Panelists

Associate Professor in the Africana Studies Department at Georgia State University

Dr. Makungu M. Akinyela is a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) in practice in Atlanta, Georgia and an Associate Professor in the Africana Studies Department at Georgia State University in Atlanta. He is a Clinical Fellow and an Approved Supervisor of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT). In his practice he has served as the clinical director for an Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) program to provide wrap around mental health support and care for poor, working class and homeless mental health patients in the metro-Atlanta community.

As a scholar and a therapist Dr. Akinyela has been a committed Social Justice organizer for over forty-years focused on struggles for human rights and justice for Black people in the United States and the African diaspora. His research and writing include such subjects as cultural democracy and mental health care; cultural domination and therapeutic resistance; reparations and the role of mental health workers in repairing oppressions wounds and African centered family therapy. He is the developer of a culturally specific approach to narrative called Testimony therapy which he has written about extensively.

Dr. Akinyela is a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, the Journal of Systemic Therapy and the International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work. Dr. Akinyela is committed to social justice and human rights work and has lectured, taught and conducted workshops on these issues in such places as South Africa, Palestine, Hong Kong, Brazil and Cuba.

He is currently working on a book on his clinical ideas entitled Meeting the trickster at the crossroads: Testimony therapy and decolonizing mental health practice

Programs Manager, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Georgia

KaCey Venning is a product of a family rooted in living out their purpose. From business and education to the advancement of youth, intellectuals and ministry, she has always found herself thrust into the middle of helping other sort their “stuff” out.  KaCey has been a sought after leader and speaker since her youth and she has used this gift of leadership and communication to empower and encourage people of all ages to be the change they want to see in the World. KaCey has been able to facilitate this work as a teacher, an author, a nonprofit professional and founder, a National Service member and as a ministry leader.

KaCey thrives from speaking, teaching, and facilitating opportunities for others to realize their purpose and to help provide tools to help them actualize their gift to the others. She has done this through her work professionally with Fortune 500 companies such as Coca-Cola, L’Oreal Paris USA, Scholastic, Home Depot and most recently, NAMI Georgia. For the past four years, KaCey's focus has been on the intersection of faith and mental health and providing Mental Health First Aid training specifically for those who serve and work with youth. KaCey is Mental Health First Aid Certified, Certified in Recovery Education, and Crisis Intervention Team - Youth trained.  In addition to her work in the nonprofit field, she is also an ordained minister, teacher, author and speaker. KaCey focuses on topics such as faith and mental health, purpose branding, youth and servant leadership and community building through partnerships. 

KaCey holds a Bachelor’s of Arts Degree in Sociology, a Masters of Divinity Candidate at the Interdenominational Theological Center.  She is the Co-Founder of Helping Empower Youth, Inc., and the author of Built For This: A Young Woman's Journey to Self-Discovery and Empowermentand Wrestling with Peace.

At-Large School Board Member of the City Schools of Decatur Board of Education

Jana Johnson-Davis is a veteran educator with 14 years of classroom experience. As a culturally responsive teacher, Jana has engaged in work and research around the issues of discipline disproportionality and equity in education. Jana retired from the classroom at the end of the 2018-2019 school year to become the Internship Director for the Davis Bozeman Law Firm. In November of 2019, Jana was elected to the School Board for the City Schools of Decatur, where she serves as the At-Large member. Jana received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Florida A&M University, a Masters of Arts in Urban Education from Goddard College, and an Education Specialist degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Piedmont College. Jana is a co-founder of the Beacon Hill Black Alliance for Human Rights, and she is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Jana and her husband, Attorney Mawuli M. Davis, are the proud parents of sons, Kobie and Khari, who are both students at Howard University.

Executive Director, youthSpark, Inc.

Jennifer Swain serves as the Executive Director for youthSpark, Inc. (formerly the Juvenile Justice Fund) where she oversees the strategic development and implementation of the organization. Joining the team in 2008, Jennifer has served in several capacities where her influential vision aided in the development youthSpark’s early intervention model for youth experiencing exploitation and abuse, as well as their Youth Services Center based inside the Fulton County Juvenile Court, the largest juvenile court in the Southeast.

She is a nationally recognized speaker on the issue of youth sexual exploitation, as well as presenting at various local and national conferences on victim identification and early intervention. She routinely offers technical assistance to groups and child-serving systems working to build community collaborations and strategies to address this problem. She is a founding member of the Georgia Statewide Human Trafficking Task Force and also provides expert witness testimony for local Superior Court trafficking cases. Additionally, she serves on the board of directors for From Boys 2 Men, an Atlanta-based nonprofit working to empower young African American males. 

