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FounderCharlamagne tha god

Multimedia mogul, Radio Hall of Fame inductee, bestselling author, and cultural architect Charlamagne Tha God is host of the wildly popular nationally syndicated hit radio show The Breakfast Club along with the hit show Hell of a Week and founder of the Black Effect Podcast Network. He frequently serves as a catalyzing leader at the forefront of the national mental health conversation, and his transparent disclosure of mental health issues combined with an incredibly pervasive media footprint have fissured the ground for the crucial guard-dropping discussions that are reshaping our societal landscape. Through the honest disclosing of his own mental health journey amid the loss of many close friends to suicide, Charlamagne has not only highlighted the devastations of untreated mental illness but has also become a lodestone drawing others to follow in his footsteps. “My founding of the Mental Wealth Alliance is the manifestation of a deeply personal vision,” says Charlamagne. “MWA is designed to proliferate pathways for addressing the severely unmet and underserved emotional needs of Black people worldwide to heal the pain that resides in the privacy of their hearts.”

Our Vision

Contemporary mental health issues facing Black people, such as the psychological needs of veterans, the plight of youth in the educational and juvenile justice systems, the travesty of elders suffering from neglect, and the difficulties of people trying to survive within the homeless population, are all too often ignored. Black communities’ experiences with violence, incarceration, chronic disenfranchisement, enslavement, oppression, segregation, colonialism, and the intergenerational trauma stemming from these injustices, mean they are not only at high risk of mental illness but also in dire need of (and entitled to) culturally attuned support. Our communities require resources and tools for healing and progress. Mental Wealth Alliance (MWA) is Charlamagne Tha God’s vision to close this gap through three pillars of impact: Train, Teach, and Treat.

Charlamagne has assembled some of the most influential thought leaders in healthcare, business, government, technology, education, and culture to support closing the Black mental health gap. MWA is uniquely positioned to revolutionize this vital cause by marrying incredible connections with unmatched resources. We have the star power, credibility, vision, and funds needed to scale up the good work already underway in the Black mental health space, and build a coordinated, multidimensional movement with the ability to maximize impact and generate real, sustainable change.

Our Proprietary Pillars of Impact

Teach

MWA’s Teach pillar focuses on expanding awareness of Black mental health issues, dismantling the accompanying stigma, and increasing resources for Black mental wellness. Initiatives under this pillar include advocating for the implementation of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and Mental Health Literacy (MHL) in public K-12 schools nationwide, as well as supporting and helping to shape congressional legislation such as the Pursuing Equity in Mental Health Act (HR 1475). MWA will build out its advocacy platform to create a groundswell of popular support for these important initiatives with real potential to generate systemic change.

Train

Under its Train pillar, MWA will dramatically increase the number of Black mental health professionals by providing culturally competent training, as well as unprecedented financial support. MWA is actively setting up scholarship programs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Once operational, these MWA-HBCU partnerships will offer $10,000 – $15,000 scholarships to Black students pursuing Master’s degrees in mental health-related fields, including psychology, family therapy, counseling, and clinical social work. We will increase the number of Black mental health professionals from 4% to 14% to mirror the proportion of Black people in the U.S. population.

Treat

Treat for MWA is centered around providing free mental health services for Black people, by Black people. Recognizing the challenges of not only finding but affording quality, culturally attuned mental health care, MWA will provide over 10,000 hours of free care to individuals via a network of vetted Black mental health practitioners. In doing so, MWA will fulfill the dual mission of empowering both the recipient and provider. In addition to these free therapy sessions, MWA will award grants to community-based clinics and other organizations already doing great work to further the cause of Black mental wellness.

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Chief Mental Wellness OfficerDr. Alfiee

Dr. Alfiee Breland-Noble (aka Dr. Alfiee) is a pioneering psychologist, scientist, author, mental health correspondent, and the founder of the million-dollar nonprofit, The AAKOMA Project. A thought leader in her field, Dr. Alfiee focuses on mental health and suicide prevention for intersectional youth and young adults of color (including LGBTQ youth and those with disabilities). Beginning in 1999, Dr. Alfiee envisioned and built The AAKOMA Project from an academic medicine research lab in major teaching hospitals (at Duke and Georgetown) into the thriving Woman of Color led, million-dollar mental health nonprofit it is today. A sought-after mental health expert, she hosts the video podcast “Couched in Color with Dr. Alfiee” and is a regular broadcast, digital and print correspondent for media giants like CNN, MSNBC/Peacock, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Breakfast Club nationally syndicated show among dozens of others. Dr. Alfiee lectures internationally and lends her expertise in mental health and suicide prevention for marginalized communities to global audiences. She is lauded for her remarkable ability to motivate and inspire by translating complex scientific concepts into everyday language. She lives by the mantra that everyone deserves #optimalmentalhealth which should always be informed by #lovelightscience.

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Founding PartnersMarvet Britto / The Britto Agency

Marvet Britto founded The Britto Agency over 28 years ago and has built her award-winning namesake firm into a branding, communications, and marketing powerhouse. The Britto Agency is one of the nation’s largest, most influential, and longest operating Black-owned Public Relations and Brand Architecture firms, a global leader renowned for masterful category-vaulting brand development campaigns that elevate brands to category leadership and market dominance. A visionary global brand strategist culturally fluent in multigenerational and intersectional ideation and execution, Marvet has fostered long-standing client and agency relationships across her firm’s expansive orbit of individual and Fortune 500 brands, which include major corporations, iconic entertainers, celebrated politicians, superstar athletes, leading faith-based organizations, and exquisite Caribbean islands. In addition to being a Tony-nominated Broadway producer (The Trip to Bountiful, Romeo and Juliet, Eclipsed), she has served as a producer of critically acclaimed films, including The Woodsman and Shadowboxer. An expert in brand equity, development, and crisis communications, Marvet is often sought as a contributor on major news outlets such as CNN, MSNBC, ABC, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.

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Spiritual & Wellness ExpertDevi Brown

Devi Brown serves as the Chief Impact Officer at Chopra Global and is the voice of daily meditation on the Chopra wellness app. A master well-being educator, author of Crystal Bliss, founder of Karma Bliss, host of The Black Effect Network podcast Dropping Gems, seasoned broadcaster, and multi-modality healing practitioner. Devi is devoted to spiritual connection meant to aid in the healing of intergenerational trauma and internal liberation. Her work is rooted in weaving ancient and modern practices into tangible healing tools that are in support of emotional growth and radical self-love.

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Bestselling Author & Film ProducerTim Shriver

Tim Shriver is the long-time Chairman of the Special Olympics, bestselling author, founding force of the social and emotional learning (SEL) movement, film producer, husband, and father. In 2018, he began asking new questions—how could the SEL teaching skills like empathy and self-awareness help the country? How could the example of the athletes of Special Olympics provide a model for a divided world? Hundreds of young people, faith leaders, educators, philosophers, scientists, activists, and political figures have joined the conversation. Together, they came to the conclusion that in spite of the divides, the world is hungry for ideas that unite. Thus, they founded UNITE, the collective for common purpose—crossing divides to address problems that can only be solved together. As the launch of UNITE neared, COVID-19 became a pandemic, and suddenly humanity’s interdependence and need for connection became the leading themes of human events. Seeing the need, the group agreed to start its work early, and The Call to Unite became project one.