The RecoverED Project at the Annual NAMI California Conference
Since April of this year I have been on NAMI (National Alliance for Mental Illness) California’s Youth Leadership Council. The work I have done so far has been incredibly rewarding, and I truly feel like we are valued and make a big impact on NAMI California. With that being said, one truly incredible opportunity arose this October to merge my world as a member of NAMI California’s YLC (Youth Leadership Council) and as the CEO of The RecoverED Project. This year, I was given the privilege to not only attend the Annual NAMI California Conference, but to also speak at the conference.
My presentation, titled “Supporting Those with Eating Disorders: My Journey” discussed the work The RecoverED Project has done in our first two and a half years of operation, as well as highlighting the importance and benefits of youth advocacy. While presenting to a full room of amazing individuals ready to learn more about eating disorders and youth advocacy, I truly got to experience the impact of my work over the last few years.
Part of what I talked about in my presentation is that being a fully youth and young adult led non-profit is not easy, but that it absolutely has been worth it. Getting to attend an incredible event such as this and meet many dedicated and hard working mental health advocates through the two day conference was the perfect way to remind me of this.
In full honesty, I had been very nervous for the conference and even more nervous to speak. Part of my anxiety was that people wouldn’t come to my session to hear me speak, and part of my anxiety was that they would. Luckily for me, NAMI did an amazing job at helping me feel supported, preparing me in every way possible, and I ended up having a full audience, all of which I felt supported by and knew were truly invested in the topics I was discussing. As soon as I started speaking, through the end of my hour-long presentation, I felt completely myself. I knew this is where I was supposed to be.
It’s been a long time since I realized advocacy was where I was meant to be. I feel my happiest when I am surrounded by like-minded individuals who do not only want but demand better for this world. This conference was an experience that I know will solidify those feelings and continue to push me through hard days. Some of this is because I got to reflect on the progress The RecoverED Project has made over the last (almost) 3 years, and that I truly loved being at the conference. Most of this is because deep down, advocacy and working in non-profit spaces is where I have found a purpose, and outlet for my pain to become my power. One major lesson I have learned through The RecoverED Project, NAMI, and my work in other mental health advocacy initiatives, is that as much as advocacy and volunteering help those who we intend to serve, it helps us just as much.
On the flight to Sacramento, the city the conference was held in, I made a startling realization. That same week, five years ago in 2020, I was flying to Colorado to go to an eating disorder treatment for the first time. I was deep in the throes of an eating disorder, cold, tired, and miserable. I also felt incredibly hopeless. Now, five years later in 2025, that same week, I was on a flight again. This flight was to a conference to speak about how I now help others with eating disorders, as someone who is fully recovered. I was healthy, happy, and hopeful on that flight.
What happened in those five years is certainly a beautiful triumph, but it is not magic. The triumph was that I chose to recover and found reasons to stay in recovery, and eventually, stay recovered. I founded The RecoverED Project when I was about 8 months into strong recovery, but definitely still in active recovery. There were times in my recovery I wanted to give up or relapse, but it was most often The RecoverED Project that kept me going. Being a leader and an advocate gave me a purpose I hadn’t had in my life since well before the onset of my eating disorder. That purpose led me to make a lot of positive changes in my life in those five years, so much so that my flight looked like a total 180 from October 2020 to October 2025. This realization only solidified by belief that the benefits of youth and young adult advocacy include serving as a lifeline for the advocates themselves.
In my presentation I got to highlight the work we are doing, specifically through our Cards with Courage program and social media campaigns including the “Recovery Tips” series. It was also an opportunity to speak about a few newer initiatives of The RecoverED Project, including, The RecoverED Blog, our two new Clubs and Chapters, with our first being at the University of Wisconsin, our Finding FreEDom art competition that will be coming back shortly, and two programs launching in early 2026. Talking about the work we have done, and will do, only made me more motivated to continue to work towards our goals as a non-profit organization. I truly believe that the work we do matters and helps the people we reach, and that is exactly why we all do it.
Outside of my own presentation, I also learned a lot from others at the conference. The day one keynote speaker, former MLB player Drew Robinson, had an incredibly impactful story that has stuck with me since. The day two keynote speaker, former congressman Patrick Kennedy, had a fired up conversation that really sparked the room to take action.
Outside of the keynotes, there were plenty of amazing breakout sessions I got to learn from. One session that really stood out to me was held by other youth advocates, Kirk Lord, Cat Doherty, and Brandi Alden, who spoke about a neuroimmune disorder called PANS or PANDAS. These speakers are the leaders of the 501(c)4 organization, the National Youth PANS Alliance and did a fantastic job at keeping the audience engaged in every part of their presentation. The other workshop that truly stood out to me was hosted by Jeannie Mecorney who spoke about the power of “graphic medicine.” Mecorney shared her empowering story with the audience through the healing of comic books and graphic art as a form of self expression.
Looking back on the conference now, a few weeks later, I am truly still in awe that I got to speak and attend amongst a sea of incredible and accomplished advocates. Additionally, I am still so thankful that The RecoverED Project was able to open this door for me to learn more about how to strengthen my own advocacy, and how I can bring those skills to The RecoverED Project. I am not exactly sure what 2026 will look like for The RecoverED Project yet, but I can guarantee that it will be shaped by the empowering voices I got to learn from at this conference.
