Keris Jan Myrick is a leading mental health advocate and non-profit executive, known for her innovative and inclusive approach to mental health reform and the public disclosure of her personal story. Ms. Myrick is currently President and CEO of Project Return Peer Support Network, a Los Angeles-based, peer-run nonprofit, which manages over 100 self-help groups in Los Angeles County, a peer-staffed Warm Line, a Spanish language community resource center (El Centrito de Apoyo), and three levels of Peer Advocate training. She is Associate Director of Consumer Affairs for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a consultant to the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Office of Minority and National Affairs (OMNA) and former President of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
Her personal story has been featured in a New York Times series about several successful professionals living with mental health issues. Using her executive skills and personal lived experience in the mental health system, Ms. Myrick is a national trainer and keynote speaker known for her collaborative style and innovative "whole person" approach to mental health care. She has a Master of Science in organizational psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology of Alliant International University, a Master of Business Administration from Case Western Reserve University and is a doctoral candidate with an emphasis in Industrial Organization Psychology.