This Is My Brave announces new Board Members
Ashburn, VA — This is My Brave held its annual meeting of the Board of Directors in July of 2020 and voted in four new Board members. This Is My Brave is overseen by a volunteer Board comprised of mental health and business professionals, research professors, people with lived experience, and advocates for our mission to end the stigma surrounding mental illness through creative storytelling. These additions, along with new members Ric Waldman, VP of Programming at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, and Jessica Kennedy, Chief of Staff at Mental Health America, who both joined in January, bring the total number of Board members to nine.
“We are so pleased to welcome such a diverse group of passionate professionals to This Is My Brave’s Board of Directors,” stated Claudia Matteo, Interim Board Chair. “The relevant experience and depth of knowledge of our new members will prove especially valuable in helping us to continue to bring inspiring stories of recovery into the spotlight.”
Below are brief biographies of the new members:
Dr. Kyaien Conner
Dr. Kyaien Conner is an Associate Professor of Mental Health Law and Policy at the University of South Florida. She is a licensed clinical social worker by profession and is currently the Vice President of the National Alliance on Mental Illness for the State of Florida. Dr. Conner received her BS in Psychology and BA in Africana Studies from the University of Pittsburgh. She has a Masters degree in Social Work and a Masters in Public Health with a specialization in Minority Health and Health Disparities. She has a PhD in Social Work and post-doctoral training in community psychiatry. Dr. Conner is co-Producing This Is My Brave’s newest program, Stories from the Black Community.
Erin Mattingly, SLP
Erin Mattingly is a speech-language pathologist (SLP), managing strategic consultant, and subject matter expert at Enterprise Resource Performance, Inc. (ERPi), a professional management consulting firm where she currently supports suicide prevention policy and programming at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Erin has 15 years of experience treating patients across the continuum of brain injury severity, from mild to severe injury, in both civilian and military populations. Prior to her role as a managing consultant, Ms. Mattingly started the SLP program at a unique Department of Defense facility, specializing in the evaluation and treatment of Service members with mild traumatic brain injury and co-morbid psychological health disorders to include depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Tammy George
Tammy has a Masters Degree in Clinical Social Work and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She is an Adjunct Professor of Social Work at George Mason University. Tammy began teaching at George Mason University in 2014. She currently teaches in both the graduate and undergraduate Social Work Programs. Since 1992 Tammy has worked in a variety of outpatient, inpatient, residential, substance abuse treatment, and crisis intervention settings. She ran her own counseling practice with specializations in treating anxiety and mood disorders.
Dr. LaGenia Bailey, Pharm.D., B.C.P.P., C-IAYP Pharmacologist, Yoga Therapist & Singer
Dr. Bailey is devoted to elevating the voice of those with lived experience of mental conditions. Her Mantra is Live Bold-Enjoy Life and Be of Love. Life as a professional dancer and performer was cut short due to her brother’s diagnosis of Schizophrenia and subsequent death early on in life. A switch in college from a dance and music performance degree to science was due to the desire to reduce suffering and help bring new treatments for mental health conditions. University of Illinois is her alma mater from which she received both a BS and Doctorate in Pharmacy. She and is Board Certified in Psychiatric Pharmacy (BCPP) and is a Certified Yoga Therapist. Post-doctorate training included a Residency and Research Fellowship in Psychopharmacology at University of Missouri at Kansas City and Greater Kansas City Mental Health Foundation. As a clinical associate professor at University of Illinois for over 10 years she helped people navigate diagnoses of mental health conditions and their families and clinicians to find hope through new treatments and options. Her legacy is helping to launch new medications for Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder in North America, Europe and Australia as she has worked at both Bristol Myers Squibb and Sunovion Pharmaceuticals in the Clinical Development and Medical Affairs department.
“I’m so grateful to our new members, who join our dynamic team,” said Executive Director Jennifer Marshall, “and I look forward to bringing in their unique perspectives and experience to continue to grow This Is My Brave’s reach and message of hope.”
Visit our Board page to read full bios on all our Board members.
