A Passing of the Mic

November 18, 2021

To our Brave Community:

I’m writing to share that I’ll be stepping down as Executive Director of This Is My Brave at the end of this year. For the past year and a half my mental health has been deeply affected by the pandemic which is part of the reason, but I’m also feeling called to begin a new chapter in my life. Internally, we’ve been working on this transition since June. Program Manager Erin Gallagher will be taking over as Interim Executive Director January 1st and I couldn’t be more confident in her ability to lead This Is My Brave into this new season.

Quite simply, creating and leading This Is My Brave has been one of the greatest privileges of my life. Born from my personal experience of releasing my mental health story into the world and feeling tremendous freedom and empowerment, not to mention the flood of support and gratitude for my vulnerability, I knew I wanted to bring these same feelings to others dealing with mental health challenges. The world needed a way to celebrate stories of recovery from mental illness and addiction. I always knew my story was not unique, that there were countless others out there who had gone through similar struggles. And we needed to be talking about our recovery to educate society and break down stigma.

When we set out to crowdfund a theater show in 2013 featuring people from the community sharing their mental health recovery stories, I couldn’t have ever anticipated how it would grow. A close friendship with my co-Founder Anne Marie Ames blossomed quickly, as we rode the inaugural show’s success into new communities, building friendships with fellow mental health advocates in Iowa City, Boston, Harrisburg, New York City, Los Angeles and beyond. 

This extraordinary movement – now nearly 1,000 individuals strong – grew from the idea that we shouldn’t have to be called “brave” for talking openly about mental illness. Each storyteller who has told their story from our stage has helped drive home this vision, and is helping to realize a more inclusive and just society when it comes to mental health.  

When I think of This Is My Brave, I see the beautiful faces of the storytellers who I’ve had the joy to get to know and also the talented individuals I’ve had the honor of working with over the years. My heart swells with gratitude for these friendships and colleagues who have all come together for a common goal. Once strangers, now so many are close friends who I know will always hold a place in my heart.

As a national nonprofit, This Is My Brave has reached thousands of people with our storytellers’ messages of hope and inspiration. When one person decides to be brave with their story, they encourage others to do the same. Brave multiplying brave, over and over again, has led to the growth and success of our organization. 

Even through the pandemic, we refused to let social isolation and the shut down of community theaters silence our stories. Our staff worked hard to find ways to continue to shine a light on powerful stories amid the pain and suffering that COVID-19 brought through virtual programming and webinars. 

Our This Is My Brave staff also worked tirelessly throughout the past year and a half to make a plan to achieve our goal of creating an even bigger impact with This Is My Brave – The Show. We did this by spending countless hours surveying our community to determine and formalize our Theory of Change. The outcome of which has become The Brave Way™, a practical guide to the production of our mental health storytelling shows. The Brave Way represents our method of producing a one-of-a-kind community event. It is taught through our Brave Academy™, a step-by-step training program with instructions for every aspect of community building and show production. It includes an online library of resources and guides that allows us to share our institutional knowledge about This Is My Brave — the wisdom we’ve acquired after eight years of working this model — on a much greater and more sustainable scale.

As This Is My Brave moves into this new stage of growth, I realized that the timing is right for me to step down at the end of 2021 as Executive Director. With the launch of Brave Academy, our organization is poised to continue to grow, reaching more and more communities with our inspiring shows. We are fortunate to have a passionate and experienced leader in Erin Gallagher, who I am extremely confident will thrive in the role of Interim Executive Director, as she brings her drive, organizational vision and positive energy to the helm during this important time. 

Endings can be sad, and although this may be the end of a chapter for me as the head of the organization, I’m emotional, but not sad. In fact, I couldn’t be more excited and enthusiastic for the future of This Is My Brave. Program Manager Katie Grana has been an instrumental key staff member since 2019, along with Erin, and together they form a solid and dedicated core (tiny, but mighty!) executive team. They’ve both been crucial to the success of each and every program This Is My Brave has created these past few years, and their extraordinary commitment to the continued success of the organization is evident in all they do. Along with our long-time consultants, Natasha West – social media, Richard Tovell – graphic design, and Heather Strobel – development, plus our interns Anastasia Vlasova and Jada Bromberg, I know the organization has a strong core foundation on which to continue to build.

