Plenary & Special Events
Opening Plenary Keynote: Actress, Author and Mental Health Advocate Mayim Bialik
Wednesday, June 15, 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. ET
Join us for this discussion between NAMI CEO Daniel H. Gillison, Jr., and Mayim Bialik, best known for her lead role as Blossom Russo in the early-1990s television sitcom “Blossom” and her award-winning portrayal of Amy Farrah Fowler on CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory,” for her perspective on living #StigmaFree.
Mayim Bialik, Actress, Author and Mental Health Advocate
Daniel H. Gillison, Jr., CEO, NAMI, Arlington, Va.
Fireside Chat with SAMHSA: A Conversation with Dr. Delphin-Rittmon, Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use
Wednesday, June 15, 12:55 p.m. – 1:55 p.m. ET
Join NAMI CEO Daniel H. Gillison, Jr. and Dr. Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon, the HHS Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, for an engaging conversation about federal mental health and substance use policy. Learn the latest happenings at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), including the work to expand crisis response services leading up to nationwide implementation of 988.
Miriam Delphin-Rittmon, Assistant Secretary, Mental Health and Substance Use, SAMHSA
Daniel H. Gillison, Jr., CEO, NAMI, Arlington, Va.
NAMI Candlelight Vigil
Wednesday, June 15, 4:30 – 4:55 p.m. ET
This Candlelight Vigil honors and pays respect to the many lives lost to suicide, including active duty, reserve or guard members, veterans, family members and dependents, as well as non-federally-activated reserve or guard members. Please take part in this virtual ceremony, which will display lit candles during a moment of silence. We encourage people to light a candle at home in support.
Sponsored by NAMI Service Members, Veterans and Their Families Council
Special Session: A Spotlight on Mental Health Care in Rural America with NAMI and Well Beings
Wednesday, June 15, 5-6 p.m. ET
Join us for a preview of excerpts from Well Beings’ Remote Chance: Rural Health Care in America and a robust discussion about NAMI’s role in recognizing and addressing the crisis of mental health care in rural America. Panelists will include Elizabeth Arledge, the series’ award-winning filmmaker, Dr. Joy Baker, a Georgia state obstetrician featured in the film, as well as NAMI board members and Executive Directors doing work in rural and remote regions. Remote Chance: Rural Health Care in America shares portraits of the disparities in rural and frontier regions of the United States in care and mental health. From lack of services to isolation and ethnic inequities, the series presents facts and figures in multiple short, digital-first films.
Dr. Shirley J. Holloway, Ph.D., President of the NAMI Board of Directors, Vice President of NAMI Alaska
Micah Pearson, Secretary of the NAMI Board of Directors, Executive Director of NAMI of Southern New Mexico
Sherrie Vaughn, Executive Director, NAMI Kansas
Zenethia Brown, Executive Director, NAMI Mid-Carolina
Joy Baker, M.D., appears in Remote Chance
Elizabeth Arledge, Emmy and Peabody award-winning documentary filmmaker, Remote Chance
Well Beings Youth Mental Health Project
Thursday, June 16, 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. ET
Filmmaker Ken Burns joins us to celebrate NAMI’s collaboration with the Well Beings Youth Mental Health Project, created by WETA, the PBS flagship station in our nation's capital. NAMI CEO Daniel H. Gillison, Jr. and NAMI Next Gen Youth Ambassadors will join Burns to see and discuss excerpts from the new two-part, four-hour documentary series Ken Burns Presents Hiding In Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness, A Film by Erik Ewers and Christopher Loren Ewers, premiering June 27 and 28 on PBS stations nationwide.
Speakers: To be announced
Research Plenary: Challenges and Opportunities in Mental Health Research
Thursday, June 16, 11:40 a.m. – 12:40 p.m. ET
Joshua A. Gordon, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), will provide an overview of the latest challenges and opportunities in mental health research. Dr. Gordon will highlight cutting-edge advancements in science, provide an update on the institute’s priorities and present future directions for the mental health research field. In addition, he will describe how NIMH works with public and private partners to advance cross-disciplinary research and better understand the complexities of mental illnesses, ultimately leading to more effective treatments.
Joshua A. Gordon, M.D., Ph.D., Director, National Institute of Mental Health, North Bethesda, Md.
Moderator: Ken Duckworth, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, NAMI, Boston, MA
Plenary: Dr. Ken Duckworth Previews “You Are Not Alone:” NAMI’s Upcoming Book
Thursday, June 16, 4:30 – 6 p.m. ET
Dr. Ken Duckworth, NAMI’s Chief Medical Officer, will offer an exclusive preview of NAMI’s upcoming book “You Are Not Alone: The NAMI Guide to Navigating Mental Health,” which will be released this fall. Ken grew up with a loving father who had severe bipolar disorder — the reason Ken is so passionate about the peer and family experience the book is centered around. The book includes real stories from people and families navigating their mental health journeys as well as experts’ practical answers to commonly-asked questions. During this session, author Dr. Ken Duckworth will have a discussion with several guests who are featured in the book. All proceeds from sales of the book will benefit NAMI.
Christine Crawford, Associate Medical Director, NAMI, Boston, MA
Quynh Do, Senior Editor, Zando
Ken Duckworth, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, NAMI, Boston, MA
Nicholas Emeigh, aka “NAMI Man,” Director of Outreach and Development, NAMI Bucks County, PA
Angelina Brown Hudson, Interim Director, NAMI Greater Houston
Will Lippincott, Senior Agent, Aevitas Creative Management
Pooja Mehta, MPH