hospital and currently runs an Instagram Live series called State of Mind every Sunday to discuss mental health and his personal journey.
2019: Gregory Dicharry
MHA's 2019 Clifford W. Beers Award was presented to mental health advocate Gregory Dicharry. The Clifford W. Beers Award is presented annually to an individual with the lived experience of mental illness who best reflects the example set by MHA founder Clifford W. Beers in their efforts to improve conditions for and attitudes toward people living with mental health conditions. Greg’s experience as a peer, mental health professional, volunteer and film maker have had a huge impact on helping improve the lives of people living with mental health challenges. He is the national youth empowerment director at Magellan Health, and in his spare time produces and directs mental health-related documentary films to reduce stigma and help others find recovery. In 2008, Greg developed the MY LIFE (Magellan Youth Leaders Inspiring Future Empowerment) program, which is one of the nation's leading programs for youth who experience mental health, substance use and/or foster care-related challenges.
2018: Jennifer Marshall
MHA’s highest award is given in honor of Clifford W. Beers, the founder of MHA and the country’s volunteer mental health advocacy movement. Created in 1976, the Clifford W. Beers Award has been presented annually to a consumer of mental health and/or substance abuse services who best reflects the example set by Beers in his efforts to improve conditions for, and attitudes toward, people with mental illnesses.
MHA President and CEO Paul Gionfriddo awarded the 2018 Clifford W. Beers Award to Executive Director of This Is My Brave Jennifer Marshall.
2017: Brandon Staglin
MHAs 2017 Clifford W. Beers Award was presented to mental health advocate Brandon Staglin. The Clifford W. Beers Award is presented annually to mental health consumers who best reflect the example set by MHA founder Clifford W. Beers in his or her efforts to improve conditions for and attitudes toward people living with mental health conditions. Brandon is the Director of Marketing and Communications for Staglin Family Vineyard and One Mind Institute, and Board Director for One Mind and One Mind Institute. Brandon’s recovery from schizophrenia makes him happy every day he can contribute to the health of others.
2016: Kevin Hines
MHA's highest honor, the 2016 Clifford W. Beers Award, was presented to mental health advocate, bestselling author and documentary filmmaker Kevin Hines. The Clifford W. Beers Award is presented annually to mental health consumers who best reflect the example set by MHA founder Clifford W. Beers in their efforts to improve conditions for and attitudes toward people living with mental health conditions. Kevin’s story is a remarkable testament to the strength of the human spirit and a reminder for us to love the life we have. Two years after he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder (19 years of age), he attempted to take his life by jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge. He is one of only thirty-four to survive the fall, and the only one to regain full physical mobility. The fall would break his body, but not his spirit. Today, Kevin dedicates his life to saving lives by spreading the message of hope and sharing his art of living mentally well.
2015: Sue Bergeson
MHA’s highest honor, the Clifford W. Beers Award, was presented to advocate Sue Bergeson. The Clifford W. Beers Award is presented annually to mental health consumers who best reflect the example set by MHA founder Clifford W. Beers in his or her efforts to improve conditions for and attitudes toward people living with mental health conditions. Sue Bergeson’s contributions in the field of behavioral health have saved lives of people living in recovery from mental illness and addiction, and transformed state systems and providers to promote recovery, resiliency and the peer workforce. Sue currently serves as the National Vice President, Consumer and Family Affairs for OptumHealth Behavioral Solutions, a division of United Health Care. Sue is charged with overseeing public sector network operations by providing guidance, strategy and fostering a culture of recovery and resiliency. She promotes practices that are anchored in the belief that people with mental illness are able to live, act, work and participate productively in their communities despite their disabilities, and are resilient and able to rebound from trauma, stigma and other stresses with a sense of mastery. Bergeson’s work with OptumHealth is informed by her personal experience both as a family member and as a consumer.