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 |
|---|---|---|
| Peggy Huppert | Owner | Mentor Magic |
| Joy Miller | Parent/Advocate | Home |
| Athena Kabylafkas | Peer Program Director | NAMI Colorado |
| Kimberly Comer | PLC Board Chair | NAMI PLC Board Chair |
| Amanda Bowling | Postdoctoral Fellow | Ballmer Institute for Children's Behavioral Health at the University of Oregon |
| Rodney Coles Sr | President | NAMI Pitt County |
| Chuck Ingoglia | President and CEO | The National Council for Mental Wellbeing |
| Joel Conger | President, Connections West | Connections Health Solutions |
| Amy Watson | Professor | Wayne State University |
| Lisa Dixon | Professor | Professor of Psychiatry at the Columbia University Medical Center |
| Robert Cotes | Professor | Emory University School of Medicine |
| Deanna Kelly | Professor, Director of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center | University of Maryland School of Medicine |
| Michael Compton | Professor of Psychiatry/Research Psychiatrist | Columbia University/New York State Psychiatric Institute |
| Georgia Ede | Psychiatrist | Metabolic Mind |
| Robert K. Heinssen | Psychologist | Retired NIMH |
| Jason Musgrove | Public Policy Coordinator | NAMI Oklahoma |
| Young Dro | Rapper, Songwriter, Philanthropist | (not set) |
| Elizabeth Flanagan | Research Scientist | NORC at the University of Chicago |
| Jackie Sheridan-Johnson | Research Scientist | NORC at the University of Chicago |
| Leah Pope | Research Scientist/Associate Professor | New York State Psychiatric Institute/Columbia University Department of Psychiatry |