Topic: Mental Health

America Ferrera

America Ferrera is an award-winning actor, director, and producer known for her many iconic roles in TV and film including Ugly Betty, Real Women Have Curves, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Superstore, and most recently Greta Gerwig’s history-making Barbie, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award. For her breakthrough performance in Ugly Betty, Ferrera was awarded an Emmy, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Golden Globe, as well as ALMA and Imagen Awards. In addition to being nominated for an Academy Award for her powerful performance as “Gloria,” she was nominated for a Critics Choice Award for “Best Supporting Actress”, and was honored with the 8th Annual SeeHer Award by the same group.

Released in theaters on July 21, Barbie has broken countless box office records, with a domestic opening of over $214M and over $470M worldwide. The film, since its opening, has recorded a $1.5 billion dollar box office and was the highest-grossing film of 2023.

Ferrera can also be seen in Dumb Money, a 2023 Sony and Black Bear Pictures’ dramedy directed by Craig Gillespie, based on Ben Mezrich’s book The Antisocial Network, also starring Seth Rogen, Sebastian Stan, Paul Dano, Pete Davidson, Shailene Woodley, Anthony Ramos, Dane DeHaan, and Vincent D'Onofrio. The film premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival and had a wide release on September 29th.

Subsequently, Ferrera will make her feature directorial debut with an adaptation of Erika Sánchez’s New York Times bestselling novel, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter which is currently in development at MGM/Orion Pictures. IS THIS CURRENT/UPDATED? The film, written by Linda Yvette-Chavez tells the story of Julia Reyes, a sharp-tongued teen with dreams of becoming a famous writer somewhere far away from Chicago and her traditional Mexican immigrant parents who wish she was more like Olga, her sister, now eternally perfect since her tragic death. As Julia seeks to break free of her oppressive home, she tries to uncover her sister’s truth, and in the process gains a deep understanding of the wounds her family carries.

In January 2022, Ferrera was announced as the face of Covergirl’s “Fresh Clean Skincare” collection, the company’s first clean, vegan skincare line.

Ferrera starred in the Apple TV+ series, WeCrashed opposite Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway. In the series, Ferrera plays Elishia Kennedy, a successful CEO and entrepreneur who is conned into leaving her own company and joining WeWork but is eventually pushed out.

Ferrera executive produced and directed episodes for two seasons of Netflix’s hit Dramedy, Gentefied. The series follows three Mexican American cousins and their struggle to chase the American Dream.

She also executive produced, directed, and starred in NBC’s beloved workplace comedy, Superstore, which ended its six-season run on March 25, 2021.

In July of 2020, Ferrera was announced as a Founding Investor of Angel City Football Club, a National Women's Soccer League team representing her hometown, Los Angeles, California.

A longtime activist, Ferrera launched Poderistas in 2020 alongside 9 other prominent activists, leaders, and businesswomen, including Eva Longoria Bastón and Christy Haubegger. Poderistas is a digital lifestyle community and non-profit built to inform, affirm, and inspire Latinas to leverage their power and transform their lives, their community, and their nation.

Ferrera is also a prolific speaker having spoken at major events such as TED, the DNC, and March for Our Lives. She was also the opening speaker and chair of the Artists’ Committee for the Women’s March on Washington in 2017. Her activism has extended on screen in several television documentaries including Not Done: Women Remaking America for PBS, the EPIX TV mini-series, America Divided, Showtime’s groundbreaking documentary, The Years of Living Dangerously, and Nicholas Kristof’s series for PBS Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide.

In 2016, Ferrera co-founded HARNESS, with her husband Ryan Piers Williams and friend Wilmer Valderrama. HARNESS is a community of artists, influencers, and grassroots leaders leveraging art and storytelling to power change and create a more equitable world.

Ferrera released her first book, American Like Me, which landed on the New York Times best-seller list. It is a vibrant and varied collection of first-person accounts from prominent figures about the experience of growing up between cultures in America. Curated and edited by Ferrera, the anthology includes essays that share her own perspective of growing up as the daughter of Honduran immigrants in Los Angeles. Contributors to the book include Lin-Manuel Miranda, Roxane Gay, Issa Rae, Kumail Nanjiani, Congressman Joaquin Castro, Kal Penn, Uzo Aduba, Jenny Zhang, Michelle Kwan, Padma Lakshmi and many others.

Some of Ferrera’s television and film credits include Real Women Have Curves; Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (parts 1 and 2); Diego Luna’s biopic, Cesar Chavez, (ALMA Award Special Achievement in Film); Ryan Piers Williams' The Dry Land, (Best International Film Edinburgh Film Festival); Ryan Piers Williams’ drama X/Y, which she co-produced and starred in; David Ayer’s crime thriller End of Watch; Ricky Gervais’ Special Correspondents; It’s a Disaster; Lords of Dogtown; and How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer, among many others. She lends her vocal talents to the Oscar-nominated franchise film How to Train Your Dragon as Astrid.

