World Mental Health Day Festival 2023

Entrepreneur, Mental Health Advocate, Speaker: Zak Williams, Deputy Editor: Degen Pener, Location: Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York City, New York, The United States of America, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

Trigger Warning: This article mentions suicide and suicidal ideation.

Last week, on Tuesday, October 10, 2023, I attended the second annual World Mental Health Day Festival in New York City, specifically at Hudson Yards in Manhattan, through an American mental health non-profit organization I have collaborated with for the last three years, Project Healthy Minds

Through Zoom, during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, I briefly met with Vikki Tobak, a journalist, author, independent curator, and producer who is known for her admiration, research, analysis, and promotion of hip-hop culture and history in America, primarily through her books and related art exhibits, which include Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop and Ice Cold: A Hip-Hop Jewelry History.

Given my American and Canadian hip-hop culture documentation since December 2006, I wanted to learn if I could collaborate with Vikki and contribute to her upcoming projects.

Vikki was, and still is, after all, one of the most important historians of hip-hop culture in America.

Given the state of the world at the time, the compounding of the global mental health epidemic due to the COVID-19 pandemic and many other variables, my career's mental health advocacy component became increasingly more critical. And so, I asked Vikki if she knew of any American mental health organizations I should work with.

Location: Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York City, New York, The United States of America, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

As such, she introduced me to Trevor Eld, who was briefly unemployed then. Today, he is a creative director for Amazon Music.

As an advisor, Trevor was, and still is, contributing to Project Healthy Minds, sometimes referred to as PHM. After our initial conversation via Zoom, he introduced me to Phillip Schermer, who usually goes by Phil, the organization's co-founder and CEO.  

Project Healthy Minds is at the forefront of combating the mental health crisis to provide essential mental health services while destigmatizing mental health conversations.

The organization is founded and led by millennials and Gen Z. It is uniquely positioned to understand the mental health challenges faced by the generations that lead America (and many other nations) today, allowing PHM to tailor its services effectively. 

Project Healthy Minds is committed to eliminating the primary obstacles that hinder individuals from accessing crucial mental health services, ensuring everyone can benefit from life-changing support.

PHM leverages cutting-edge technology to simplify the process of finding mental health services. 

Location: Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York City, New York, The United States of America, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

Through its user-friendly platform, finding effective mental health services in America (and elsewhere) becomes simple and intuitive, making it easy for individuals to discover the help they need, especially amid crises. 

The platform empowers users to browse and connect with the proper mental health support tailored to their unique needs. 

Project Healthy Minds challenges the status quo by asking, "Why is it easier to book a flight worldwide than to find a therapist or a support group?" This question drives PHM’s mission to revolutionize mental health accessibility. 

As such, Project Healthy Minds has created the world's first free mental health marketplace. 

Project Healthy Minds is one of many solutions to the mental health crisis, bringing accessibility, innovation, and empowerment to the forefront of mental health services.

After my first meeting with Phil, I was convinced, and still am convinced, that Project Healthy Minds will revolutionize mental healthcare and conversations in America and globally. Working with the organization became an obvious decision on my part.

Location: Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York City, New York, The United States of America, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

Since my first meeting with Phil in September 2020, I have contributed visual and written content to Project Healthy Minds.

In 2021, I interviewed Phil for Thrive Global, a behaviour change technology and media organization to support individuals struggling with stress and burnout, which was founded by Arianna Huffington, the renowned Greek-American author, syndicated columnist,  businesswoman and co-founder of the Huffington Post

In 2022, I worked closely with George Kaplan, Project Healthy Minds’ head of talent partnerships, and Jared Elgarten, brand and talent partnerships associate at Project Healthy Minds, and I oversaw the photography and part of the production for Project Healthy Minds’ Mental Health Awareness Month campaign in May 2022.

For the campaign, I recruited a group of Gen Z visual artists from Toronto with lived mental health experiences. I asked them to pose for candid portraits that reflected their mental health at different points. 

I also asked the campaign’s subjects to provide words on their lived mental health experiences to accompany their photographs within the campaign.

The campaign was a success, and I have been looking forward to adding more value to Project Healthy Minds this year, which is why writing this article has energized me. 

Associate Manager: Robin Mesirow, Location: Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York City, New York, The United States of America, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

Ironically, I was extremely burnt out the night before the second annual World Mental Health Day Festival or WMHDF, as I woke up at 3:00 AM on Monday, October 9, 2022, to pack before travelling to Pearson International Airport to catch a 9:15 AM Air Canada flight to LaGuardia Airport. 