With almost ten years of experience and specialized trafficking training from various federal and local agencies, Swain continues unapologetically use her voice to stand in the gap for those most vulnerable in the community. Prior to her work in the non-profit world, Swain worked in programming and communications for FOX5/WZDX in Alabama and has experience working with at-risk youth through mentorship and her longtime volunteer work with Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Chief Health Officer, City of Atlanta, Office of the Mayor

Angelica Geter Fugerson, DrPH, MPH is the first-ever Chief Health Officer of the City of Atlanta. Appointed by Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Dr. Fugerson is tasked with developing strategies to combat the leading causes of illness and disability, improving health disparities, and assessing emerging health needs to build a healthier, more equitable Atlanta. She is a public health expert with experience at the federal, state, and local levels. Her research focuses on racial/ethnic disparities in HIV, STIs, women’s health, and sex trafficking prevention.

Her work has been published in more than 25 peer-reviewed articles and presented at numerous national and international scientific meetings.

She earned her DrPH in Health Behavior with a minor in Biostatistics from the University of Kentucky and her MPH in Behavioral Sciences and Health Education from Emory University. Under the mentorship of the 16th U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. David Satcher, Dr. Fugerson completed her post-doctoral training at Morehouse School of Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As Chief Health Officer, Dr. Fugerson is committed to being a servant leader and advancing the health equity of southern populations through her collaborative approach to research, policy development, and community engagement. 

Associate Professor of Global Health in the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University.

Dabney is a mixed-methods researcher focused on women’s health and human rights. Dr. Evans received her Master of Public Health degree in 1998 from Emory University and her doctoral degree in law from the University of Aberdeen (UK) in 2011. She is architect and Director of the Center for Humanitarian Emergencies in the Rollins School of Public Health and the Emory University Institute of Human Rights - both focus on capacity building.  Between 2017-2019 she served as Interim director for the Emory University Institute of Developing Nations.  

As one of the first faculty to include health and human rights in the public health curriculum, Dr. Evans is an established teacher and trainer. Since 2010, her teaching and training activities have touched over 19,000 learners from 171 countries; she is responsible for the training of one in every ten employees at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Dr. Evans was the instructor of the first English language massive open online course on Ebola Virus Disease and a Coursera on Health in Humanitarian Emergencies. She was the instructor of the “University Course” on Global Security and Leadership in a Complex World.  She has mentored over forty Master’s theses.  She has served as Co-Director of Graduate Studies for the Hubert Department of Global Health since 2016.  

Dr. Evans’ current research projects focus on gender-based violence, and sexual and reproductive health and rights.  Her global research portfolio includes projects on: femicide prevention in Brazil, Zika surveillance across Latin America and the Caribbean, access to Mifepristone in humanitarian emergencies, early abortion ban legislation in the US South and the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Metropolitan Atlanta.    

An editor of the text, Rights-Based Approaches to Health, Dr. Evans has advanced human rights discourse across a range of public health issues.  Dr. Evans has published over forty book chapters, scholarly articles and commissioned works; she has made over 100 peer-reviewed and invited presentations.  Her public scholarship has appeared in the Pacific Standard, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Ms. Magazine and The Hill, where she is a regular contributor; in 2015 she presented a TEDx talk.  She is on several editorial boards. 

Dr. Evans is a member of the Delta Omega Public Health Honor Society, Omicron Delta Kappa National Service Honor Society, past-president of the Georgia Federation of Professional Health Educators, and chair of the Human Rights Forum of the American Public Health Association. She is the recipient of numerous awards including the Crystal Apple for excellence in professional school education (2015), the Unsung Heroine Award (2016), the American Public Health Association Mid-Career Award in International Health (2017) and the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health Early Career Teaching Award (2018). She is a Board member of the Feminist Women’s Health Center and represents Emory University on the steering committee of the Interagency Working Group on Reproductive Health in Crisis.  She is fluent in Portuguese.

Founder and Executive Director, JoyUs Beginnings Child & Family Wellness Center and The Trauma Resource Institute, LLC

Dr. Sharnell Myles, Psy. D. is a licensed psychotherapist and certified clinical trauma professional who specializes in the treatment of complex trauma. Her dedication to serving children, youth, and adults has spanned over 20-years with a focus on utilizing trauma-informed services to treat sexual abuse, physical abuse, domestic minor sex trafficking, and community-based trauma.

