Meredith Reese says she lives her passion every day as chief operating officer at Vista Maria, a Dearborn Heights-based nonprofit organization that provides support and trauma services for youth and families in southeast Michigan. She also says she was “speechless” when she learned she was selected as a Flinn Foundation Leonard W. Smith Mental Health Hero Award honoree.
We checked in with Reese to learn more and discover how she wants to recharge and reset, thanks to the Mental Health Hero Award.
Q: You have advanced to the chief operations position at Vista Maria. What have you learned about yourself through this process?
Reese: Being in mental health has always been my passion. I was born and raised in Kentucky and I worked at a psychiatric hospital there for numerous years before I came to Michigan in 2003.
When I found Vista Maria, I learned that the power of family is real. We can’t give up on family, regardless of what has happened. Kids tell me no matter what mom has done or dad has done, they’re still my mom. They’re still my dad. You can’t take that away from anyone.
What we glean from folks in our support system is whether it’s mom or dad or an aunt, grandma, a family friend or whomever — family are those who are trustworthy, reliant and give grace because we may make a lot of mistakes. When we really emphasize those family connections or social support for our kids and for our families, that’s where we get the ultimate superpower because those things equal resilience. How do we bounce back when life gets hard? We lean on others to help us through.
Q: Your background is in marriage and family therapy. What skills did you learn through that speciality that you use in your role right now?
Reese: Communication and stating the issue at hand. Not hitting below the belt. Then, how do we set a time limit? We have to be strategic with what’s the problem, the root cause, what I own, what you own and how we need to work together toward the solution, so let’s put a time limit on this.
Q: How does it feel to be recognized by the Flinn Foundation as a Leonard W. Smith Mental Health Hero?
Reese: This means so much. But this is what I do. This is day-to-day work for me. I didn’t do anything special, but you know, to hear I was recognized, it just really hit home. With all the other recipients, we continue to do this amazing work. My husband jokes that I need to slow down and stop being superwoman. But then he says, wait a minute, why would you do that?
But this is a very humbling experience for me. I feel like my work has been a calling for me and this is the right thing to do. I want to make sure that everyone knows that Vista Maria is here for the community.
Q: The Leonard W. Smith Mental Health Hero Award comes with a month-long break to re-energize. What plans do you have for that time?
Reese: I think about taking a little time without what I call all the “noise” and what it means to be present in the stillness. I think I will take joy in planning a vacation with my husband. There are some wellness resorts in Hawaii that I want to partake in.
One thing I do recognize is that I am doing family things but am I truly present? There’s a difference in just being there with everyone and being truly present in the moment with my loved ones. I want to take this time not only for myself but with my husband and then with my son, who’s 13. My mom and my sister are in Kentucky so I want to spend time with them also.
Q: That connects back to what you said earlier. We don’t stand alone. But those family connections just don’t happen.
Reese: They take work, yes.
Q: How will this break support your own mental health?
Reese: I want it to be a little bit of ‘what does Meredith want to do today and this week?’ I’m going to do my walking, my massages. I want to be intentional and say these are the things I want to do as I make my list. It’s Meredith’s personal wellness list.
Q: If you were not serving as COO of Vista Maria, what other job do you dream of doing?
Reese: I’m a big fan of dance — dance theater, choreography and expressive body movement have always interested me. I cannot carry a tune whatsoever, but I love that energy and motivation. That carries a lot of weight for me.
Q: What do you do on a regular basis to care for your own mental health?
Reese: It’s me watching reality cooking shows on the couch, comfy in a jogging outfit. I love baking competitions!
About Vista Maria: Vista Maria traces its roots back to 1883, when it was founded by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd as a refuge for young women in need. Over the years, it has evolved into a multifaceted nonprofit organization dedicated to helping vulnerable girls and young women navigate the effects of trauma, neglect, and abuse.
