Elijah Joseph is a citizen of the El Dorado Band of Miwok Indians, a group with ancestral territory spanning from northern Sacramento into the Southern Sierras. Growing up in Sacramento, they regularly visit their tribe’s ancestral lands to maintain a healthy connection to the Earth and the history it holds. Elijah has served as Secretary for their Tribal Board and was previously the Program Coordinator for a Native American traditional stewardship program. Though they now serve as Project Coordinator for MHAC’s LGBTQ+ Inclusivity, Visibility, and Empowerment program, their work will always be informed and shaped by their cultural ties to the land, community, and holistic healing.

Kelechi Ubozoh is an Oakland-based Nigerian-American writer, mental health advocate, and dynamic speaker blending storytelling with over a decade of experience in California’s mental health system. A former investigative reporter and the first student published in The New York Times, she now elevates lived experience through advocacy and art. Her journey, featured on CBS This Morning and in O Magazine, inspired We’ve Been Too Patient—a groundbreaking, now-audio anthology spotlighting marginalized mental health voices. More at kelechiubozoh.com.

Gerald White (DJ FroDough) has advocated for California’s behavioral health community for over a decade. He has worked at local and statewide organizations, reducing mental health stigma and discrimination, distributing suicide prevention materials, and encouraging harm reduction best practices for substance use disorders. Music has always helped him cope with daily stresses and helps him build and connect to community. Music also helps to inform his advocacy through healing and building coalitions.