ADVOCACY COUNCIL

Adia Fadaei​

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Biography: Adia Fadaei is a clinical psychology doctorate student from Los Angeles, California, possessing over 9 years of experience in advocacy. She has been a 988 Crisis & Suicide Lifeline Counselor and Speakers Bureau Member at Didi Hirsch Suicide Prevention Center. She has worked as a Next Gen Advisory Council Member with the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI), Public Policy Advocate for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) California Policy Committee, and a National Student Advisory Committee Member for Active Minds. She was a part of Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez's inaugural cohort of Rare Impact Mental Health Ambassadors and most notably has represented youth at the White House. Her core interests in mental health are legislation, public speaking, mental health education, peer supports, crisis intervention, and suicide prevention among youth communities.

Anuj Gandhi​

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Biography: Anuj Gandhi (he/him) is a passionate mental health advocate and researcher who leads with love and light. He takes an interdisciplinary approach to build community-driven programs rooted in research, education, and storytelling.

He has worked as a youth mental health advocate in several organizations including the National Alliance on Mental Illness, We Are Saath, The Steve Fund, The Trevor Project, and the Mental Health Literacy Collaborative. Along with his demonstrated commitment to advocacy and activism, Anuj is an experienced community-based researcher. His research interests broadly include community-driven mental health interventions, cultural identity and humility, complementary practices, and global mental health. He seeks to apply for his PhD in clinical/counseling psychology to pursue his research interests and serve marginalized communities.

He also founded MyJyoti - a South Asian mental health platform and community. MyJyoti seeks to amplify South Asian lived experiences with mental health along with spotlight professionals and advocates who are working to better the South Asian community. The Instagram platform is focused on the healing power of storytelling to break the stigma of mental health in the South Asian community. Additionally, MyJyoti hosts conversations and workshops for South Asians to build empathy and collectively heal as a community which extends to our virtual WhatsApp group - OurJyoti.

Mary Lawal ​

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Biography: Meet Mary Lawal, a psychology student, a mental health youth activist, global speaker, and suicide prevention advocate. Mary has participated in multiple panel discussions, including The Sponsor Panel, where she shared her testimony with legislators in Annapolis regarding funding for the 988 mental health and crisis hotline. Not only was she invited to testify at the United States Capitol during a congressional hearing on teen girls’ mental health, hosted by congresswomen from the Democratic Women’s Caucus, but she has also appeared on CBS Baltimore and LiveNow from Fox News advocating for mental health. Her story has been featured in Rotary Magazine and The Baltimore Sun. Recently, she founded the first NAMI on Campus College club in the state of Maryland. Mary is deeply committed to creating awareness and changing the narrative surrounding mental health. Her mission is to help people feel less alone in their pain by sharing her story on a national level.

Previously, Mary was a member of the NAMI Next Gen Youth Advisory Board, where she worked to amplify the voices of young people in mental health advocacy.

Claire Bradley​

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Biography: Claire Bradley (she/her) is a passionate mental health and youth justice advocate. Through serving as a NAMI Next Gen Advisor and interning in the White House Office of the First Lady (Dr. Jill Biden), she has extensive experience supporting young mental health leaders and shaping national mental health legislation. She believes in the power of community support, leading Crisis Intervention Trainings across Wisconsin and developing a mental health toolkit for students with the Mental Health Literacy Collaborative. While studying at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Claire was a research assistant on the largest study of early brain and child development in the U.S.. Currently, she works as an Operations Associate at Peers.net to increase access to peer-peer mental health support and build the mental health workforce. Claire loves to dance, climb trees, and spend quality time with friends.

Fiona Lu ​

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Biography: Fiona Lu is a student at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and she is from Orange County, California. She's been involved with California youth policy advocacy since her junior year of high school, and has led campaigns in education policy, menstrual equity, and healthcare expansion. She co-founded a youth-led organization, What We All Deserve (WWAD) in hopes of igniting a movement of young people across the country to secure basic needs and economic justice. She believes it’s crucial for young people to be proactively involved with public institutions, and that starts with showing them the potential they have. Outside of advocacy, she has worked for the House of Representatives, Center for Law and Social Policy, and the Crimsonbridge Foundation.

Esther Mejia​

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Biography: Esther Mejia is a first generation student at the University of California Santa Barbara, where she is double majoring in Political Science and History of Public Policy and Law. She grew up in Riverside California and is currently the Government Relations Chair for the UC Student Association. Aside from higher education advocacy, Esther is also passionate about Immigration. Her Senior thesis focus on the effects that U.S policies have on patterns of migration among indigenous people. Being Mayan K'iche herself, Esther strives to shine light on the negative impacts that immigration policies have on Indigenous families and communities.

Gabriel Chevrie ​

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Biography: My name is Gabriel Chevrie I am 24 years old and will be attending Columbia University to get my masters in social work this fall. I have lived experience with mental health and substance use, that experience showed me how lacking the current system is. I currently work as a peer support specialist at Nami San Diego. I work with people in both hospital and community settings I work with TAY adults and seniors on their mental health and substance use from a recovery and harm reduction perspective. My area of interest falls along gender lines specially explaining and solving the problem of male violence at the individual relational and societal scale.

Gregory Carnesi​

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Biography: Gregory is a recent graduate of the University of Washington School of Social Work, specializing in community-centered integrative practice. They believe strongly in the power of community and coalition-building, and are excited to lend their voice and experience to uplift youth advocacy efforts with YPP. They're an aspiring tarot card reader, and in their free time enjoy reading, games, and time spent with family and friends.