Today, Vista Maria offers a wide range of services, including residential treatment, foster care and adoption support, education and transitional living programs. Through specialized counseling, vocational training and ongoing mentorship, the organization empowers youth to develop resilience, confidence and a clear path toward independence. By combining its rich historical legacy of compassionate care with evidence-based, trauma-informed methods, Vista Maria continues to uplift those it serves, ensuring they have the tools and support necessary to build healthier, more successful futures.
Learn more about the Leonard W. Smith Mental Health Hero Award and each of the inaugural honorees at flinnfoundation.org.
Kenyatta Stephens, CEO of Black Family Development, Inc. (BFDI), has been honored with the Leonard W. Smith Mental Health Hero Award by the Flinn Foundation, celebrating her visionary leadership and dedication to creating a culture of hope and healing in Detroit.
We caught up with Stephens to learn more about her plans for the month-long break that comes with the Mental Health Hero Award — and why caring for mental health is important.
Q: Share some information about BFDI and your role.
Stephens: I have the honor of working at a comprehensive family counseling organization that absolutely loves children, youth and families, headquartered in the city of Detroit, and believes that the work that we do as an organization and in our partnerships should create an atmosphere of hope and healing.
I have the opportunity as CEO to shepherd and steward over the lives of incredible men and women who get up every day to create an atmosphere of hope and healing for people in this community who are often underserved, under heard, underrepresented — but yet are resilient, powerful and ingenious in their own right.
Q: What personal goal do you have for BFDI?
Stephens: There are two. Most of our services are provided for families who come in need of some support in treatment arenas or family reunification arenas. We do have prevention for mental health and substance abuse — good programs that do great work.
I want to maintain that, but then expand our array so that young people, particularly 18-24, who are struggling to find their way, begin to understand the kind of career and post-secondary education pathways available to them, which right now seem pretty elusive for a lot of our folks — not because they’re in a crisis, but because they’re not sure of which way to go next. I would like to see opportunities to partner with organizations like Black United Fund who are doing work in medical school preparation and aviation for young people.
My second goal is to make sure that we have some really robust succession planning in place so that at some point when it’s time for me to transition — although I love this place and I’m not making plans to do that anytime soon. I think it requires spending ample time to really equip a cadre of leaders to take the organization to the next level and understanding how to do that in a way that makes the leadership nimble. This award, generously bestowed upon us by Andrea Cole and the Board of Directors of the Flinn Foundation, is helping me to achieve that second goal.
During my sabbatical we will be upwardly promoting existing members of our staff to take on new positions so they can get accustomed with dipping their toes in the water to what that responsibility looks like. I’m going to use the remainder of the money for the organization to avail executive coaching to those leaders so that there is a cohort mentality for those leaders. Not just the ones that I’m touching, but also another segment of the organization to go through leadership training so that in operations, executive leadership and in the fiscal components, we have succession planning and we have coaching and professional development that sets the agency’s leadership on a pathway prepared for any transitions that will occur in the future.
Q: What was your first thought when you learned that you were a recipient of the Leonard W. Smith Mental Health Hero Award?
Stephens: Gratitude and a shock. If I’m being honest and transparent, in my prayer time, I said, Lord, I really love this work, but I really need a little break. I don’t even know if I’ve told Andrea Cole this story, but it was a week later that she told me about her nomination.
I had no idea that the Foundation was going to be so gracious to not award one, but four awards. I was already floored in gratitude. And then now fast forward to the fact that there were four recipients. It really did leave me speechless.
Q: You talked about how the award break will impact your organization. But what about you?
Stephens: There were three three things that were paramount when I was thinking through this question during the application. The first is spending time with my mom. My mom is very important to me, but I also don’t take any day for granted, every single day as a gift. This is going to allow me to do that.
The second thing is that my husband and I will be celebrating 25 years of marriage. In our 18 years of being parents, we’ve only taken two trips alone. This allows us to have the third.
Thirdly is self care and reflection. In my times of quiet prayer and meditation, things are so clear about next steps and next directions. I’ll be doing things as simple as getting massages or spa treatments for my mom and I, or being able to travel. It’s a sense of clearing the mind to what this next phase of my life is for.
