2024 Conference Schedule

Please be advised these sessions will only be available virtually for the general public. In person attendance is invite only. 

See full agenda with speakers.

1 p.m.
Welcome and Opening Remarks

1:15 p.m.
Youth Voice Empowered

1:25 p.m.
Panel 1: Integrating Care in Schools and Social Drivers

2:20 p.m.
Fireside Chat on Health-Related Social Needs in Medicaid

3:05 p.m.
Panel 2: Housing and Food Security

3:55 p.m.
Panel 3: Economic Security

4:45 p.m.
Youth Policy Advocacy Awards Presentation to Cole Ramsey of Indiana

4:55 p.m.
Closing Remarks

5 p.m.
Networking Reception

Please be advised these sessions will only be available virtually for the general public. In person attendance is invite only. 

8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Registration

8 - 8:30 a.m.
Affiliate Day Kick-Off and Networking Breakfast (in-person only)

8:45 - 9:45 a.m.
Keynote: Making Health Coverage Work for Us: Encouraging News on the Road to Full Access to Care

10 - 11 a.m.
Breakout Sessions

• Can Survivors of a Death by Suicide be Helped? Yes!
• Insights to Action: How Story Collection Software Drives Decision Making and Understanding at MHA of the Palm Beaches
• Discover the Benefits of Creating Strong Communities of Practice: Harnessing the Power of Connection in the Affiliate Network!

11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Breakout Sessions

• Today, Tomorrow, Together: Merging Culture, Mission and Strategy of Two MHAs
• Eight Dimensions of Wellness and the Older Adult
• Workplace Wellness Programming: Building a Future-Focused Strategy

12:30 - 1:15 p.m.
Awards Luncheon - Richard Van Horn Innovation in Programming Award Winner (in-person only)

1:30 - 2:30 p.m.
Breakout Sessions

• Reframing the Recovery Narrative: A Relational Approach for Creating Cultures of Wellness
• Let's Talk: Breaking Stigma and Building Bridges to Recovery
• Successful Grant Practices Across the Affiliate Network (in-person only)

2:45 - 3:45 p.m.
Breakout Sessions

• Federal Advocacy 101: Hot Topics
• Mental Health and the Great Outdoors
• Picking up the TAB: Treatment Access Bank (in-person only)

4 - 5 p.m.
Breakout Sessions

• Affiliate Advocacy All-stars: Bold Strategies for Relationship Building
• It Doesn't Have to be Lonely at the Top: "Bite-sized" Options for Chief Executives to Engage Their Boards
• Engaging Faith Communities in Rural Areas with Spiritual First Aid for Community

6:30 - 9:30 p.m.
Affiliate Reception (in-person only)

8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Registration and Networking Lounge Open

12 - 7 p.m.
Expo Hall and MHA Store Open

12 - 12:45 p.m.
Luncheon (in-person only)

12:45 - 1:45 p.m.
Welcome Session with remarks from Mental Health America President and CEO Schroeder Stribling and the Health Resources and Services Administration Administrator Carole Johnson

2 - 3 p.m.
Breakout Sessions

• When Cattlemen and Cooperative Extension Collaborate: Passing Oregon State Bill 955 and Launching the AgriStress Helpline
• Driving Change: Bridging Mental Health Gaps for Communities of Color on The Family Van
• Rolling the Dice on Our Future: The Impact of Gambling on Youth Mental Health
• A World Beyond Access, Defining Therapist Quality in Digital Telemental Health Delivery

3:15 - 4:15 p.m.
Breakout Sessions

• Equalizing the Accessibility of Grants & Financing for Youth-Led Mental Health Initiatives
• Speedier Intake, Bigger Impact: One State's Approach to MAT Access to Boost Behavioral Health Outcomes
• Fatiga Por Compasion (Spanish Language Session)
• School Shooting Prevention Plans Gone Wrong. A Research-based Approach to a School and Community's Prevention and Crisis Response Plan

4:30 - 5:30 p.m.
Keynote: Patrick J. Kennedy and Philomena Kebec followed by Clifford W. Beers Award Presentation

• Patrick J. Kennedy, Former U.S. Representative
• Philomena Kebec, Economic Development Coordinator at Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
• Clifford W. Beers Award Winner: Renee Jones