On stage, she has appeared off-Broadway in Terrence McNally’s Lips Together, Teeth Apart; Laura Marks’ Bethany; and Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead, directed by Trip Cullman. She graced the stage as Roxie Hart in the West End production of the hit musical, Chicago.

In 2006, Ferrera founded her own television and film production company, Take Fountain.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Ferrera is the youngest of six children. As a graduate of the University of Southern California, Ferrera studied International Relations while pursuing her film and television career. She currently resides in New York City with her husband and two children.

Trevor Noah

Trevor Noah is one of the most successful comedians in the world and was the host of the Emmy® Award-winning The Daily Show on Comedy Central for seven years. Under Trevor, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah broke free from the restraints of a 30-minute linear show, producing engaging social content, award-winning digital series, podcasts, and more for its global audience. In January of 2024, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah won an Emmy for “Outstanding Talk Series.” Trevor has also notably served as the Grammy Awards host for four years in a row, with the 2024 show bringing in 16.9 million viewers, a 34% increase from last year’s show.

Trevor currently hosts an original Spotify weekly podcast titled What Now? With Trevor Noah. In this new podcast, listeners get a chance to hear Trevor like never before. In each episode, Trevor goes deep with a special guest, including entertainers, CEOs, actors, athletes, and thought leaders. He brings the kinds of conversations that happen behind the scenes to light, full of radical candor, authentic back-and-forths, and honest reactions, with Trevor bringing to bear his classic, effortlessly playful and equally probing style.

Trevor is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller “Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood” and its young readers' adaptation, released in 2019, titled “It’s Trevor Noah: Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood,” which also debuted as a New York Times bestseller. The Audible edition of “Born a Crime,” performed by Trevor, remains one of the top-selling, highest-rated, and most-commented-on Audible performances of all time. To date, “Born a Crime” has sold over 3 million copies across all formats.

Following the extraordinary success of Born a Crime, Trevor is writing a new book titled Into the Uncut Grass. The book is scheduled for release in 2024 and is a gorgeously illustrated and moving modern fable for readers of all ages about forgiveness, acceptance, and the secret to solidarity.

Showtime Sports has recently launched The World According to Football, a five-part documentary series narrated and executive produced by Trevor. The series’ first episode premiered on Showtime and debuted episodes weekly for five weeks.

Trevor's success has also spanned to sold-out stand-up comedy shows across 5 continents. His current “Off The Record” World Tour stopped in 28 cities across the US before heading to international destinations, and a set from “Off the Record” became available as a Netflix stand-up special titled Where Was I on December 19th, 2023. Where Was I has recently scored a Golden Globe nomination for “Performance in Stand-Up Comedy on Television” and a Critic’s Choice Association nomination for “Best Comedy Special.” Trevor’s “Back To Abnormal Tour” also saw him sell out multiple nights at the O2 Arena in London, perform across Europe (where he sold the most tickets ever by a non-German in Frankfurt, Germany), and perform at Madison Square Garden, The LA Forum, and the Chase Center in San Francisco. He ended his run with two sold-out shows at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

Trevor has written, produced, and starred in 12 comedy specials, including Grammy and Emmy-nominated “I Wish You Would,” his third for Netflix, which premiered globally in November 2022. True to form, Trevor hilariously shares revelations about learning to speak German, modern communication, and his love for curry. His previous special, “Trevor Noah: Son of Patricia” received a NAACP Image Award for “Outstanding Variety Show,” as well as a Grammy Award nomination for “Best Comedy Album”.

Launching in early 2024, Trevor is set to host Amazon Prime Video’s first South African original, “LOL: Last One Laughing.” The six-part unscripted comedy series will see Trevor pit 10 famous South African comedians and entertainers against one another to see who can keep a straight face while simultaneously trying to make their opponents laugh – and lose. Trevor is also moving from in front of the camera to a behind-the-scenes turn as executive producer on the newly announced Amazon FreeVee remake of the long-running British Series, “Mock the Week.” The half-hour program combines elements from talk shows, stand-up comedy sessions, and improv games that set two teams of comics against each other in a bid to satirize current news events and popular culture. The series will begin production in the US in 2024.

Emmy-nominated Day Zero Productions, a joint venture between Paramount Global and Trevor, develops and produces entertaining and impactful content for a global audience. Current film projects include an adaptation of Noah’s best-selling and award-winning autobiography “Born A Crime,” a biopic centered on 8-year-old Nigerian chess champion Tanitoluwa Adewumi, and a reimagining of the classic Paramount feature President’s Analyst. On the television side, Day Zero is producing several scripted and unscripted series including an American reboot of the long-running British format Mock the Week with Amazon Freevee, Last One Laughing with Amazon Prime, and MSNBC/Peacock’s The Turning Point. Day Zero also produced two Kid of the Year TV specials for Nickelodeon and TIME Studios and the HBOMax/Discovery+ special For All Humankind. DZP recently acquired the rights to Kiese Laymon’s coming-of-age novel “Long Division.”