I’m looking forward to succession planning in the transformation of this amazing organization as we head toward 50 years — I really believe that great things are ahead. I want to be clear in my vision, clear in my focus, clear in my leadership to help transition us to this next iteration of this organization here in Detroit.
Q: You like to read, bike and camp with your family. Do you have favorite spots for each of those things?
Stephens: My favorite place to read, I have two. I live in Farmington Hills and my first place, I would say is at one of the libraries near the fireplace. My second is at home in front of my own fireplace, on a couch with my family and maybe a candle nearby. My favorite places to bike are a bike path and a walking trail in the West Bloomfield area near Pine Lake and Orchard Lake that is just absolutely beautiful, just gorgeous. I love water — I love all things water. And camping, I love Tawas because again, it’s near water and that’s the most beautiful space for me.
Q: What other ways do you care for your own mental health?
Stephens: Every day that I can, I stop for a few minutes and sit at a lake, whether it’s the one right on 11 Mile between Beck and Wixom roads or one lakeshore in Novi. I just turn off my car and music and just sit and just quietly meditate, pray and just clear my mind for a little bit before I start my day. The other thing is that I love working out, but I am terribly undisciplined. I have been blessed with this amazing personal trainer, and she has been in my life now since September, So a very brief period of time, but she’s everything that I could have asked for and needed.
About Black Family Development, Inc: BFDI is a private, nonprofit family counseling agency dedicated to strengthening and enhancing the lives of children, youth and families in Detroit and surrounding communities. BFDI offers a comprehensive range of culturally sensitive services, including juvenile justice interventions, mental health support, substance abuse treatment, family preservation programs and positive youth development initiatives. The organization emphasizes community engagement and restorative practices, partnering with local entities to foster safe, nurturing and vibrant environments.
Learn more about the Leonard W. Smith Mental Health Hero Award and each of the inaugural honorees at flinnfoundation.org.
Celia Thomas is chief operating officer at Alternatives for Girls, a Detroit-based nonprofit organization that helps girls and young women at risk of violence and homelessness access the support and resources they need to grow and make positive choices for their lives.
She’s also an honoree of the inaugural Leonard W. Smith Mental Health Hero Award from the Ethel and James Flinn Foundation. We caught up with Thomas to learn more about her, the work she does, and her thoughts on this award.
Q: How does it feel to be recognized as a Leonard W. Smith Mental Health Hero?
Thomas: Oh my goodness! I’m surprised. I’ve always tended to be someone in the background and just taking a huge leadership and supportive role — and to have such an award is pretty amazing.
Q: I’m sure there are lots of heartwarming success stories at Alternatives for Girls in the past 37 years. Is there anything you want people to know that they may not know?
Thomas: There are so many. In our after-school programming we had a family of, I believe it was six girls with a young mom, a single parent. They all made it through our program and one of them became a Detroit city council person. I could go on and on.
Q: The Leonard W. Smith Mental Health Hero award comes with something unique — a month-long break to “relax, restore and return refreshed and re-energized.” How do you plan to spend this time?
Thomas: We leaders tend to be highly motivated, hugely focused and just moving, moving to get an agenda completed. Our roles tend to be very demanding and most of us are totally invested in the organization’s mission. And, for many of us, it’s our lifetime mission as well, to be responsive to people in need, to move agendas related to the human services field and those related to what we call the social determinants of health, for example.
So when I contemplated a break initially I thought really? What does that look like, exactly? I have to be honest. For me, most times when I take a vacation, the laptop goes with me. I tell my staff that I need about three days to calm down and then be on vacation. And I need a day and a half to ramp back up. So to have a month off is huge for someone like me. It’s huge!
It gives me that opportunity, that window to shut it down and literally focus on nothing. Nothing. Which means rest, relaxation and restoration.
I plan to leave the country. I am an immigrant from Jamaica, the Caribbean, and I don’t get home a lot since my parents are gone. So I plan to just go home and sit there. We don’t have internet, and that’s OK.
Q: Why do you think a break is good for mental health?