Dr. Myles is the Founder and Executive Director of JoyUs Beginnings Child & Family Wellness Center and The Urban Trauma Positive Impact Center, Inc. which is an exclusive trauma-informed treatment and advocacy center located in Atlanta, Georgia. Services include trauma informed therapies, trauma assessments, group treatments, gender specific social justice initiatives for girls of color and PeriCare a 2-generation maternal fetal behavioral health treatment and advocacy initiative. Dr. Myles served as the first Clinical Director and was instrumental in developing the trauma informed protocol for youthSpark, Inc. which services vulnerable youth who have experienced sex trafficking and other victimizations, within the Fulton County Juvenile Court, the largest juvenile court in the southeast region. Throughout her career, Dr. Myles has consulted with various states and systems of care, such as East Cleveland’s MyCom, Inc., Minnesota Board of Education, and Michigan Board of Education to develop systemic trauma-informed protocols on equity, sex trafficking, and culture and climate. In December 2018, Dr. Myles co-authored the first Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking (DMST) Protocol for schools in the state of Georgia and has trained hundreds of School Social Workers on this policy. In addition, she has trained over ten thousand individuals on DMST which includes Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport, corporations, law enforcement, mental health providers, educators, lawyers, governmental officials, schools, and community members.

Dr. Myles has accepted many leadership positions throughout her career. She is the current Advisory Board Chair for the DeKalb County Juvenile Court Mental Health Court - Journey Program, a member of the Dekalb County Juvenile Court Council, the Georgia Statewide Multi-Disciplinary Team for Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking, Board Chair for Breaking the Cycle, Inc (Philadelphia), and the Georgia Statewide Human Trafficking Taskforce Survivors Supported and Protected workgroup. Dr. Myles is a subject matter expert and provides expert testimony in legal cases involving child and adolescent trauma. She has presented at various conferences and has experience in vast settings such as clinical, juvenile justice, Department of Defense, and community-based settings.

Dr. Myles has a Bachelor’s degree in psychology and Master’s degree in Community and Clinical Psychology from Norfolk State University, and a Master's degree and Doctor of Psychology degree from Georgia School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University in Atlanta, Georgia. She also holds a certificate from Georgetown University and is a fellow in the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform.

Dr. Myles has been named a 2019 Servant Leader for her work in the area of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking and has received numerous awards: Atlanta Board of Commissioners Proclamation, State Senate Resolution, The President Barack Obama Lifetime Service Award, Our Children’s Keeper Community Leadership Award, House of Hope Public Service Award, ACHI Magazine Mental Health Advocate Award, to name a few.

Senior Victim Advocate, Counselor Fulton County District Attorney Office

Afrika Cotton is an experienced clinical social worker with proficiency in anger management, trauma focused therapy, substance abuse, group therapy, and assessments in an outpatient setting. She is a CBT and DBT trained clinician. As a versatile clinician, she has experience working with children (with experience in play therapy), adolescents and adults.

Health Educator Fulton County

Owner of Healing Circles, Inc.

Vanessa Jackson is a licensed clinical social worker, Soul Doula and owner of Healing Circles, Inc., a healing practice based in Atlanta, GA.  Ms. Jackson earned a Master Degree from Washington University-George Warren Brown School of Social Work. Ms. Jackson is the author of In Our Own Voice: African-American Stories of Oppression, Survival and Recovery in Mental Health Systems and Separate and Unequal: The Legacy of Racially Segregated Psychiatric Hospitals, monographs on the history of African-American psychiatric experiences and Families of African Origin: An Overview with L. Black in Ethnicity and Family Therapy, 3rd Edition ( Monica McGoldrick, et al, Eds.). She is co-editor of Understanding Power: A Human Services Imperative with Elaine Pinderhughes, MSW and Patricia Romney, Ph.D. Ms. Jackson is a nationally recognized speaker on mental health issues, with a focus on culturally conscious therapy and therapy with marginalized populations.  Ms. Jackson’s passion is supporting activists in creating healthy and balanced lives. She offers an Activists Assistance Program to provide politically conscious and clinically sound counseling and healing workshops to Atlanta-area social justice organizations.She is a member of the Radical Optimist Collective and brings a trauma-informed lens to creating healing dialogues to support racial justice.

