Published on May 20, 2025
Ushering in a New Chapter
of IDHA Leadership
A Letter from IDHA’s Executive Director
Dear IDHA community,
As I sit down to write this letter, I am filled with a mix of emotions – gratitude, pride, and tenderness. After six and a half years in leadership at IDHA, I’ve made the decision to transition out of my role as Executive Director this fall.
Throughout my time in this role, I’ve had countless conversations with people who have shared that finding this community – or the broader movement – offered language for what they’d been through, connection to others asking similar questions, and tools to give, receive, and advocate for care that truly feels like care. In moments like these, I flash back to sitting in a classroom more than a decade ago, learning about the mad movement for the first time. Discovering that people have been organizing and imagining other ways forward for generations gave me a sense of hope and belonging I hadn’t known was possible. After feeling isolated in my efforts to name what was wrong with the mental health system, and to fight for something better for those harmed by it, I exhaled in relief: I was – and we all are – part of a long lineage of resistance.
I first got involved with IDHA in 2017, motivated by a yearning to make liberatory learning experiences like this possible for more people. Due to both personal and family experiences, I have an unwavering belief in IDHA’s mission to equip people with essential knowledge that allows us to create and strengthen communities of practice around transformative mental health, wherever we may be. And since 2019, I’ve had the immense privilege of leading the organization through a period of extraordinary growth, experimentation, and learning.
As we approach IDHA’s ten-year anniversary, I’m deeply proud of all we’ve built together. Some of my earliest IDHA memories take me back to a carpeted room in downtown Manhattan, where a small group of people would gather in-person for intimate Mental Health Trialogues – bringing together peers, providers, and family members to share stories, challenge assumptions, and break down power dynamics. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic and a strategic decision to reach more people, we evolved into a virtual organization reaching thousands of people each year. Alongside this growth, we engaged in an intentional, multi-year process to develop a structure aligned with our values that supports shared leadership and sustainability. We coordinated an open letter to PBS in response to their documentary Bedlam, calling for the inclusion of voices too often erased from mental health discourse that was signed by more than 75 organizations. We convened a first Decarcerating Care panel in the aftermath of the 2020 racial justice uprisings to bridge the mad movement with abolitionist and disability justice organizing – a conversation that has since grown into a nine-part series. We’ve put on sprawling, one-of-a-kind programs that showcase the depth and breadth of our movements, including the Healing as Homecoming festival and the Mad Studies Symposium. And after more than three years of collaboration by hundreds of people, we launched IDHA’s Core Curriculum: one of the only structured and accessible pathways into transformative mental health work.
None of this has happened in isolation. It’s been possible because of the shared leadership of our staff and Board – and the brilliance and commitment of the broader IDHA community. I’m especially grateful for a period of co-directorship alongside IDHA’s co-founder Jazmine Russell. That experience of collective leadership set the tone for everything that followed.
I’m energized by what lies ahead, and excited to help usher in IDHA’s next chapter. To that end, I will be supporting a thoughtful transition process led by the Board, which includes initiating a search for IDHA’s next Executive Director – someone who will carry our mission forward, grounded in our values while adapting to the moment we’re in.
This is a time of profound political uncertainty – with growing authoritarianism, attacks on bodily autonomy, and escalating efforts to co-opt the very frameworks we rely on to advance liberation. But it’s also a time of tremendous possibility. As many people have reminded me recently: we’ve been here before. Communities most impacted by systems of oppression have always known how to create what we need, even when the road is unclear or challenging. IDHA is rooted in that legacy, and well-positioned to meet this moment with clarity, strategy, and heart.
As I move through my final months as Director, I am reflecting on how much this role has taught me. I’ve learned that mentorship is essential; I am indebted to the movement elders, coaches, and fellow Executive Directors who provided solidarity and support. I’ve learned that, when held well, principled disagreement sharpens strategy. And I’ve continually remembered that our movements already hold the power to realize our most radical visions for change.
My journey with IDHA began as a volunteer and member, and I’m grateful that it doesn’t end here. After stepping down, I’ll continue to stay involved as a member, supporting this work in new ways while staying connected to the community that has shaped me so profoundly. The commitments that have guided my time here – to learning and unlearning, to holding multiple truths even when they conflict with our own, to creating spaces where people can show up in their full complexity – will continue to guide me wherever I go.
To IDHA’s staff, Board, members, partners, supporters, and wider community: thank you. I am honored to have shared this journey with you and can’t wait to see what comes next.
With so much gratitude and in solidarity,
Jessie Roth
A Letter from IDHA’s Board of Directors
Dear IDHA community,
It is a bittersweet moment to be sure, that today we announce that Jessie Roth – long-time Executive Director of IDHA – will be stepping down this fall. Although it is certainly a great loss, we look at this planned transition as a moment to express gratitude and move forward into the opportunity that this moment presents.
Jessie’s six and half years of leadership have demonstrated that great passion and dependability are a dynamic and rare mix to find in one person. IDHA has been incredibly fortunate to have her in this role for so long. We are so appreciative of the way she has supported her staff and IDHA members in building a more just and equitable world through mission-driven, values-rooted radical education.
IDHA has achieved so many wonderful milestones during Jessie’s tenure as Executive Director, including:
We transitioned from a grassroots, volunteer-run, fiscally-sponsored project to a structured organization with a committed staff team, board, and formal membership.
We launched the Transformative Mental Health Core Curriculum, our foundational training that is the culmination of years of collaboration with hundreds of contributors.
We organized nine installments of the Decarcerating Care series, bringing together service users, survivors, providers, and movement leaders to examine the carceral logics embedded in mental health systems and imagine alternatives.
We hosted seven live virtual training series, sharing skills, strategies, and modalities spanning ancestral healing, politicized somatics, open dialogue, and peer support.
We created formal pathways for member participation and leadership, ensuring that our work remains grounded in the needs and wisdom of our community.
We built cross-movement partnerships spanning mad pride, psychiatric survivor, abolition, healing justice, and beyond – bridging silos and fostering collaboration.
We diversified our funding model, increasing grassroots revenue from training, events, memberships, and individual supporters to support growth and sustainability.
IDHA has contracted with LaCire to assist with the search for this position. Finding the next leader of IDHA will be an exciting journey, and we are confident that we will transition IDHA smoothly to a new leader who will guide our transformative mental health training institute with the same core values that Jessie and the Board hold so dearly.
Sincerely,
The IDHA Board Transition Committee
Denise Ranaghan, Chair
Jay Stevens, Treasurer
Jazmine Russell, Co-Founder and Board Member
Sarah Napoli, Board Member