.jpg "T-Kea Blackman, MPS, CPRS photo")
Mental Health Trainer, Author, and Speaker
Mental Health Empowerment Agency
Odenton, Maryland
Described as an inspiration, her heartfelt and powerful story is a testament that anyone can thrive despite having a mental illness. T-Kea Blackman, MPS, CPRS, is the founder of The Mental Health Empowerment Agency, and its mission is to dismantle the mental health stigma and raise awareness of suicide prevention in the Black community through curated events, digital and social media, educational trainings, and presentations. She is a mental health trainer, speaker, author, and certified peer recovery specialist who lives by the Toni Payne quote "I'd rather be living my truth happily than living a lie miserably." She uses her experience of living with bipolar disorder, anxiety, and surviving suicide to provide peer support, Mental Health First Aid, and Wellness Recovery Action Plan training. She also develops curriculums for peers in Maryland pursuing their certification and mental health employment specialists.
T-Kea was featured on a billboard in Times Square NYC for the "I Am" Campaign with the Quell Foundation for suicide awareness and prevention. She previously hosted the Fireflies Unite with Kea podcast with a mission to bring light into darkness (just like the fireflies) by sharing stories of black people thriving with mental health conditions. T-Kea was featured in a mental health mini-documentary produced by AbbVie, a biopharmaceutical company, and received the Program Leader of the Year Award by The National Alliance on Mental Illness of Maryland.
She wrote her first book, Saved & Depression: A Suicide Survivor’s Journey of Mental Health, Healing, & Faith to educate her community on mental health and encourage them to seek treatment. Her articles have been published on The Mighty, Urban Faith, Blavity, and 21 Ninety. Making a digital footprint, her articles have garnered over 60,000 views and encouraged individuals to seek treatment. She was appointed by the Governor's office to serve on Maryland's Behavioral Health Advisory Council, participated as a cast member, and co-produced This Is My Brave: Arlington Show, a storytelling show for individuals with mental health and substance use disorders to share their recovery stories.
She earned a master's degree in public relations and corporate communications from Georgetown University, and is a proud graduate of Howard University and obtained a bachelor's in communications and media.
Sunday, April 30, 2023
9:45 AM – 10:45 AM
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