Trevor launched the Trevor Noah Foundation to improve equitable access to quality education for underserved youth in South Africa. Trevor’s vision is a world where education enables youth to dream, see, and build the impossible.

Jack Parsons

Jack Parsons is a leading voice in youth advocacy, and he’s been named one of the UK’s kindest leaders by the Financial Times.

Jack started Superhand to enable millions of young people to access jobs, skills and mentors which has become one of the UK's largest youth communities. With over 12 million weekly social media engagements he’s also known as The UK's Chief Youth Officer—a public figure that champions the interests of all young people across the country.

Jack is an international advisor on youth to Governments, one of the 6 official ambassadors for homelessness with Big Issues Group, sits on the advisory board for co-op group and is non-executive director for the lord mayor of London's apprenticeship company association of apprentices.

Growing up in a single parent household with a mother who was an alcoholic and being from a social mobility background Jack found it tough growing up. A lot of setbacks and a lot of no’s when he entered the world of work so this made Jack decide to do something about it and have committed his twenties to enabling young people to thrive.

Kind, real, and people-oriented. These three words describe Jack's values and the way he approaches his work. They're what has led him to be recognized for several awards including Young Digital Leader of the Year, Top 15 Young People to Watch, and Named A Face of a Vibrant Economy.

Meg Zeenat Wamithi

Meg Zeenat Wamithi is a multi-award-winning global mental health leader and consultant.

Originally from Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, she grew up and went to school in the local area. Her family was the only black family in the neighbourhood, making it difficult for Meg to find positive role models who shared her background, especially as many of her peers were being suspended or expelled for their behaviour in school.

At thirteen, Meg was diagnosed with a variety of mental illnesses including anorexia, anxiety and depression, and had to struggle to manage her symptoms alongside her schoolwork. At 14, Meg had her first suicide attempt and at 16 she had her second. The last couple of years at school were particularly difficult for Meg, but she passed her A levels with some of the best results in her year, even after her school went into special measures.

By 2017, however, Meg had relapsed with depression and anxiety. On her 20th birthday, Meg attempted to take her own life and was rushed to the hospital. Even at that crisis point, Meg did not feel that she received the necessary support. This was a situation that Meg was determined not to see repeated.

Inspired by her own difficult experience, Meg created MindMapper, MindMapper UK is a youth-led education and training company specialising in youth mental wellbeing and cognitive health. We are building a world where every young person under the age of 25 has access to basic and practical well-being education to take on what life throws at you.

Over the year, her work has seen her recognised, internationally, as an award-winning mental health campaigner and consultant. In 2019, Meg was recognised as one of the most inspiring black students in the UK and received the Diana Award.

She has worked with large companies like Clifford Chance, Amazon, Santander, Bookings.com, KPMG, Lone Design Club and Voxburner. Meg’s story has been recognised by The Guardian, Dazed Magazine, BBC London, Channel 5, BBC Radio 4 and The Voice. Her commitment to changing the world for the better has seen her champion anti-bullying in schools, inclusivity and diversity on university campuses and in the workplace, evolution of school curriculums and mental health services in public policy, as well as championing young people’s voices in politics.

To date, Meg has shared her story with over 10000 people and has directly taught over 3000 young people aged 10 - 25 about mental health and wellbeing.

She is currently working at Mind as the CYP Wellbeing Advice Team Project Manager supporting the charity with their overall support of young people.

Eman Askar

A multipotentialite with the mission to inspire. Eman’s song on Instagram ”Story of Palestine" was watched over 11M times.

For 11 years, Eman has been professionally helping entities tell their stories, spread their messages, and communicate complicated information in creative, simple and entertaining ways.

It all started with her 5 year long job as a science communicator with Nutty Scientists where she would create and perform shows for children that help them understand scientific concepts while having fun! Then, for the following 5 years, Eman gained experience in the media industry when she worked in the creative team of Axeer studio and Giraffics. There, she was able to utilize her creative storytelling talents in a more corporate/ commercial context; writing creative concepts for commercial ads and scripts for professional infographic videos. She also learned how to create impact with stories while creating content in several awareness campaigns for UNICEF, UN Women, CARE, and more.

In the second half of 2020, Eman was ready to unleash more of her creative energy and so, she decided to continue her professional content creation work on freelance basis to have enough time to produce content for her own channel. There, she was able to explore more content creation methods in which she can add value, such as singing/songwriting, acting, and making short energetic videos.

Eman’s mission is to inspire individuals to become the best versions of themselves and eventually help in building a healthier community that is able to work together for a better future. First, her plan was to simply tell inspiring stories, spread motivational messages and explain game changing topics, all through her songs and videos. Then, one of her songs, “The story of Palestine”, went viral on an international level which gave her the opportunity of a bigger and more diverse audience. This motivated her into adding “bridging cultural gaps and building international friendships” to her list of “to do’s”. Eman’s long term plan for achieving this is, through hosting workshops and retreats (online and offline) that can help build closer friendships for her audience with her and one another.

On a personal level, despite looking young, Eman is actually a mom of two and she shares this part of her life in her content as well.