Associate Chief for Science, Capacity Building Branch, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

Dr. William L. Jeffries IV earned his MA in sociology (2006), MPH in social and behavioral sciences (2008), and PhD in sociology (2009) at the University of Florida.  Here, he began researching bisexual men’s health.  During 2009–2011, he acquired post-doctoral training in applied epidemiology as an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  Since this time, he has led and contributed to studies that examine racial/ethnic and sexual orientation-related health disparities.  Much of this work has focused on HIV prevention challenges that are unique to bisexual men as well as social determinants of health.  He currently serves as Associate Chief for Science in the Capacity Building Branch within CDC’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention.  In this role, he contributes expertise that informs that development and clearance of capacity building assistance products designed to strengthen the United States’ public health workforce.  However, he also maintains an active research agenda focused on the health of racial/ethnic and sexual minorities. 

Dr. Jeffries’ research and mentorship exemplify his commitment to promoting social justice and health equity for socially marginalized populations.  He uses innovative research methods that highlight societal racism, homophobia, and other forms of social oppression as underlying determinants of health.  His research and programmatic efforts emphasize the urgent need for federal, state, and local public health entities to purposefully develop interventions that counteract these and other forms of social injustice.  Within and outside CDC, Dr. Jeffries formally and informally mentors countless young women and men.  Since its inception, he has been a faculty advisor for the Young Black Gay Men's Leadership Initiative.  In this role, he mobilizes young African American same-gender-loving men to address social and health problems that disproportionately affect them.  Dr. Jeffries’ unwavering commitment to rectifying social injustices that adversely affect the well-being of racial/ethnic and sexual minorities is testament to his commitment to the lives of marginalized populations. 

Associate Director and a Lecturer in Law with the Human Rights Clinic at the University of Miami School of Law

Before her position at the University of Miami, Tamar taught and supervised projects at Yale Law School as a Lecturer in Law, Visiting Scholar with the Schell Center for International Human Rights, and Executive Director of the Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy.  Prior to that, as Deputy Director of the Law and Health Initiative of the Open Society Public Health Program, she focused on legal advocacy to advance health and human rights in Eastern and Southern Africa, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia.  Tamar also taught International Women’s Rights at Tulane Law School’s summer program and was a teaching fellow with the Georgetown University Law Center’s International Women’s Human Rights Clinic, where she supervised test cases challenging discriminatory laws and oversaw fact-finding and legislative projects in Nigeria, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, and the Philippines.  Additionally, she clerked for Judge Robert Sweet at the Southern District of New York and Justice Dorit Beinisch at the Supreme Court of Israel.  Tamar graduated from Stanford University and Harvard Law School, where she was the editor-in-chief of the Harvard Human Rights Journal.

Darlene C. Lynch, Head of External Relations for The Center for Victims of Torture-Atlanta

Darlene has been a lawyer and human rights advocate in the U.S. and abroad for many years.  In her current position, she engages in public policy advocacy, outreach and communications as Head of External Relations for the Center for Victims of Torture (CVT) in Atlanta.  Darlene advocates for fair and inclusive policies for refugees and immigrants; greater access to mental health care; and increased support for human rights. She also supports CVT's healing center in Clarkston, Georgia, which provides free care and counseling to torture and trauma survivors.

Before joining CVT, Darlene was Senior Legal Advisor to ECPAT International (End Child Prostitution, Pornography and Trafficking) and established ECPAT’s U.N. advocacy office in Geneva, Switzerland.  She spent many years engaged in the fight against child sex trafficking in the State of Georgia and continues to serve on the Statewide Human Trafficking task forces.  Darlene taught law at Emory, Harvard and Boston University law schools and began her career as a trial lawyer and prosecutor in Massachusetts.  

She graduated from The University of Chicago Law School, JD with honors and Georgetown University, BA magna cum laude.

Associate Director, Public Policy, The Carter Center

Helen Robinson joined the Mental Health Program in 2020. As associate director for public policy, she analyzes federal and state-level policy impacting mental health parity and convenes key stakeholders to advance evidence-based approaches to prevention, treatment, and health promotion. Prior to joining the Center, she served as director of advocacy at the YWCA of Greater Atlanta, where she led collaborative efforts to improve the health, safety and economic empowerment of women and girls in Georgia through strategic policy change. She also served as lead trainer for the award-winning Georgia Women’s Policy Institute. She has extensive experience advancing evidence-based public policies that empower communities and improve health equity. She holds a master’s degree in public affairs from Indiana University and a bachelor’s in political science with a gender studies concentration from Davidson College.

