Hope Starts With Us

Following OCD Awareness Week, guest host Barb Solish (NAMI national director of innovation) talks to Liz Norton (NAMI director of business analysis) about Liz’s experience with obsessive compulsive disorder.  You can find additional episodes of this NAMI podcast and others at nami.org/podcast . "Hope Starts With Us" is a podcast by NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness. It is hos...

During Mental Illness Awareness Week , guest host Hannah Wesolowski (NAMI’s Chief Advocacy Officer) talks to Richele Keas (NAMI’s senior media manager) about mental health parity. In this episode, Richele shares her story as a mom who’s personally wrestled with insurance companies to find care for a loved one living with mental illness, and she also discusses her recent trip to the White House to...

In this episode of NAMI’s podcast, NAMI CEO Daniel H. Gillison Jr. speaks with Zak Williams (PYM) and Kendall Toole (Peloton) in honor of suicide prevention and awareness month. Having each lost a loved one to suicide, Zak and Kendall explain how they now use their stories to help others — and how they maintain their own mental hygiene along the way.  You can find additional episodes of this NAMI...

In this episode of NAMI’s podcast, guest host Alex Ang (member of NAMI NextGen), fills in for NAMI CEO Daniel H. Gillison Jr. to speak with Jayvein Greene (NAMI Young Leader 2023 Award Recipient), Zoë Warren (volunteer for NAMI’s new Youth & Young Adult Helpline) and Rishika Rohatgi (member of NAMI Next Gen) about how students can help make mental health a priority for themselves and their pee...

In this ENCORE episode of NAMI’s podcast, NAMI CEO Daniel H. Gillison Jr. speaks with Willa (NAMI ambassador, singer/songwriter and newly enrolled Harvard student) and Angel Zhong (NAMI Next Gen youth advisor, rising senior and newly elected class president at University of the Pacific) about students' anxieties as they head back to school. How are students feeling in this time where we are k...

In this episode of NAMI’s podcast, NAMI CEO Daniel H. Gillison Jr. talks with Dr. Devika Bhushan , Dr. Napoleon Higgins and Angelina Hudson about stigma and mental health equity. ================= Additional show notes : Dr Bhushan leads a transformative well-being community via a newsletter and storytelling platform called Spread the light with Dr Devika B that helps dispel stigma and stereotypes...

In this special episode of "Hope Starts With Us" recorded at NAMICon on May 25, 2023, NAMI CEO Dan Gillison interviews Kenneth Cole, an icon in the world of fashion and apparel who is also an ardent and visionary advocate for mental health. Hear them discuss what led to the creation of Cole's Mental Health Coalition , the power of branding and what it all has to do with "square...

In this episode of NAMI’s podcast, NAMI CEO Daniel H. Gillison Jr. speaks with friends of Bebe Moore Campbell, Nancy Carter and Dr. Linda Wharton-Boyd, about Bebe’s impact and how we can all play a role in keeping her legacy alive.  You can find additional episodes of this NAMI podcast and others at nami.org/podcast . "Hope Starts With Us" is a podcast by NAMI, the National Alliance on M...

In this episode of NAMI’s podcast, guest host Matt Raymond, NAMI communications director, fills in for NAMI CEO Daniel H. Gillison Jr. to speak with Rosemary Ketchum (former board member of NAMI Greater Wheeling, W.Va., and first openly transgender official to be elected in West Virginia) and Frank Grimsley (body-positive, queer content creator, brand collaborator, licensed therapist, school socia...

In this episode of NAMI’s podcast, NAMI CEO Daniel H. Gillison Jr. speaks with actor, mental health advocate and NAMI Ambassador Alessandra Torresani about her journey with maternal mental health and bipolar disorder. Tune in to hear more about Alessandra’s journey balancing self-care with motherhood, decisions about medication during pregnancy, and living with a mental health diagnosis and stigma...

We're taking a break for Memorial Day, but we'll be back on June 14! You can find additional episodes of this NAMI podcast and others at nami.org/podcast . "Hope Starts With Us" is a podcast by NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness. It is hosted by NAMI CEO Daniel H. Gillison, Jr.  Co-executive produced by Traci Coulter and Connor Larsen.

In honor of AAPI Heritage Month, NAMI CEO Daniel H. Gillison Jr. speaks with NAMI National Board Member and Cambodian American Connie Mom-Chhing about Asian American and Pacific Islander mental health, the trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and rising hate crimes against the AAPI community. “It was like a perfect storm from our perspective that hit our communities because of the combined ef...

