2026 Impact Summit

Join us for the 2026 NAMI Massachusetts Impact Summit, an inspiring morning focused on the impact of our work in 2025 and our path forward in 2026. This annual event will showcase how NAMI Massachusetts is responding to urgent mental health needs across the Commonwealth through education, support, and advocacy. Come together with community members, partners, and supporters to reflect on progress and strengthen our shared commitment to accessible mental health care for all. A light breakfast will be served. Please note that space is limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

The deadline to register is Tuesday, March 17th at noon.

The mental health system is severely strained, with chronic underinvestment, limited treatment and housing capacity, and rising court-ordered admissions from the criminal justice system restricting timely access to needed community and inpatient care. As such, this panel will explore how unmet demand for long-term services is straining the system and contributing to ongoing access challenges and incarceration among people with serious mental health conditions.

This panel will be moderated by Jacqueline Hubbard, Esq, Deputy Director of Policy, Advocacy, and Communications at NAMI Mass.

Danna Mauch, PhD, is President and CEO of the Massachusetts Association for Mental Health (MAMH). She brings organizational leadership, operations management, evaluation research, and strategic consulting experience to her public policy, knowledge dissemination, and legislative advocacy work. Throughout her career, her work has focused on providing community housing and services support to people who are otherwise at risk of homelessness, incarceration, and institutionalization.

She also presently serves as Court Monitor for the U.S. District Court of Western Washington, and her prior service includes leadership positions at Abt Associates, Comprehensive NeuroScience, Magellan Public Solutions, Integrated Health Strategies, MAMH, and Cambridge Somerville Community Residences. She has served on several governing boards, and has authored many government and foundation publications. She holds a PhD in Social Policy from the Heller School at Brandeis University. More here.

Kim Shellenberger is Vinfen’s Chief Strategy Officer and in this role, she utilizes her 25+ years of experience in program development, policy advocacy and health improvement to lead Vinfen’s ongoing strategy development, policy shaping, and new service expansion. She is passionate about Vinfen’s community mental health services and programs for people with disabilities. With her colleagues, she started a digital inclusion program that has served 4,400 individuals across the state. In collaboration with state mental health and law enforcement partners, Vinfen is implementing the first-of-its-kind in Massachusetts Restoration Center, a mental health and substance use treatment center that provides an alternative to arrest and hospitals. Prior to joining Vinfen, Kim worked for the Medicaid-Medicare health plan Commonwealth Care Alliance, leading the development of its One Care program. She began her career in healthcare policy and advocacy, working at the national organization Community Catalyst. Her first job was working as a community organizer at the health policy and advocacy organization Health Care For All where she currently serves on the board of directors. Kim holds a bachelor’s degree from Earlham College and MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management.

Rae Simpson is an independent mental health advocate, working to bring new advances to mental health treatment and care, including by tapping her experience as a family member. She has collaborated on special initiatives with NAMI Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Association for Mental Health, Boston Museum of Science, Advocates, and others, and she serves on the board of NAMI-Cambridge/Middlesex, where she facilitates support groups and answers the helpline.

With a PhD in communication research from Stanford University, Rae served on the faculty and staff at MIT for over 30 years, founding MIT’s first family resource center. She also served as a consultant to the World Health Organization, United Nations, Harvard School of Public Health, and others, and founded the National Parenting Education Network. Rae has given many presentations in the US and abroad, and published in both scholarly journals and mainstream media.

More at www.raesimpson.com

Eliza (she/her) is a writer, national trainer, speaker, curriculum developer, and advocate. Prior to her appointment as Executive Director, her role at NAMI Mass was Deputy Director of Programs, overseeing all programming for the organization, including peer, family and community education programs, as well as the Compass Helpline. Eliza has worked in the non-profit sector in Massachusetts for over two decades, supporting and advocating for people and families with life interrupting challenges: trauma, mental health conditions, problems with substances, being unhoused and systems of oppression. This work, in addition to her own lived experience, has shaped Eliza’s lifelong passion for social justice, equity and amplifying the voices of those most marginalized. As a queer woman whose young adult life was interrupted by her own mental health struggles and the associated discrimination, Eliza knows firsthand the way that mental health systems can help as well as do harm. At NAMI Mass, Eliza leads a team that strives to develop and offer programs and supports that honor the experiences, dignity, and humanity of each member of our community. Eliza holds a Master of Education with a focus in Conflict Resolution and Violence Prevention and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, both from Lesley University. Outside of NAMI, Eliza is lead trainer for the state’s Certified Peer Specialist training through the Kiva Centers.

Thanks to our Premiere Sponsor, the Planned Lifetime Assistance Network (PLAN) of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Inc.!

Thank you to Johnson & Johnson and Cambridge Savings Bank!

For any questions, please email Emily Trautwein at etrautwein@namimass.org.