Meet the Steinberg Institute 2022 Mental Health Champions
Each May during Mental Health Awareness Month, the Steinberg Institute announces our Mental Health Champions. We believe it is important to celebrate folks who are having an outsized impact on the mental health of their fellow Californians. They are often unsung heroes, working directly with folks in need of mental health support.
This year we partnered with Mission Minded Media to produce video and written stories about each of our champions. In their own words, they share their personal journies and what drives them to selflessly help others.
Take a moment to meet our Champions below. If you’d like to nominate someone to be a 2023 Steinberg Institute Mental Health Champion, please use this form.
Tam Nguyen
When someone is facing a mental health crisis on the streets of Orange County, California, there’s a good chance that Tam Nguyen will be there soon to offer help. Tam is a supervisor with the Be Well OC Mobile Response Team. Offering compassionate care for folks in crisis, Tam leans on his background as a veteran and first responder.
See Tam’s story here.
Galina Prozorova
Galina Prozorova knows all too well about the pain and mental anguish that domestic abuse and human trafficking survivors face. As survivor herself, in late 2021, she joined the International Rescue Committee where she manages human- trafficking, domestic-violence and survivor-services teams that support refugees and other vulnerable populations.
See Galinas’s story here.
Gulshan Yusufzai
Gulshan Yusufzai is executive director of the Muslim American Society Social Services Foundation (MAS-SSF), which she has developed into a unique and comprehensive agency serving the social and mental health needs of Sacramento’s large and diverse Muslim community.
See Gulshan’s story here.
Chris Miller
Californians can thank teacher Chris Miller for his tireless advocacy resulting in Senate Bill 224 that was signed into law in 2021 and took effect in January. It requires public schools that teach health education to include mental health in the curriculum for their middle and high schools.
See Chris’s story here.
California State of Mind Essentials is published by the Steinberg Institute, an independent nonprofit organization working to focus public attention on mental health issues in California and to advance sound public policies that can help people in our state get the assistance and support they need.