Thomas: When you think about sleep and the impact that has on the brain and the body, it’s huge. I firmly believe that having the chance to totally shut down the brain, having the chance to not think about the things that bring income and, even in the best sense, the mission — just to shut down is really rejuvenating. Having the chance to sleep, achieve deep sleep more frequently, it’s all contributing to mental health and wellness.
Q: What do you think girls today need in order to be the strong women of tomorrow?
Thomas: I definitely believe that there are inequities in our society today that lend themselves to challenges for girls and young women. They need safety, people they can connect with, to talk to, to listen, to play with, to just be around who can echo and support their feelings and help them trust and believe that things will get better over time. They need safety; they need stability.
Q: What is your best personal asset that you bring to your role?
Thomas: I always heard I was like my dad. He never met a stranger. He could get along with business owners and the man pushing a coconut cart on the street. This is a trait that I’ve absolutely inherited — the ability to meet people where they are. I show up as a leader and I’m never afraid of being a follower.
Q: What do you do regularly to care for your own mental health?
Thomas: Over the past 10 years, I’ve really focused on allowing myself to just be in the moment, wherever that is, whatever that is, to catch the teeny, tiny moments so I can restore and rejuvenate. I’ve leaned into that more over the last 10 years than I did in the — let’s be real — four decades before that.
Alternatives for Girls (AFG) is a Detroit-based nonprofit established over 37 years ago as a community-driven response to rising concerns about young girls in vulnerable situations. Initially formed to address issues such as exploitation, homelessness and lack of access to education, AFG has evolved into a comprehensive support system for at-risk girls and young women. Its mission focuses on empowering them to make positive choices and achieve their potential.
AFG’s core programs include outreach, prevention programs, shelter services, early childhood education and housing stability. Through these efforts, AFG has transformed countless lives, helping girls and young women achieve safety, stability and success.
Learn more about the Leonard W. Smith Mental Health Hero Award and each of the inaugural honorees at flinnfoundation.org.
For more than two decades, Nicole Wilson has been at the heart of The Yunion, a Detroit-based nonprofit devoted to uplifting underserved youth and families. Recognized as a Leonard W. Smith Mental Health Hero by the Flinn Foundation, Wilson sees the honor not only as a celebration of her leadership but as a moment to reflect, recharge, and reaffirm her mission.
We asked Wilson what it means personally and professionally to be recognized as a Mental Health Hero.
Q: What is your role at The Yunion?
Wilson: I have had the pleasure of serving as executive director at The Yunion for the past 21 years. We are an agency that loves youth and families, and are committed to serving children that are underserved. We’re committed to giving resources to parents that are under-resourced, and that our goal is to have healed youth and fortified families that will lead to cultivating a strong community.
Q: Why do you think the youth of Detroit need The Yunion?
Wilson: The youth of Detroit need The Yunion because no matter where, they need love. We provide for them. We provide love and support and genuine care for their lives and their outcomes. They need The Yunion because unfortunately, many of the youth that we serve are primarily at a low poverty-level income for their families. And with that comes a lot of societal risks for them. We are an organization that stands in the gap for those.
Q: Can you share a success story about the youth served by The Yunion?
Wilson: One of the things that I can point to is our Keys 2 Life performing arts summer camp. It’s a very intensive program, very fast paced, over six weeks. Many of the students come in very shy, very timid. At the end we have a big, professionally produced performance. The kids are, by the end of that performance, smiling, laughing, literally shining with so much confidence, so much self-esteem. Parents come to me and say ‘thank you — my child has transformed before my eyes.’
Q: Something people might not know is you are a registered nurse. What led to you becoming a nurse?
Wilson: I always knew that whatever I was supposed to do from a very young age, it was supposed to be in a field of caring. I started off in pre-med, but I just knew I wanted to be more of a caregiver. And so I’ve always loved and had a passion for caring for those that needed to be cared for.
Q: You work closely with your husband, Jason Wilson, who is the face of The Yunion. What is that like?
