Voices Taking the Stage
Get to know your NAMICon 2026 speakers. Each one has lived it, studied it or fought for it. Together, they're bringing their most powerful stories, breakthroughs and hard-won wisdom to one place — for you.
Main Stage Keynotes
We Are Enough: Blake Mycoskie in Conversation with Dan Gillison
Thursday | 9 a.m. – 10:15 am
Blake Mycoskie
From Surviving to Thriving: Intentional Caring for Youth Mental Health
Thursday | 3:30 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
Dr. Alfiee
Founder of The AAKOMA Project and lead of the MATTIE Fund
Conversations with Carnie: Mental Illness and Tardive Dyskinesia (TD)
Friday | 9 a.m. – 10 a.m.
Carnie Wilson
Grammy nominated singer songwriter, mental health advocate
Carnie is a paid spokesperson for Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. She does not have TD.
Fireside Chat with Joshua Bassett
Friday | 3:15 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Joshua Bassett
American actor, singer-songwriter, and musician
William and Carol Carpenter Professor in Psychiatry in Mental Illness Research, University Of Maryland
Deanna L. Kelly, PharmD, BCPP, FAAPP
William and Carol Carpenter Professor in Psychiatry in Mental Illness Research, University Of Maryland
Impact Session Speakers
| Full Name | Job Title | Company |
|---|---|---|
| Doug Beach | Executive Director | NAMI Greater San Antonio |
| Isidro Torres | Executive Director | NAMI El Paso & NAMI Texas |
| Ray Merenstein | Executive Director | NAMI Colorado |
| Jennifer L Thompson | Executive Director | NAMI Maine |
| Ray Merenstein | Executive Director | NAMI Colorado |
| Susan Stearns | Executive Director | NAMI New Hampshire |
| James Bowers | Executive Director | NAMI Nebraska |
| Muriel Kramer | Executive Director, Restoration Center of Greater Lowell | Vinfen |
| Margie Balfour | Executive Policy Advisor | Connections Health Solutions |
| Frank Kosa | Executive Producer | Brain Stories Productions |
| Nadiyah Fisher | First-Year Medical Student | Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science |
| Vonzail Odom | Founder | I Am The Voice Of Suicide |
| Nichole Marie Schembre | Founder | Yoga Your Way® LLC |
| Cathy Applefeld Olson | Founder | Hollywood & Mind |
| Jeanily Cruz | Founder and Trauma informed Psychotherapist | Kai Wellness Collective |
| Alfiee Breland-Noble, Ph.D., MHSc. | Founder, The AAKOMA Project | (not set) |
| Kellan McNally | Graduate Research Assistant/PhD Candidate | Wayne State University |
| Carnie Wilson | Grammy nominated singer-songwriter and mental health advocate | (not set) |
| Chelsea Thomson | Health and Justice Policy Associate | ForHealth Consulting |
| Thomas Bullock, Ed.D. | Higher Education Consultant | Genesis Ed Solutions |