Poussaint-Satcher Endowed Chair in Mental Health; Director of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute; Director of Research and Scholarship for the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences; and Professor in the Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine at Morehouse School of Medicine 

Dr. Holden earned undergraduate, masters, and doctoral degrees from Howard University in counseling psychology, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins University in both the School of Medicine and School of Public Health.  She earned a Master of Science in Clinical Research degree from MSM. She has completed professional leadership development trainings at Brandeis University, the Association of American Medical Colleges, American Psychological Association, and the National Institute of Mental Health. Prior to joining MSM, Dr. Holden held positions at Georgetown University, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Urban Health Institute, Children’s National Medical Center, and Evaluation and Research Associates, Inc. Dr. Holden serves on many national, regional, and local boards/committees; she is a reviewer for several academic journals; and she has received professional awards from various organizations and agencies. 

She has been awarded millions of dollars in research funding from public and private sources; co-edited two books; developed several book chapters; published numerous articles in peer-reviewed academic journals; and served as a guest co-editor for Ethnicity and Disease and the Journal of Healthcare for the Poor and Underserved. Dr. Holden has provided numerous presentations at international, national, regional, and local professional conferences.  

Globally, she has studied and/or provided trainings in Greece, Italy, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Spain and various Caribbean countries (St. Lucia, Jamaica, Barbados, Grenada, Cuba, Haiti, & U.S. Virgin Islands). 

Dr. Holden has dedicated her career to encouraging mental health and well-being among ethnically and culturally diverse families through research, programmatic initiatives, and the development of innovative strategies for informing health policies. She has placed a special emphasis on addressing the needs of underserved and underrepresented populations that are often overlooked, yet prevail in contributing to the myriad of health disparities. She aims to: (1) promote excellence in community-based clinical and translational mental health research, (2) develop innovative programs that improve accessibility of individuals to comprehensive healthcare, and (3) develop culturally centered, gender specific, resilience based prevention and intervention models for individuals at risk for depression.  

 She is an advocate for the Lupus Foundation of America, Atlanta Ballet, and Delta Sigma Theta, Inc., A Public Service Sorority. She enjoys gourmet vegan cooking with her stepdaughter Michele and husband Dr. Elton Holden. 

Behavioral Health Program Manager Fulton County

Erika Williams-Walker is a Licensed Professional Counselor who has worked in the behavioral health field for 16 years. Mrs. Walker has worked for Fulton County Government for the past 12 years in the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities. For 11 years, she served as a Social Service Program Manager overseeing operations at one of the day programs for adults with intellectual developmental disabilities and is currently a Behavioral Health Program Manager. Mrs. Walker’s current role involves oversight of the contractual services for all of the department’s behavioral health locations and oversight of the developmental disabilities division.

She began her Counseling career as a Graduate Level intern at the organization formerly known at Atlanta Union Mission and went on to become a Full Time Counselor and then Shelter Director before moving on to Fulton County Government. During her tenure at the Mission, Mrs. Walker developed her passion for working with women with children who suffered from mental illness, substance abuse, homelessness, and childhood trauma.

Erika received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and her Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology from Argosy University.

Executive Director of Mental Health America of Georgia

Jewell H Gooding MBA, MA, NCC is the Executive Director of Mental Health America of Georgia.  She is a National Certified Counselor with 20 years’ experience in mental health services and supports.   Mrs. Gooding obtained her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Tennessee State University while working with adults with substance use disorders and chronic homelessness.  She obtained her Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling from Roosevelt University while working with adults dually diagnosed with Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders. Mrs. Gooding continued her career working as a professional counselor for youth in foster care and working with parents seeking reunification with their children.  She obtained her Master’s in Business Administration from University of Georgia while working as the Program Development Manager for the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.  Mrs. Gooding was instrumental in working with providers to support adolescents as they transition into adulthood to improve long term outcomes for youth with serious emotional disturbances and serious mental illness. As Executive Director, Mrs. Gooding strives for health equity and fights to eliminate the stigma of mental illness by increasing mental health literacy throughout the State.   Mrs. Gooding also serves as Board Chair for Silence the Shame, Inc who invests in silencing the shame of mental illness.  When she is not advocating in Georgia communities, she is invested along with her husband of 17 years, in her three boys to build leaders for the next generation. 