I was exhausted and irritable when I checked into my hotel, and thankfully, a walk through Central Park, the beautiful and unusually warm weather in New York City, and being surrounded by an incredible volume of foliage throughout the park calmed me down significantly. 

Although I am a certified mindfulness consultant who has taught many professionals of all kinds (on a global scale) how to avoid or transcend burnout and how to ground themselves and cultivate introspection and patience through different forms of meditation and other mindfulness practices, I have struggled with perfectionism, workaholism, burnout, and the anxiety and depression that often accompany such forms of neuroses since I was a child. 

Before the festival, I got approximately 8 hours of sleep on the night of October 9th. I also meditated for five minutes before walking to the festival on the morning of October 10th. 

As I walked to Hudson Yards, I looked forward to meeting at least some of the amazing people I had been working with through Project Healthy Minds in person. I thought I was well-suited for work and other facets of life in Manhattan, as despite the fast pace of the city, I wondered why everyone around me was walking so slowly.  

The festival was sold out in advance, and I anticipated meeting some incredibly knowledgeable, influential, and interesting people. 

Location: Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York City, New York, The United States of America, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

I have been travelling to New York City since I was a baby, yet I was heading to Hudson Yards (and the neighbourhoods surrounding it) for the first time. 

The aesthetics of Hudson Yards were minimalistic, modern, vast, and somewhat calming, with many detailed and impressively beautiful sculptures throughout the property.

If I am not mistaken, the location of the festival events that I attended was on the 19th floor, which appeared to be what office spaces in the 21st century should be, featuring open-concept spaces of all kinds.

Some of the festival’s many events included Wake Up & Run For Mental Health, featuring Emmy Award-winning content creator Timm Chiusano, ultra-marathoner Kelly Chiusano, founder & CEO of Visionary Music Group Chris Zarou, and the Project Healthy Minds New York City Marathon team for an energizing six-mile jog down the west side of Manhattan; the part of Manhattan I am most familiar with because my aunt and great aunt lived there before they passed away in 2018.

There was also a SoulCycle Benefit Ride wherein patrons attended a SoulCycle class led by the organization’s excellent instructors to raise money to expand access to mental health services. 

From what I heard, 100% of the proceeds for the ride have gone directly to addressing the mental health crisis. The event was a massive success.

Entrepreneur, Head of Marketing: Dan Hoffman, Head of Marketing Activations & Partnerships: Rachel Cavise, Administrative Assistant: Sherie Herrera, Location: Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York City, New York, The United States of America, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

The festival also included the Archewell Foundation Parents’ Summit: Mental Wellness In A Digital Age, which featured NBC's Carson Daly and parents from all walks of life for a discussion on building community and creating positive change for a safer online world for young people, with special guests Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the duke and duchess of Sussex, and U.S. surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy.

The Harvard Series: The Influencer Playbook For Tomorrow’s Mental Health Campaigns was one of many popular events at the festival.

It was based on the premise that social media influencers are today's new media gatekeepers, trusted and watched by millions. 

They are critical partners for disseminating public health information, and the panel educated festival goers about brand-new Harvard research on influencer partnerships and what they mean for those designing tomorrow’s mental health campaigns. 

The Influencer Playbook For Tomorrow’s Mental Health Campaigns featured Amanda Yarnell, senior director of Harvard School of Public Health’s Center For Health Communication; Matt Motta, assistant professor, Boston University School of Public Health; Kate Speer, creator and mental health advocate; Sasha Hamdani, psychiatrist and creator of @ThePsychDoctorMD, and the event’s moderator, Ifelola Ojuri, strategic partner manager at YouTube Health.

There were many other events throughout the day, far too many for me to list here, and the most popular event at the festival, which I did not attend, was its inaugural gala, which took place in the evening, hours after the festival events I attended. 

Location: Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York City, New York, The United States of America, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

The gala was hosted by Carson Daly and featured the prestigious Charles Norton Pippin Award for Mental Health presentation, a significant recognition in the field. 

This award was accepted by Jeff T. Blau, the CEO of Related Companies, at the Hudson Yards. 

The gala also included a special art reveal by Peter Tunney, an accomplished artist, curator, and founder of the Peter Tunney Experience at the Wynwood Walls. 

