Pride in myself
June is Pride Month, and at Mental Health America, we celebrate our queer communities and their incredible strength, resilience, and impact. Everyone has a story to tell. During this webinar, LGBTQ+ voices will share how self-acceptance, self-compassion, queer joy, and pride in their identities have impacted their mental health.
Join MHA’s President and CEO Schroeder Stribling and guests for this free, 60-minute discussion where we will:
- Hear from speakers on how the exploration of gender and sexuality has impacted their lives and mental health
- Discuss how self-acceptance and self-compassion play a role in caring for our mental health and healing
- Share stories of queer joy
Meet the Speakers
Casey Tanner (they/them) is the founder and CEO of The Expansive Group, a gender and sex therapy start-up that now serves over 1,000 sex therapy clients annually. They are the co-host of Safeword, a top 1% podcast in 2022. Casey is a global thought leader in millennial and Gen Z relationships, gender and sexuality, and teaches to a combined audience of over 300,000 on their Instagram and TikTok, @queersextherapy. Tanner recently won the AASECT 2023 "Rising Star" award for being an emergent leader in the field of sex therapy.
Dr. LaNail Plummer (she/her) is a leading professional in the mental health field, and, along with her team of 30 all Black/women of color, is committed to improving the lifestyles of others through the aspects of mental health and character development. She is a proud Howard University graduate and active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., U.S. military veteran, and CEO of Onyx Therapy Group – an organization she founded in 2013. Plummer has 18 years of experience working with a multitude of clients and specializing in the care of young women, the Black community, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Her work and expertise have been featured in Essence, NBC, Forbes, The Washingtonian, and Time Magazine, among others, and has spoken at conferences during Essence Fest and for Mental Health America, New York University, and the U.S. Black Chambers of Commerce.
Patrick Custer (he/him) is a national speaker and advocate for LGBTQ+ equality, mental health, and addiction recovery. He’s the host of the Rooted Recovery Stories podcast and is the national director of alumni at Promises Behavioral Health. He brings more than a decade of service in behavioral health and draws passion from his personal story. After facing his own addiction in early adulthood and finding a new life in recovery, Custer has dedicated his professional career to helping others discover the freedom he has experienced through his own healing journey. Custer maintains that what drives him is a desire to be on the front lines of innovative healers bringing about an evolution of positive change in the lives of those brave enough to ask for help. Custer is an active volunteer in his community who believes that giving back is more than a hobby, but a privilege, which has led him to serve on various boards and fundraising committees, including The American Cancer Society, Renewed (Eating Disorder Coalition of Tennessee), and the multiple facilities in YMCA of Middle Tennessee Association.
Ren Fernández-Kim (she/they) is a nonbinary Korean Peruvian American artist, educator, and content creator (influencer). As an individual thriving within the intersections of multiple identities, they specialize in bringing seemingly separate conversations to a unified place. Approaching the world from a "both and" perspective rather than an "either or" mindset has allowed them to embrace their multitude as a person and incorporate this into their everyday work.