Wilson: [Laughs] I tell people this all the time: Jason and I have been married for 26 years and the secret to our marriage and the secret to us working together and sustaining our marriage is distance. We often don’t even see each other throughout the day. And, we have learned that being able to come home and share with your spouse or your partner, ‘Guess what happened to me today?’ is important.
So our secret is there are three stories in our building. Jason resides on the third story. And I reside on the first. So there’s a layer in the middle that literally is the key. We don’t bring it home with us.
Q: What does it mean to you to be recognized by the Flinn Foundation as a Leonard W. Smith Mental Health Hero?
Wilson: I was so honored. I was happy because I felt seen and heard and acknowledged — not only as a leader, but as just Nicole Wilson, as a woman, as a Black woman. And the moment was not lost on me that four Black women were acknowledged for their work in this field.
Q: This award comes with something unique — a break. What plans do you have?
Wilson: I have a sticky note on the wall of my desk that I put on there probably the first week in 2024. And it says one word: REST. I love to cook. I’m a pretty good cook. My plan is to travel to Italy and, in different regions of Italy, I would like to take cooking classes. I plan on trying to take a full month off to take that trip and to sleep — and to delegate to my more-than-capable team members while I’m gone.
Q: How do you think this break will contribute to your mental health?
Wilson: Being able to identify and acknowledge that I am worthy of it and deserving of it is going to do wonders for my mental health. I know that I’ll come back as a better leader. I know that I’ll come back as a better servant. But more importantly, honestly — I’ll come back as a better Nicole for Nicole.
Q: What do you do on a regular basis for your own mental health?
Wilson: Journaling, meditating, praying, of course — it’s key for me. I pray throughout the day. My relationship with God is my base. It’s extremely important to me.
About The Yunion: The Yunion is a faith-based nonprofit organization in Detroit dedicated to empowering underserved youth and families. Through innovative programs in prevention, education, parental engagement, mentoring and counseling, The Yunion addresses negative cultural influences and fosters community strength. Over the years, it has positively impacted more than 15,000 young individuals in Metro Detroit, collaborating with numerous schools, community organizations, and churches to create environments where youth can thrive. Signature programs include The Cave of Adullam Transformational Training Academy (CATTA) and Keys 2 Life, a life skills and music mentoring initiative — and many others.
Learn more about the Leonard W. Smith Mental Health Hero Award and each of the inaugural honorees at flinnfoundation.org.
Zack Stoycoff, executive director of the Healthy Minds Policy Initiative in Tulsa, Oklahoma attended the Grant Makers in Health summit in Portland, Oregon in June 2024 and learned about Michigan’s Wayne County Behavioral Health Diversion Program.
One thing led to another. After the session, which was led by Chief Judge Freddie Burton, Jr., of Wayne County Probate Court, and Sheryl Kubiak, Ph.D., dean and director of the Wayne State University School of Social Work Center for Behavioral Health and Justice, Stoycoff recognized that his team could learn more about the diversion program on a scheduled upcoming visit to Detroit.
The Tulsa delegation of 25 added a day onto their October 2024 visit specifically to learn from the Wayne County Behavioral Health Collaborative (WCBHC).
“It was fortuitous. (The delegation’s visit) was not arranged solely around this, but it was an opportunity to repeat the presentation that the group did in Portland, here in Detroit,” says Nanci Hambrick, Wayne County initiative Manager at Center for Behavioral Health and Justice at the Wayne State University School of Social Work.
The WCBHC is the result of years of partnership among local organizations, including the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, Detroit Police Department, Wayne County Probate Court, Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network, Wayne County Commission, and the Wayne State University School of Social Work.
Guided by the Center for Behavioral Health and Justice at the Wayne State University School of Social Work, this initiative strengthens the county’s behavioral health network, promoting inclusive, equitable support for individuals and families. The Flinn Foundation supports this collaborative effort to drive lasting, positive change.
“As engaged as we all are in this work, it’s really nice to know that our efforts might be replicated in other places across the country,” says Kubiak in a Wayne State release about the event. “We really believe in the work that we’re doing, and in teamwork, and in the results that we’ve seen.”