And to add to the entertainment and energy of the gala, Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, who is professionally known as Logic, one of my favourite rappers and a Grammy-nominated hip-hop recording artist and producer, delivered a captivating musical performance. 

The inaugural Mental Health Day Festival Gala was a star-studded event with influential hosts, meaningful awards, art, and music coming together to raise awareness and support for mental health.

The first festival event I attended was From Tragedy to Triumph: The Story Behind The Story With Zak Williams on the festival’s main stage, which was situated in an awesome and very steep movie theatre.

Professor: Bernice Pescosolido, Location: Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York City, New York, The United States of America, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

By then, I had been LinkedIn connections with Zak since the pandemic’s early stage, but I had never met him in person, let alone shared a room with him.

He is the son of one of my favourite actors and comedians, Robin Williams, the brilliant mind who embodied the protagonists of some of my favourite movies, like Hook, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Good Will Hunting.

I was curious about how his father's untimely death impacted him and his family, psychologically and otherwise. I wanted to learn more about the mental health advocacy he has been engaged in for years.

I serendipitously sat beside Bernice Pescosolido, a scientific research contributor to Project Healthy Minds. She is also a distinguished chancellor’s professor of sociology at Indiana University and founding director of the Indiana Consortium for Mental Health Services Research (ICMHSR) and the Indiana University Network Science Institute (IUNI).

Her research focuses on four areas: stigma, health care use, suicide, and social networks, primarily looking at mental illness and substance abuse and the role that social and organizational networks play in people’s responses to problems. We had some great conversations about her research and PHM.

The event we were attending was ultimately a conversation between Zak and Degen Pener, deputy editor of the Hollywood Reporter, and their exchange was candid, vulnerable, and highly informative. 

Entrepreneur, Mental Health Advocate, Speaker: Zak Williams, Location: Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York City, New York, The United States of America, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

For example, Degen described that he is often nervous before public speaking, as he is accustomed to working behind a computer screen or amongst small groups. 

Zak covered many essential topics relevant to his life, his family, the mental health epidemic in America and elsewhere, and more. If he has not done so, he ought to speak in front of the United States Senate about every topic he covered at WMHDF.

He described his past challenges, which included self-medicating with alcohol following his father’s death.

After the passing of Robin Williams, Zak experienced post-traumatic stress disorder and enrolled in a 12-step program for healing.

Soon after, he founded Prepare Your Mind (PYM), a mental health support brand focused on promoting mental hygiene and believing that everyone can become their best version through mental wellness.

Zak’s wife, Olivia, introduced him to amino acid therapy after successfully regulating her mood with amino acid dietary supplements that her doctor recommended. 

Entrepreneur, Mental Health Advocate, Speaker: Zak Williams, Location: Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York City, New York, The United States of America, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

Zak and Olivia spent the next two years working with food scientists to discover a formula that tasted delicious and worked fast to support feelings of stress and overwhelm.

During his talk with Degen, he went on to emphasize that mental health treatments are not one size fits all, that a holistic and individualized approach is best for each individual, and that specific themes apply to nearly all people, like being part of a community or communities, consuming whole and consequently healthy foods most of the time, exercising regularly, regular exposure to sunlight and nature, and effectively managing addictions and neuroses.

Moreover, he stated that investing in education, prevention, and the modalities mentioned earlier through governments, major corporations, and individuals would mitigate many of the widespread problems created by the mental health epidemic in America and elsewhere.

When discussing his father and his life as a child, he mentioned that he regularly thinks fondly about his father and that his family system as a child was not as open to discussing mental health to the degree that his family is today.

He also stated that despite his contributions to the filmmaking and entertainment industries, his life’s purpose differs from his father's.

According to Zak, his father’s purpose was to bring joy to others, entertain them, and provoke thought through his talents and skills as an actor and comedian.

Entrepreneur, Mental Health Advocate, Speaker: Zak Williams, Deputy Editor: Degen Pener, Location: Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York City, New York, The United States of America, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

In contrast, Zak’s purpose is to increase awareness and understanding of mental health challenges, provide support, and improve access to mental health resources as widely as possible.

After their conversation, I briefly shot some portraits of Zak, and I recall thinking, “This is the closest I will ever get to Robin Williams,” I do not doubt that his father is proud of him. 

I also had the good fortune of meeting Dr. Alfiee Breland-Noble, a pioneering psychologist, scientist, mental health correspondent, author, speaker, and founder of the innovative mental health nonprofit dedicated to Youth of Color mental health, the AAKOMA Project.

