As a public speaker, artist, and mental health advocate I've spent the last 15 years creating events and sharing stories to disarm the deadly stigma that surrounds mental illness. I joined the Chicago-based non-profit Erasing the Distance in 2013, where I currently serve as Executive Artistic Director facilitating conversations about mental health in a wide variety of industries across the country.I'm deeply invested in exploring the role that language plays in our ability to acknowledge and address personal and professional mental health challenges. Over the past 7 years, I've worked closely with several levels of leadership within a multitude of industries identifying ineffective communication patterns, ideating mental health focused approaches, and coaching management teams to invest in open conversations about mental health.