Ms. Malmon was a panelist for the Forum’s discussion on College Students and Mental Health.
Alison Malmon is the founder and Executive Director of Active Minds, Inc., the leading national organization that uses students as the driving force to change the perception about mental health on college campuses. Alison formed the organization following the suicide of her only sibling, twenty-two year old brother Brian Malmon. 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 at the University of Pennsylvania that promoted an open, enlightened dialogue around the issues. Just after graduating in 2003, Alison formed the 501(c)3 organization in order to develop and support chapters of the student group on campuses around the country. From that moment forward, she has served as Executive Director of the non-profit, leading the organization as it engages tens of thousands of student leaders nationwide and promotes a unified national voice for young adults in the mental health awareness movement.
For her efforts, Alison has been named one of the “Top 15 Global Emerging Social Innovators” by Ashoka Changemakers and American Express, Washingtonian of the Year by Washingtonian Magazine, and a Woman of Distinction by the American Association of University Women. She has also received the Destigmatization Award from the National Council of Behavioral Healthcare, Tipper Gore Remember the Children Award from Mental Health America, inaugural Young Leadership Award from the National Mental Health Research Association (NARSAD), and more. Alison has been profiled as a “Person you Should Know” on CNN, and in stories in the New York Times, Washington Post, Inside Higher Ed, and Glamour Magazine.
In addition to her work at Active Minds, Alison sits on the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Consumer/Survivor Subcommittee, Suicide Prevention Resource Center Steering Committee, and Crisis Text Line Advisory Committee. She is the mother of three young girls, and in her spare time, Alison loves flying 23ft in the air at the Trapeze School in Washington, DC.