I met her virtually through a Project Healthy Minds event on the mental health of Black Americans, so it was great to interact with her in person. I was grateful for the opportunity to photograph her, and I hope she will speak at next year’s festival.

The second festival event I attended was Ending The Stigma: From Silence To Solutions, which also took place on the main stage. 

Moderated by CNN anchor Poppy Harlow, it featured David Axelrod, former chief strategist and White House senior advisor to President Barack Obama and founding director of the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics, and Sally Yates, former deputy attorney general and partner at King & Spalding,

Psychologist, Entrepreneur, Journalist, Author, Speaker: Alfiee Breland-Noble, Location: Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York City, New York, The United States of America, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

Like Zak Williams, Poppy, David, and Sally agreed that if the American government and many other influential institutions in America and around the world invested in research, education, prevention, and a myriad of mental health modalities, major problems like the rise in violence in many American cities, the prison industrial complex, poverty, and more would be addressed far more effectively.

Unfortunately, based on what they shared, such a paradigm is not widely adopted throughout America. Consequently, many individuals, families, and organizations in the U.S. and worldwide are spiralling out of control, psychologically, spiritually, and otherwise, while employing band-aid solutions that are primarily ineffective or make things worse. 

The mental health epidemic must be addressed through significant, widespread policy changes and allocating billions of capital effectively. That is the bottom line in America, Canada, and most so-called developed nations.

Nonetheless, progress has been made, and PHM and WMHDF indicate that.

The conversation continued with David being open about his father's story and his own experiences with mental health challenges, as he believes in sharing such stories to help raise awareness and end the stigma surrounding mental health and suicide. 

His father's death influenced his advocacy for mental health awareness and discussions about mental illness.

Journalist: Poppy Harlow, Lawyer, Entrepreneur: Sally Yates, Political Cosultant, Political Analyst, Entrepreneur: David Axelrod, Location: Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York City, New York, The United States of America, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

Some of the most poignant parts of the conversation that David engaged in for the festival included his description of his walk to WMHDF, wherein he walked by his father’s former apartment. 

He began to cry as he shared his story, and he reminded us that his father was a mental health professional. Despite being able to treat many others, saving the lives of many people in New York City and elsewhere, and being in a seemingly privileged position socioeconomically and otherwise, he could not save himself. He could not access the help he needed. 

For those unaware, physicians are some of the most vulnerable professionals within the context of mental health, and they experience some of the highest suicide rates globally. 

Much like David’s father, Sally Yates' father, Judge John Kelley Quillian, died by suicide. 

She also shared her father's story and spoke openly about his suicide. She commended David for encouraging her to write about her father and his death's implications on her, her family, and many others.

Her personal experience with her father's mental health challenges has contributed to her advocacy for mental health awareness and the importance of addressing the issue of suicide. 

Journalist: Poppy Harlow, Lawyer, Entrepreneur: Sally Yates, Location: Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York City, New York, The United States of America, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

Suicidal ideation and suicidality can potentially destroy families and communities, and they are terrifying and deceiving because they lead one to believe that there is only one permanent solution to challenges that are not permanent and that likely have more than a few solutions.

Both David and Sally have used their personal experiences with the loss of a parent to highlight the importance of mental health discussions and support for those facing mental health challenges, and their openness and vulnerability inspired me to be far more proactive in managing my propensities for burnout. 

I shot portraits of David, Sally and Poppy after their chat. 

I joked with Poppy that she likely will not see anything I will be posting about the festival on Instagram. According to her WMHDF conversation, she deactivated her personal Instagram account after realizing her social media use's adverse impact on her and her family.

I found Sally to be incredibly warm and empathetic while also maintaining a seriousness about her, like Claire Underwood, a fictional character from the streaming series House of Cards, played by Robin Wright, who she somewhat resembles. 

David was also personable, and I could tell that the conversation he engaged in moments earlier was a cathartic experience for everyone involved, as he was smiling genuinely despite having described one of the most traumatic events of his life.

Lawyer, Entrepreneur: Sally Yates, Location: Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York City, New York, The United States of America, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

The final World Mental Health Day Festival event I attended was Mainstage Talk: Changing The Game: How The Sports World Can Revolutionize The Mental Health Landscape.