In this episode of NAMI’s podcast, NAMI CEO Daniel H. Gillison Jr. speaks with Mayan Lopez about NAMI’s theme for Mental Health Awareness Month , “More Than Enough,” and how she is using her show “Lopez vs. Lopez” to combat stigma and have important conversations about mental health in Latinx communities and across generations.  You can find additional episodes of this NAMI podcast and others at n...

In this episode of NAMI’s podcast, NAMI CEO Daniel H. Gillison Jr. speaks with author, clinical psychologist and leading anxiety researcher Dr. Tracy Dennis-Tiwary about how we can cope with stress and anxiety during Stress Awareness Month and beyond. Tune in to hear about the role technology can play with stress and anxiety, how we can harness difficult emotions for good, and how we can cope thro...

 In this episode of NAMI’s podcast, NAMI CEO Daniel H. Gillison Jr. speaks with professional basketball player Imani McGee Stafford and NAMI senior manager of corporate communications April Cisneros about Sexual Assault, Awareness and Prevention Month. Tune in to learn about Imani and April’s stories, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and how we can support people who experience sexual violen...

In this episode of NAMI’s podcast, NAMI CEO Daniel H. Gillison Jr. speaks with former Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton about how the mental health field and the legal system can continue to work together to ensure people living with mental health conditions receive more help and less handcuffs. Tune in to hear about Justice Stratton’s work with NAMI, mental health advocates and criminal justice re...

In this episode of NAMI’s podcast, NAMI CEO Daniel H. Gillison Jr. speaks with actor and advocate Jamie Gray Hyder and NAMI ambassador Elise Banks about gender and mental health in honor of International Women’s Day. Tune in to hear about unique challenges women face, how we can support teenage girls, and more. You can find additional episodes of this NAMI podcast and others at nami.org/podcast ....

In this episode of NAMI’s podcast, NAMI CEO Daniel H. Gillison Jr. speaks with founder and CEO of Hurdle Health Kevin Dedner about how people of color are affected by seeing hate crimes, police brutality and other acts of racism in the news, online and in the media. Tune in to learn more about vicarious trauma, advice for coping and supporting loved ones, and proposed policy ideas for systemic sol...

Just ahead of Super Bowl Sunday, NAMI CEO Daniel H. Gillison Jr. speaks with former NFL players Marcus Smith II, Soul Cole and Zach Moore about their personal journeys with sports and mental health, how the incident with Damar Hamlin has affected the NFL community, and how everyone can play a role in supporting young athletes’ well-being. In honor of Black History Month, they also discuss the furt...

In this episode of NAMI’s podcast, NAMI CEO Daniel H. Gillison Jr. speaks with NAMI’s Chief Innovation Officer Darcy Gruttadaro, J.D., about presenteeism, psychological safety and how employees and employers alike — in every workplace — can benefit from prioritizing mental health. You can find additional episodes of this NAMI podcast and others at nami.org/podcast . "Hope Starts With Us"...

For NAMI’s first podcast episode of 2023, NAMI CEO Daniel H. Gillison Jr. speaks with world-renowned motivational speaker and former Ohio State Representative Les Brown about how listeners can set mental health intentions for the new year by pursuing healthy relationships, speaking positive affirmations into their life and accessing wellness tools and resources for growth. You can find additional...

In this episode of NAMI’s podcast, NAMI CEO Daniel H. Gillison Jr. speaks with Music Mogul, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, and NAMI Ambassador Master P about the recent loss of his daughter to substance use, and how he plans to cope with his first year without her during the holidays. Together, they talk about grief, faith, healing in the Black community and turning pain into purpose.  You can find...

In a special Giving Tuesday episode of NAMI’s podcast, NAMI CEO Daniel H. Gillison Jr. speaks with Dr. Sudhanva Rajagopal, a long-time supporter of NAMI, about why he gives to NAMI and how others can get involved with the organization during the end of the year season. Tune in to hear about Dr. Rajagopal’s story, and how his relationship with NAMI over the years is helping him make an impact in hi...

In this episode of NAMI’s podcast, NAMI CMO Dr. Ken Duckworth speaks with Dr. Joseph Gone, an enrolled member of the Aaniiih-Gros Ventre tribal Nation of Montana and a professor in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (Anthropology) and in the Faculty of Medicine (Global Health and Social Medicine) at Harvard University, where he also serves as the Faculty Director of the Harvard University Native Ame...

In this episode of NAMI’s podcast, NAMI CEO Daniel H. Gillison Jr. speaks with three veterans about their experiences with mental health: Marine veteran and NAMI’s former chief strategy officer Sherman Gillums Jr.; Army veteran and NAMI Ambassador David Kendrick Jr.; and Coast Guard Veteran and Deputy Legislative Director of Veterans of Foreign Wars Tammy Barlet. You can find additional episodes o...