While the needs of Tulsa may not match the needs of Wayne County, sharing experiences is an important exercise when the goal is positive change.
“They were very interested in next steps in how to do collaborative data sharing work,” Hambrick says of the Tulsa delegation. The collaborative in Wayne County has made positive steps, with more work forthcoming.
“What we got from it is there are some examples we were able to provide of work and outcomes that can come from collaboration, and there are also some opportunities to learn that there are some universal struggles when bringing together people with different needs and interests when trying to create a strong collaborative,” Hambrick says.
The gathering also featured a panel discussion moderated by Andrea Cole, Flinn Foundation president and CEO. Presenters included Dean Kubiak; Detroit Police Department Captain Tonya Leonard; Chief Robert Dunlap, jail administrator for the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office; and Chief Judge Burton, Jr., who also serves as chair of the board of trustees for the Flinn Foundation.
Other members of the WCBHC executive committee include Chairwoman Alisha Bell of the Wayne County Commission and leadership from Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network.
“What we heard was a really impressive array of coordination happening around public safety and mental health in Detroit,” says Stoycoff in the Wayne State release. “We’ve got some really great things going on in Tulsa that we’re proud of as well, but we look forward to taking these lessons home with us.”
Learn more about Center for Behavioral Health and Justice at the Wayne State University School of Social Work.
October 2024 was a big month for brainstorming, planning and strategizing at the behavioral health/criminal legal intersection in Wayne County. In a two-session event hosted by the Center for Behavioral Health and Justice at the Wayne State University School of Social Work, delegates explored critical intervention mapping (CIM) for youth justice to understand the effect of youth justice on families.
The event, sponsored by the Flinn Foundation, was held at The Henry in Dearborn and took place on October 2 and October 16, 2024. In attendance were 40-50 key stakeholders from Wayne County involved in youth justice and representing the court, education, care management, community health networks and individuals with lived experience, among others.
Moderating the event was Tyler Logan, founder and CEO of Black in Public Health. Logan’s work is at the intersection of public health, philanthropy and the criminal-legal system to mitigate health disparities in BIPOC, justice-involved and youth populations, According to the Critical Intervention Mapping for Youth Justice event program.
The term “critical intervention mapping” refers to the steps through which youth can travel when they come into contact with law enforcement, explains Nanci Hambrick, Wayne County Initiative Manager at Center for Behavioral Health and Justice at the Wayne State University School of Social Work. Her role in the CIM for Youth Justice event is to bring people together and facilitate conversations, so that action can be taken.
As a visual of the continuum, Hambrick describes a ruler: zero to two inches are community supports, two to four are the point a youth comes into contact with law enforcement, four to six are if they have to go to court, six to eight are if they get detained, eight to 12 are reentry into the community.
“(CIM) is looking at the different places youth could potentially be deflected from going further on the ruler,” she says. If, for example, a police officer who is called out to a family home for a domestic situation can connect the youth to a social worker to de-escalate and help the family into supportive services, the youth is not moving to the next step on the ruler, which is detention.
“There are all these points along the way, and the goal is to divert and deflect youth from getting further down into that system because once you’re in, it’s really hard to get out,” Hambrick says, adding that once a youth is in the legal system, there’s not as much room to affect change. The effort, then, is a focus on early intervention as well as supportive reentry.
With teen behavioral and mental health in the U.S. at an all-time high, delegates are drilling down to Wayne County to assess available resources and gaps, especially in giving individuals agency over what they want and need as resources.
“What I like about this (event) is taking a step back to let the people working in the systems identify what that is and really engaging — rather than coming with a top-down solution, which is much more typical,” Hambrick says.
Hambrick says there’s power in gathering people together to have these important conversations, and, she says, the Flinn Foundation is on board with this practice. “They want data-driven and evidence-based practices, but they also understand and value this part of it,” she explains.
“What I find so valuable is that understanding that change theory is building the consensus before you can come up with everything else. The more I work in this field, the more deeply I appreciate that.”