As the talk’s audience began to trickle into the theatre, I began speaking to and photographing Project Healthy Minds’ co-founder and head of marketing, Dan Hoffman, and PHM’s head of marketing activations & partnerships, Rachel Cavise, who was kind enough to give me an incredible tote bag filled with various mental health-specific merchandise that I will benefit from for years to come.

It was my first time meeting them in person after initially contributing to PHM virtually a few years ago, and they seemed cool and laid back, considering the monumental effort it took to bring the festival to fruition.

As I entered the theatre, I reflected on the subject matter of the talk I was about to observe.

Given the influence and pervasiveness of sports in America (and in many other parts of the world), the theme of the conversation was no less thoughtful or relevant than the others associated with WMHDF. 

Including an introduction by Brian Offutt, chief workforce innovation & operations officer at Weber Shandwick, and moderated by freelance writer Anna Katherine Clemmons, the event featured Indianapolis Colts owner and vice chair Kalen Irsay Jackson (via the National Football League) and global head of mental health at YouTube, Jessica Divento Dzuban, for a discussion on the role of athletes in changing the conversation around mental health.

Entrepreneur, Head of Marketing: Dan Hoffman, Location: Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York City, New York, The United States of America, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

From Kalen, I learned that her family has been deeply affected by mental illness, especially through her father, Jim Irsay, known for being the principal owner, chairman and CEO of the Indianapolis Colts. He has suffered from substance abuse for many years.

At one point in her twenties, Kalen was studying to become a psychotherapist before pursuing her current career path, and she mentioned that due to her father’s challenges and other variables, conversations about mental health were encouraged in her family system, although she was warned about and wary of discussing such matters with those outside of her family for many years.

Now, not only is she incredibly outspoken as a mental health advocate, but the Indianapolis Colts’ mental health programming is considered the most robust and impactful in the National Football League, such that other teams model their mental health programming after the Colts.

Furthermore, many of the public service announcements and public appearances by the Indianapolis Colts players have been so effective that legions of Colts fans have stated that such announcements and appearances prevented them from attempting suicide. Moreover, the Colts’ offices often receive calls of distress as if such offices are a mental health hotline or a platform like Project Healthy Minds. 

Through  Jessica Divento Dzuban, I learned that YouTube invests an enormous amount of resources in the mental well-being of YouTube creators and users, and when I photographed her and spoke to her after her talk, she told me that the YouTube algorithm prevents users from going down rabbit holes that are as narrow as TikTok’s such that users that may be consuming content that adversely impacts their mental health will be introduced to healthier content nonetheless.

Moreover, YouTube flags many keywords that may indicate a mental health crisis and provides supportive content and mental health resources to those needing it (in real-time).

Writer: Anna Katherine Clemmons, Entrepreneur, Vice Chair, Mental Health Advocate: Kalen Irsay Jackson, Global Head of Mental Health: Jessica Divento Dzuban, Location: Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York City, New York, The United States of America, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

Overall, the World Mental Health Day Festival was the most innovative, informative, and inspiring event on mental health that I have attended. I have attended many such events, at least since 2017.

Improvements that could be made to the festival from my perspective include the implementation of a ten-minute-long question and answer period at the end of each event, as I and many others had questions after each festival event. 

The Harvard series of events and others often took place at the same time as the mainstage talks, so I and many others were in a position whereby we had to choose between events. 

I chose to attend mainstage events strictly, but I wanted to participate in others simultaneously, so hopefully, events will be more staggered during future festivals.

I also believe that WMHDF needs larger venues as its popularity will only grow in the coming months and years, thereby attracting far more potential guests, mental health advocates, speakers, and so on.  

With that said, last Thursday, October 12, 2023, as I briefly chatted with Phil through Instagram to congratulate him and PHM on the success of the second annual Mental Health Day Festival, he invited me to have coffee with him at the Starbucks at Hudson Yards.

Entrepreneur, Vice Chair, Mental Health Advocate: Kalen Irsay Jackson, Location: Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York City, New York, The United States of America, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

As such, I cut my visit to the Museum of Modern Art short to meet with Phil, despite the fact that it is one of my favourite museums in the world by far. I was at the museum for 45 minutes instead of the two hours I had originally allocated to my visit.

I had seen Phil briefly at the festival, as he introduced the speakers for Ending The Stigma: From Silence To Solutions, but meeting him at Starbucks was our first time sitting across from each other, in person since we began communicating digitally in 2020.