I truly believe that in order for a good thing to keep growing, it needs a fresh perspective from time to time. It’s now time for me to pass the mic to Erin and the team, so they can continue to invest in the important work of mental health storytelling and community building. As Anne Marie said in one of our original promotional videos, “This Is My Brave is putting a pebble into the lake, and it’s going to ripple out, and more people are going to be able to hear the stories.” Brave truly does multiply Brave and it’s been amazing to have been a part of this grassroots movement.

As for my next steps, I’m looking forward to taking some time to reflect on the past eight years, and am planning on doing lots of writing, taking me back to the roots of where this all began. I have my heart set on publishing a book and public speaking on the topic of talking with our young kids early and often about the importance of taking care of our mental health. And of course, always serving as Founder and Ambassador to This Is My Brave along the way. 

I am beyond proud of what This Is My Brave has accomplished thus far, and know in my heart that this organization is in the perfect place to ensure a smooth transition to Erin Gallagher, our new Interim Executive Director. Our team has positioned This Is My Brave on track for sustainable and impactful growth with the launching of Brave Academy™ this year, and our mission will continue to positively impact more and more communities across the country. I am grateful to each and every one of our This Is My Brave storytellers, volunteer producers, national and local sponsors, audience members, donors and online followers for being a part of this movement. 

When one person decides to be brave with their story, they give others the permission to do the same. I’ve had the privilege to witness this take place countless times over the past eight years – Brave multiplying Brave – and I truly believe that This Is My Brave is helping society realize that mental health IS health. Healing starts when we give our pain a voice and by sharing our stories we can change the world. This organization has done more for me than I could ever have imagined and I will be forever grateful for everything I’ve learned, every person I’ve met, every story I’ve heard and all that is ahead for each of us. My eight years with This Is My Brave were just the beginning. I cannot wait to be the organization’s biggest cheerleader for all the exciting work and opportunities ahead.

With love and gratitude,

Jenn

Jennifer Marshall founded This Is My Brave, Inc., the nonprofit platform for individuals to share their story of overcoming mental illness through creative expression. This Is My Brave held its first community show in 2014 in Arlington, VA. Since then, the organization has produced over 80 unique shows across the US featuring nearly 1,000 individuals who’ve shared their stories on stage in front of a live audience. Jennifer gave a TEDx talk in October of 2016 entitled “Mental Illness: Being Brave Saves Lives.” In June of 2018, Jennifer was awarded the prestigious Clifford W. Beers Award by Mental Health America. In December 2018 Jennifer was named Washingtonian of the Year by Washingtonian Magazine. She lives in Ashburn, VA with her husband Ben and their two kids, Owen and Vivian.

Ushering In a New Era at Brave

Dear Friends,

Here we are at a very significant moment in the life of Brave! I am humbled to be presented with the opportunity to serve as Interim Executive Director of this incredible organization as Jenn embarks on an exciting next step in her life and career.

I met Jenn in 2017 — a year and some months after losing my oldest child, Jay, to suicide. Following Jay’s death, I was desperate to find a way to make a difference for people who are suffering in silence in this world. I was immediately drawn to Jenn’s passion to break down stigma by offering real people a spotlight on stage where they could tell their own stories of recovery from mental illness and addiction. I recognized immediately that This Is My Brave was incredibly unique and impactful. After seeing just one show, I knew that Brave was a movement that I wanted to be a part of.

Joining the Brave Team in 2019 meant that I could contribute to a movement that gives people permission to be authentic and true to themselves and their experiences with mental illness and addiction. It has been a joy and honor to offer our platform to Brave cast members throughout the country to express themselves in creative ways to offer hope and healing to those in the audience who need it the most. I, myself, have been inspired by every single story that I’ve heard! I truly believe, because of my experiences at This Is My Brave, that storytelling does indeed save lives!

In this new chapter, I am committed to engaging with the Brave community — the staff, the board, the alumni, and newcomers alike — to create more opportunities to bring stories of hope into the world so that we can let those who are most in need know they are not alone, help is available and recovery is possible. Together we will save lives, one person and one story at a time.

With hope and gratitude,

Erin