Learn more about the initiatives of the Center for Behavioral Health and Justice at the Wayne State University School of Social Work at wayne.edu.
In a luncheon ceremony at Ford Field on October 15, 2024, Andrea Cole was recognized for her longstanding commitment to improving the availability of evidence-based mental health services for those who live in southeast Michigan.
Cole was honored for her work as President and CEO of The Ethel and James Flinn Foundation, receiving the Eleanor Josaitis “Unsung Hero” Award for her work in the mental health space.
“I feel honored to receive this award,” Cole says.
The Unsung Hero Award recognizes individuals who work outside the limelight to encourage collaboration among groups for the well-being and betterment of southeast Michigan — and is one of the Shining Light Awards that recognizes the importance of regional cooperation.
The Shining Light Awards’ focus on connection and collaboration is appropriate because it describes Cole’s work with the Flinn Foundation — and how she came to be nominated for the award.
When he was considering nominating Cole, Jack Kresnak, a former Detroit Free Press journalist and current Flinn Foundation Board Trustee, drew on considerable background gained during his 10-year Urban Health Initiative fellowship designed to study systems change to benefit child welfare and juvenile justice. He learned how influential public-private partnership can be in improving outcomes for kids — and recognized the importance of collaboration.
“Since joining the Flinn Foundation as a trustee in 2013, I watched Andrea Cole work tirelessly and quietly behind the scenes to get the major actors addressing the needs of people with mental health conditions to work together to improve the lives of thousands of people and their families,” Kresnak says.
“I grew to admire Andrea’s tenacity, good-humor and knowledge to bring people together to make Michigan a leader in meeting the needs of those people. The TRAILS program which Andrea spearheaded is just one of the many improvements in the behavioral health systems in our state,” he adds.
In his professional career, Kresnak was impacted by the friendship and mentorship of Eleanor Josaitis, for whom the “Unsung Hero” Award was named. When the awards launched in 2007, Kresnak says he began thinking of people he could nominate.
“Andrea was on the top of my list, but I waited a few years before nominating her and soliciting letters of support from board members and others who worked with her,” he says.
The light that shines on Cole’s work lifts the mission of the Flinn Foundation because it helps reduce stigma related to mental health, making it easier for people to get help and live successful lives, Kresnak says.
“Because of Andrea, the Flinn Foundation is now known as the go-to entity to guide organizations into collaborations to make long-lasting change,” he says. “We are a small Foundation and, as I said in my nominating letter, Flinn is ‘punching above its weight’ due to Andrea’s leadership.”
In addition to her work at the Flinn Foundation, Cole also serves as Board Chair of TRAILS, Board Treasurer of Grantmakers in Health, Board Treasurer of Mindful Philanthropy and as Co-Chair with the Michigan Justice Fund.
On October 1, 2024, Andrea Cole of the Ethel and James Flinn Foundation spoke at the Youth Transition Funders Group (YTFG) to highlight mental health-focused initiatives in southeast Michigan.
Based in Westchester County, New York, YTFG is a national network of funding organizations dedicated to supporting the well-being and economic success of vulnerable youth, ages 14-25. YTFG is a community for about 100 funders and provides opportunities for organizations to learn from each other and stay up-to-date on key initiatives and policy developments related to the success of youth and young adults.
At the fall meeting held in Detroit, local, regional and national groups came together to share successes and highlight innovative efforts.
Through her discussion with attendees, Cole shared information about TRAILS, a key mental health initiative launched through funding from the Flinn Foundation. TRAILS brings evidence-based mental health strategies to the school setting. Through a three-tiered model, TRAILS provides social and emotional learning, cognitive behavioral therapy and suicide prevention to support the emotional health of Michigan students, as well as identify and care for those with existing mental health conditions.
“I’m always excited when I get to share information about the success of TRAILS,” Cole says. “It’s also so gratifying to illustrate the impact grantmaking organizations like the Flinn Foundation can have on the mental health of youth.”
Learn more about the work of the Youth Transition Funders Group and about the impact of TRAILS.