We had an amazing conversation, albeit a relatively short one, as I met Phil about an hour before I needed to start packing, and about two hours before I needed to be back at LaGuardia International Airport prior to my flight back to Toronto.

Phil told me that many things went wrong during the festival, and I assured him that although I did not attend every event at the festival, from my perspective and the perspective of many guests, PHM’s execution was excellent and the value created by the festival was enormous.

He went on to tell me that Project Healthy Minds is short-staffed, consisting of a small number of full-time employees and an equally small number of volunteers, which led me to understand why the World Mental Health Day Festival could not address all of the important topics that I wanted to learn more about. PHM barely had the human resources for this year’s festival.

Phil went on to describe the long-term vision for Project Healthy Minds, and he stated that although PHM’s platform and its underlying technology exceeded the organization’s initial expectations and positive impact on the mental health epidemic, he and the rest of PHM are aiming to increase their effectiveness by a hundred times by increasing the organization’s head count, investing more in their technology, and investing more in working with artists, creators, like me.

Writer: Anna Katherine Clemmons, Entrepreneur, Vice Chair, Mental Health Advocate: Kalen Irsay Jackson, Global Head of Mental Health: Jessica Divento Dzuban, Location: Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York City, New York, The United States of America, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

Most startup founders are satisified with ten fold increases in the effectiveness of the solutions created by their teams. So, Phil’s goals were, and still are ambitious by most entrepreneurial standards.

Furthermore, I have worked with and have met and have worked with some of the most creative, industrious, detail-oriented, organized, conscientious, determined, and pioneering executives, artists, entertainers, artists, and athletes in the world, in addition to many other prolific leaders.

I know from 17 years of experience as an entrepreneur that Phil possesses many of the same qualities that such so-called high performers possess, he is a great public speaker and creator of pitches, and I have complete faith in Project Healthy Minds’ scalability and the organization’s capacities to save far more lives while revolutiinizing mental health care and mental health conversations in America and beyond.

Soon after our conversation ended, Phil introduced me to Christina Maxwell, executive director of High Line Nine, and art and culture projects director at Related Companies. She was cool and I look forward to chatting more with her shortly.

Although I am a Canadian citizen, I chose, and continue to choose to work with Project Healthy Minds because America is the most successful country in the world economically.

The United States has the world's largest national economy, with a diverse range of industries including technology, finance, manufacturing, and services. This diversity contributes to economic stability and growth that is unprecedented compared to most other countries.

Entrepreneur, CEO: Phillip Schermer, Location: Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York City, New York, The United States of America, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

The U.S. also provides a business-friendly environment with relatively low regulations and a culture that encourages entrepreneurship and investment, and is a global leader in terms of art, entertainment, culture, and a myriad of other areas.

If or when America begins to employ far more effective, widespread solutions to the mental health epidemic that is evidenced by the data collected and shared by PHM, other countries will follow suit, employing similar attitudes, policies, and methods.

In many ways, Canada is exponentially far less entrepreneurial and far more risk-averse than America. Canada also has an inferiority complex in relation to America, observing and emulating what America does in a number of sectors.

It has been that way for decades at least, and thus, by helping Project Healthy Minds, I will ultimately help Canada and the world, and I look forward to contributing more to an organization that I greatly value and respect, as I continue to process the lessons learned through, and the implications of my best trip to New York City to date.

Entrepreneur, CEO: Phillip Schermer, Executive Director: Christina Maxwell, Location: Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York City, New York, The United States of America, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

Professor: Aaron Dworkin, Location: Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York City, New York, The United States of America, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

Entrepreneur, CEO: Phillip Schermer, Location: Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York City, New York, The United States of America, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

Political Cosultant, Political Analyst, Entrepreneur: David Axelrod, Location: Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York City, New York, The United States of America, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

Journalist: Poppy Harlow, Location: Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York City, New York, The United States of America, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

Head of Marketing Activations & Partnerships: Rachel Cavise, Administrative Assistant: Sherie Herrera, Location: Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York City, New York, The United States of America, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

Administrative Assistant: Sherie Herrera, Location: Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York City, New York, The United States of America, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

Writer: Anna Katherine Clemmons, Location: Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York City, New York, The United States of America, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

Location: Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York City, New York, The United States of America, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

Location: Vessel, Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York City, New York, The United States of America, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

Location: Vessel, Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York City, New York, The United States of America, Year: 2023, Photographer: Ajani Charles

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