5:30 - 7 p.m.
Welcome Reception (in-person only)

8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Registration and Networking Lounge Open

8 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Expo Hall and MHA Store Open

8 a.m - 8:45 a.m.
Breakfast (in-person only)

8:45 - 9:30 a.m.
Music & Conversation with Me2/ Orchestra: Every Movement Matters

9:30 - 10:20 a.m.
Keynote: MHA's Young Mental Health Leaders Panel annd mPower Award Presentation

• Panel Members:
  • Jonathan Jean Charles
  • Makaila Davis
  • Anastasia Erley
  • Kaisar Perry
• mPower Award Winner: Ernesto Isaac Lara

10:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Breakout Sessions

• Reproductive Psychiatric Advance Directives: An Innovative Approach to Reproductive Justice in Mental Health Care
• Responding to the Climate Crisis: Embodiment, Somatics, and a New Pathway Forward
• Combating the Mental Health Stigma in Children and Adolescents Through Technology and Advocacy
• Strategic Responses: Practical, Tactical, and Actionable Approaches to Police Engaging High-Risk Citizens

11:30 a.m. - 12:10 p.m.
Luncheon (in-person only)

12:10 - 1 p.m.
Media Awards Presentation
Emcee: Teddy Sears, Actor on NBC
Awardees:

• Hawaii News Now: Hope for Hawaii Island
• I Need to Ask You Something
• In Her Shoes
• The Awakenings Review
• MindSite News

1:15 - 2:15 p.m.
Breakout Sessions

• Activating Innovative Community Programming to Promote Mental Health Equity
• Culture is Medicine: Tribal and Urban Indian Community-Defined Best Practices for Substance Use Disorder Prevention and Treatment in California Native Communities
• Mapping Resources: An Interactive Workshop to Build Community Social, Emotional, and Mental Health Networks
• Chicken or the Egg: A Look at the Cannabis and Psychosis Debate

2:30 - 3:30 p.m.
Breakout Sessions

• A Community-Driven Mental Health Response: Credible Clinicians, Credible Healers, and Healing Hubs
• The Economic Burden of Mental Health Inequities / Future Projected Cost of Mental Health Inequities
• Gen Z's Battle to be Mentally Healthy in the Age of Social Media
• Transforming Mental Health and Substance Use: A Health Approach within Chicago Public Schools

3:45 - 4:45 p.m.
Breakout Sessions

• A Rainbow Crisis: Supporting the Mental Health of Marginalized LGBTQ+ Youth
• Peer Respite: Enhancing Care for Women Impacted by System Gaps
• Mental Health Equity in Action: When Research and Legislation Meet
• Sisters Mentally Mobilized: A Community-Defined Evidence-Based Mental Health Intervention for Black Women

5 - 6:15 p.m.
Keynotes and Awards Ceremony

• Dr. Brian Anderson, CEO of Coalition for Health AI

Awardees:

• Joey Pagano – George Goodman Brudney and Ruth P. Brudney Social Work Award
• The Montgomery County Public Schools International Admissions & Enrollment Office's EML Therapeutic Counseling Team – Betty Humphrey Equity Champion Award
• Barb Johnston – Joseph de Raismes III Policy Award

6:15 - 7:30 p.m.
Exhibitor Meet & Greet Reception (in-person only)

8 a.m. - noon
Registration and Networking Lounge Open

8 - 10:30 a.m.
Expo Hall and MHA Store Open

8:30 - 9:15 a.m.
Breakfast (in-person only)
Location: Presidential Ballroom Foyer

9:15 - 10:15 a.m.
Keynote: Dr. Nzinga Harrison, Co-founder & Chief Medical Officer at Eleanor Health

10:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Breakout Sessions

• Lift the Mask Club: A Student-Led Approach to Normalizing and Improving Mental Health on College Campuses
• Breaking Barriers: Treating Dual Diagnosis with Ketamine and Novel Treatment Approaches
• Your Voice Matters: Integrating Lived Experience in MHA Research

11:45 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.
Closing Keynote: Dr. Lisa Miller, Professor & Founder at Spirituality Mind Body Institute