(1-18-21) How racially diverse are the nation’s two largest, grassroots mental health organizations?
It seems an appropriate question to ask on Martin Luther King Jr. day.
So I decided to do a cursory review of upper management and the boards of directors at the National Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health America.
Mental illnesses don’t discriminate and inclusion doesn’t happen by chance. It must be deliberate.
NAMI
The National Alliance on Mental Illness is headed by Daniel H. Gillson Jr. who is its first African American President and CEO. Counting him, there are a total of five males and nine women on NAMI’s Senior Leadership team. Six of those 14 members are from racial minorities.* Among them is Mónica L. Villalta, who is NAMI’s National Director of Inclusion and Diversity Officer.
NAMI has an elected 16 member board of directors. It includes six members from racial minority groups. The male/female breakdown is 10 women and 6 men.
In a press release issued last May, Gillson wrote that “racism is a public health crisis.”
“As the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization, it is our responsibility to serve all. While as an organization we are still early in our intentional Diversity, Equity and Inclusion journey and have much to do, we have renewed our commitment to our values. We continue to strive to deliver help and hope to all who need it.