Alexandria, VA, June 08, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mental Health America, the nation’s leading community-based nonprofit dedicated to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness and promoting the overall mental health of all, today announced the appointment of Schroeder Stribling as President and Chief Executive Officer effective June 28, 2021.
“On behalf of the MHA Board of Directors, we are thrilled to welcome Schroeder Stribling to our organization as the next President and CEO. She will lead Mental Health America through a period of national recovery when mental health services are in greater demand than at any time in history,” said MHA Board Chair Peter Carson.
The CEO search process was led by MHA Board Chair-elect Jennifer Bright and a search committee composed of MHA staff and board representatives. The search committee was assisted by search firm Sterling Martin Associates. Over 200 candidates were considered throughout the rigorous six-month search. Diversity and a career-long focus on equity were key factors in the recruitment and selection of a candidate to lead the organization and its 200 local affiliates.
“Stribling’s experience as CEO of a support services nonprofit that assists populations experiencing homelessness attracted us to her immediately,” said Jennifer Bright, Chair of the Search Committee. “When combined with her previous professional experience as a clinical social worker, it became clear she had the core values and right mix of experience to lead MHA.”
Commenting on her appointment as the new President and CEO, Stribling said, “I am honored to be joining MHA as President and CEO and I look forward to leading the organization into the future with the urgency and dedication required of us at this time. We face a unique and critical moment in our national history as we emerge from the collective trauma of the pandemic, contend with a dramatic escalation in reports of depression among our youth, and begin a new and long overdue reckoning with racial injustice and violence. In all of this, mental health will take center stage.”
Stribling comes to MHA after 18 years at N Street Village, a nonprofit providing housing support services for women and families in Washington, DC. She was most recently the organization’s Chief Executive Officer. Under her leadership, N Street Village expanded from one to eight locations. She helped diversify revenue streams, create partnerships with government entities, lead city-wide policy initiatives on homelessness, and acquire a smaller nonprofit organization. Prior to her time at N Street Village, Stribling was a Senior Social Worker at Johns Hopkins Bayview Hospital, where she was responsible for the implementation of new mental health programs in the inner-city Head Start school system.
Stribling received a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Wellesley College, a Masters in Social Work from Smith College School for Social Work, and a certificate in Nonprofit Management from Georgetown University. She began her career in social work and has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to mental health and people with lived experience.
“I know that I am leaving MHA in the best possible hands,” said retiring President and CEO Paul Gionfriddo of Stribling, “I am confident Schroeder will continue growing the organization while executing the mission and vision of MHA.”
“MHA’s strength today is in no small part a result of Paul’s leadership during his time as CEO,” said Peter Carson, “He was instrumental in building MHA’s successful online screening program, enhancing MHA’s public education efforts, and creating a program to recognize exemplary workplace mental health efforts. We are indebted to his service, and we will miss him.”
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