EmpowerHalfAnHour

In this episode, we talk to Luke Russell, the Executive Director of NAMI Ohio. NAMI Ohio is part of the National Organization known as the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Throughout the episode, Luke discusses the programs that NAMI Ohio offers and the 2025 goals for NAMI Ohio. 

Michelle Hammer is a schizophrenia activist and spends her time passionately fighting stigma. She is an NYC native featured in the WebMD documentary Voices, which was nominated for a Tribeca X Award at the Tribeca Film Festival. Michelle was diagnosed with schizophrenia at 22 after a misdiagnosis of bipolar at age 18. At 27, Michelle decided to use her artistic talents and fearless personality to do something that could benefit the mental health community. In May 2015, she founded a mental health-focused clothing brand called Schizophrenic NYC, which is a clothing brand with the mission of reducing stigma by starting conversations about mental health.

Kody Green (He/Him) is 28 years old with a diagnosis of Undifferentiated Schizophrenia. Kody is also the Founder of a non-profit, a motivational speaker, and content creator with over one million followers across social media platforms. He has struggled in the past with drug addiction, incarceration, and serious mental health issues.

In order to be a better advocate and speaker, Kody has been trained as a peer support specialist, recovery coach, and suicide prevention specialist.

Now, Kody shares his stories about his struggles and how to navigate through recovery, mental health issues, and life after incarceration. He chooses to pursue motivational speaking and mental health advocacy for schizophrenia awareness, drug recovery, and second- chance opportunities because he has dealt with these struggles in his own life.

Scott Bullock talked about the different types of Eating Disorders, the 3 components of Eating Disorders, prevention efforts, levels of care, common stigma, statistics, men with Eating Disorders, advice for parents, and so much more.

In the 22 years that Clubhouse Indiana has been established it has shown a great deal of resiliency. In this episode, we explore hardships, challenges, and triumphs that Clubhouse Coalitions can go through. These challenges include the loss of funding, COVID-19, advocacy and timing difficulties. Join us as we navigate Clubhouse Coalitions.

Gabe Howard is the host of Healthline Media’s Inside Mental Health podcast, author of Mental Illness is an Asshole, and an award-winning speaker. In this episode, Gabe discusses how he got started as a mental health advocate, how you can get started,  staying true to yourself when creating content, how to approach and answer both productive criticism and negative criticism, how Gabe prioritizes his mental health with a demanding career and so much more. 

Shawndale Preston is a Case Worker at Goodwill Easter Seals. In this Episode, Shawndale discusses what a Case Worker does and how to become one. He also discusses how to maintain boundaries within the field and common barriers to treatment services.

David Reece discusses how growing up with mental illness, the challenges of maintaining relationships with family and work, all while finding his life's purpose.

Mike Veny is a world-class keynote speaker, a corporate drumming event facilitator for team building, a podcast host, and the author of several books, including the best-selling book, Transforming Stigma: How to Become a Mental Wellness Superhero. His expertise and life experience have been featured on ABC, NBC, and CBS news. Mike also is the winner of Corporate LiveWire’s 2022 Innovation & Excellence Award for his work as a Certified Corporate Wellness Specialist.

Anna Sackett Rountree is the Director of Communications for Clubhouse International. She talks about the importance of branding, marketing and how Clubhouses can promote themselves within their communities. She also explains what the Clubhouse International network is, the importance of membership and her highly accomplished background before Clubhouse International.

This episode was recorded in April of 2023, since then the number of Clubhouses has increased to over 340 clubhouses overall. As well as a few of the events mentioned have since occurred.