Alison Malmon

Alison Malmon is founder and Executive Director of Active Minds, Inc., a student-run mental health organization on the college and high school campus. She started the program in 2001, while a junior at the University of Pennsylvania, following the suicide of her older brother, Brian, one year earlier. Wanting to combat the stigma that had caused her brother to suffer in silence and ultimately take his own life, she created a group on her campus that promoted an open, enlightened dialogue around the issues. Just two years later, Ms. Malmon formed the 501(c)(3) organization in order to develop and support chapters of the student group on campuses around the country. She currently serves as President and Executive Director of the non-profit organization, setting up chapters of the student group and creating a unified national voice for young adults in the mental health awareness movement.

Ms. Malmon was the 2003 recipient of the Tipper Gore Remember the Children Award from the National Mental Health Association, and the 2004 Young Leadership Award from the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression. Having graduated from University of Pennsylvania in 2003, she now lives and works in Washington, DC, where she sits on numerous Boards and planning committees.