Community Advisory Board
Our community advisory board (CAB) is composed of parents, caregivers, teens, and young adults who bring lived experience and/or a deep commitment to mental health advocacy. Our CAB members are essential partners in our work. They provide thoughtful feedback on research, recruitment materials, community engagement strategies, study design and interpretation and sharing of findings. Their perspectives ensure that our research remains grounded in the needs of the communities we serve. We are deeply grateful for their time, insight, and dedication. Their voices continue to shape the direction, relevance, and impact of our work.
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Lilly Schade is the founder of Pymander Health and is passionate about health equity. She sits on the Health Equity Research Lab (HERlab) and National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) advisory boards.
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Dachon "D" Duvall is a certified peer specialist and trained recovery coach. He has worked for major mental health agencies in and around the Boston area. He believes in total health care. Dachon researches and advises on multiple projects and laws geared towards the improvement of mental health services, especially for areas where information and access is limited. He is passionate about mental health and addiction care for all.
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Florette Willis is a Patient Liasion and Certified Peer Specialist. Florette brings over a decade of experience working at NAMI Mass, Itinerant Ombudsman of MassHealth’s My Ombudsman Program, and as Co-Chair of MassHealth’s One Care Council. Florette specializes in mental wellness, advocacy, outreach, and supporting individuals, families, and their loved ones to heal, grow & recover in their community of choice.
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Jacquie Martinez is a certified peer specialist and vice president for NAMI Latino in Massachusetts. She also served as president of the Transformation Center’s Board of Directors and is the chair of the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness (PAIMI) Advisory Council. As a person with lived experience, and as the parent of a child with a mental health condition, Jacquie has a passion for educating parents, teachers, and community members about the need for open communication, training, support, and awareness of services that can help people live life with enjoyment and purpose.
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Kate Misher is an undergraduate student at the University of Southern California. Service has been a core foundation throughout her life and led her to USC for its unique service-based majors. As an NGO and Social Change major, she wants to learn all the ways to establish organizations that can make a positive impact. Kate is on the pre-law track, pursuing a career in Law and Non-Profits. She is an active member of Jane Goodall’s National Youth Leadership Council and has spent several years working to combat gun violence with the Brady Organization.
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Terry Alves-Hunter is a trained auditor for legal compliance, and she has used those skills to advocate for children and families. She is also a Certified Peer Support Specialist for children’s mental health and a special education advocate.
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Ashton is a high school senior serving as the Youth Chapter Liaison for NAMI Illinois, where he supports onboarding new members and coordinates efforts across more than 70 chapters. He is also involved in the Youth Healing Chicago movement, a coalition of organizations— including AAAJ and BPNC Chicago— focused on advancing youth mental health advocacy in Chicago.
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Rachel is a junior high school student at Northside College Preparatory High School in Illinois. She is deeply committed to mental health advocacy and community service as the current Chief of Marketing at a youth-led nonprofit organization called Speak Now, which aims to expand access to mental health care internationally through youth-led advocacy. She also volunteers at Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital in the nursing unit, and at Infant Welfare Society Family Health Clinic.
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Abhinav Anne is a biological public health researcher, youth mental health advocate, and the youngest appointed advisor to the World Health Organization, representing the United States on the WHO Youth Council, where he advises the Director-General on mental health equity, climate-driven health disparities, and youth-centered policy.
Check out our community advisory board alumni!
“I am really appreciative of the way the conversations have always been open, and the way we were using the discussions to do research and write papers that would not only go sit on a shelf but would actually go and help people.”