Dr. Benjamin F. Miller, PsyD is the Chief Strategy Officer for Well Being Trust, a national foundation committed to advancing the mental, social and spiritual health of the nation. He helps oversee the foundation’s portfolio ensuring alignment across grantees, overall strategy and direction, and connection of the work to advance policy. The end goal is to help advance the national movement around mental health and well-being. Prior to joining Well Being Trust, Dr. Miller spent 8 years as an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine where he was the founding Director of Eugene S. Farley, Jr. Health Policy Center. The Farley Center was created in 2014 to be a leader in conducting policy studies, relevant to health and health care challenges, disseminating evidence to those positioned to use it in their decision-making issues related to health policy for the University, and to be a leader locally and nationally on a variety of topic areas. Under Dr. Miller’s leadership, the Farley Health Policy Center worked on four main areas: behavioral health integration, payment reform, workforce, and community-based prevention. He remains a Senior Advisor to the Farley Center. Miller is currently an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in the Stanford School of Medicine

Dr. Miller has been a principal investigator on several federal grants, foundation grants, and state contracts related to comprehensive primary care and mental health, behavioral health, and substance use integration. He led the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s Academy for Integrating Behavioral and Primary Care project as well as the lead investigator on the Sustaining Healthcare Across Integrated Primary Care Efforts (SHAPE) project. In addition, he was the lead author on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Whole Health report, which provided specific direction to advance mental health nationally.

President, The Association of Black Psychologists, Inc. 

Theopia Jackson, Ph.D. is the President for The Association of Black Psychologists, Inc. (ABPsi) and past president for the Bay Area chapter.  She received her master’s degree in clinical psychology from Howard University, Washington DC and a doctorate from the Wright Institute in Berkeley, California. She has held several leadership roles in higher education and is currently the co-chair for the Department of Humanistic and Clinical Psychology and chair of the clinical psychology degree program at Saybrook University in Pasadena, California. Dr. Jackson is a licensed clinical psychologist; she is a co-founder for the Therapist-in-Residency program in Oakland that is dedicated to training clinicians of African ancestry in the application of tenets of Black psychology in serving Black communities. Additionally, Dr. Jackson held medical privileges at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland where she practiced in the Healthy Hearts program, Department of Psychiatry, and Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center. Her other professional affiliations include membership in the Association of Family Therapists of Northern California (co-founding member of the Cultural Accountability Committee), American Psychological Association (Division 32 Society for Humanistic Psychology: Member-at-Large), California Psychological Association, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.  Additionally, Dr. Jackson serves on the medical advisory council for Baykids Studios and for the Sickle Cell Community Advisory Council (SCCAC). Dr. Jackson has a long history of providing child, adolescent, and family therapy services, specializing in serving populations coping with chronic illness and complex trauma. She is an accomplished scholar-practitioner and educator who provides training/consultation related to trauma-informed care, multiculturalism, cultural equity and related areas. She has been invited to participate in several national and local California initiatives intended to establish integrative health care that is culturally-attuned and linguistically responsive. Dr. Jackson is a life-learner who believes that professional knowledge both shapes and is shaped by community wisdom. Honoring culturally-centered spiritual healing of creativity and resiliency, Dr. Jackson espouses: “What you help a child to love can be more important than what you help [them] to learn.” ~African proverb

Assistant Professor in the Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine, the Director of Health Policy in the National Center for Primary Care and Associate Director of Policy for the Kennedy-Satcher Center for Mental Health Equity at Morehouse School of Medicine.

Megan is a licensed attorney and her research focuses on studying how laws and other policies are being used to improve population health and advance health equity. Megan led the effort to assess state mental health and addiction parity laws, which resulted in 50 state-specific report cards and a technical report released on the 10 th anniversary of the passing of the federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act. She is currently involved in several research projects studying the impact of state and federal parity laws on access to behavioral health treatment. Megan chairs the Advisory Committee for the Disparities Interest Group of AcademyHealth. She also serves on the Advisory Council for the Health Law Partnership (HeLP) and the Community Advisory Council for the Center for Leadership in Disability at Georgia State University. Megan received her law degree from Georgia State University (GSU) with a focus on health care law and policy. After graduating from GSU, she completed a joint fellowship with the Satcher Health Leadership Institute Health Policy Leadership Fellowship program and the Georgia Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disorders (LEND) program at GSU.