By Rustam Hajiyev, Doryan Nassiri, Marta Korniichuk, Tye Johnson, and Sam Hammers, University of Washington Bothell School of Business
When we sat down and began to speak with Athena Davila-Miranda, Program Manager at NAMI Seattle, the first noticeable thing was the clean and put together Zoom background. The artificial background included a white wall, green monstera leaves, and a simple analog clock on the wall. As the dings continued while students joined the meeting, our interview began. Athena’s dedication and enthusiasm for mental health advocacy in the Seattle area was immediately apparent. While she has only been with NAMI since June 2025, her history in non-profits and service work dates back over a decade. She explained how her various experiences in San Diego, Seattle, Eastern Washington, and Vietnam all helped build knowledge on reducing the stigma around mental health in many different cultures. On top of this, her ability to relate with Spanish speaking communities allowed Athena to bring her experience to that group, which usually lacks mental health funding. Through working for NAMI Seattle, Athena’s goal is to build a space where people can be open about mental health and find growth and support through the various peer-led programs that NAMI provides.
What prior experiences led you to come into this position?
ADM: My experience has always been in the nonprofit sector… I’ve done over 10 years in direct service work with youth in schools. I’ve also done a lot of state and national work, within nonprofits, educating either staff, employees, within schools, or nonprofit organizations in areas like healthy relationships, wellness, and mental health. Most recently I’ve been working with organizations at the national and state levels, so I’m excited to be able to bring it more locally to NAMI Seattle. I think that’s an area that I’ve been missing in the past few years. And to be able to contribute more directly to my community has been really special.
What would you say is the most important thing you think volunteers at NAMI are working on right now?
ADM: I’d say our biggest program currently that our volunteers really support is support groups. At NAMI Seattle, we provide 8 different support groups. A lot of them are identity-based as well, and so our volunteers are incredible at maintaining these support groups and creating these connections within these communities. People from all over the country, and not just Seattle, attend these support groups, and it’s all because of the environment that our volunteers create.
How would you say these volunteers go about creating an environment conducive to support?
ADM: I think it really stems from that peer experience and peer support. Volunteers are able to take ownership of what they’re able to provide to the community. They’re able to bring in their own lived experiences, and I think that’s really special… you don’t have to be a licensed therapist or a doctor to be able to say, “Hey, this is what helps me… this was my experience”, and creating these very vulnerable spaces where people can come, they can be their authentic selves. They can say, “I’m really struggling with this”, and they can come in week after week. And then eventually, hopefully feel like they’re in a place where they can support others. That’s the beauty of these support groups, too, is that people are coming in, they’re coming out. They are all able to support each other in that way, and that’s how our volunteers are able to create these spaces, because they have their own lived experiences.
As a program manager, what program are you looking to boost or improve more in the future?
ADM: I’ll start a little bit internally. I think our volunteer and staff experience… is always at the top of my mind. How do I improve the volunteer experience and make sure they have the adequate training to be able to facilitate these conversations, their presentations, and how are they feeling supported from NAMI Seattle? And then, programmatically in the community, I think there’s so much that we can do to spread more awareness and reduce stigma. Again, those marginalized communities where mental health isn’t being talked about as much. And so, how are we connecting with those community stakeholders to be able to build these partnerships where there’s trust everywhere. And those communities are saying, hey, NAMI Seattle, this is an organization that I can trust, and this is an organization that really feels passionately about supporting me. And so I think outreach into our BIPOC communities, our Spanish-speaking communities, and also starting with our youth communities, that’s a program I’m really excited to expand this year.
Athena sits on the front steps with NAMI Seattle’s office dog, who has almost all black fur except for the white on his chest and tips of his feet. She is smiling as her hand rests on the dog’s back. She reflects the warm, welcoming environment she helps create through her work. The dog sits calmly at her side, representing the comfort and connection that are central to NAMI Seattle’s mission of supporting individuals and families navigating mental health challenges. (Photo credit: Athena Davila-Miranda)
How does programming address the possibility that while the youth is aware of their mental health needs, and the youth is okay with talking about their mental health, their guardians, or their parents, who control the healthcare decisions, might not be as open to bringing their child to a psychologist, psychiatrist, or therapist? Is there anything in the programming that addresses the parents?
ADM: Right now, what we have is, I’d say, our Spanish programming has done a lot more work in that area. We have a lot of parents and mothers that attend that group. And as we move into this next year, our leadership team is thinking about our goals for the future, we’re really thinking about that whole person approach. Some of the things that we’re really excited to start are potentially support groups for parents who are supporting their children with mental health conditions, and then also understanding… how are we reaching out to those other communities, those adults? We are currently doing things like professional development training, where we’re teaching educators, and we’re also teaching general community members and different organizations about mental health. We have training like Mental Health 101, de-escalation and communication, and then compassion fatigue. So we really are thinking about what are the specific needs for a single person.
Also… there is a trusted adult curriculum that we’re currently talking to partners about bringing in as an additional resource. [Along with this] a train-the-trainer model that we’re currently in communication about bringing that in, so where we might not have the capacity to offer these new programs, and we might not be the best fit to offer them, we can try to partner with other organizations. So when these questions come up, or we offer something like ending the silence, we have the resources to further bring that support to them.
What do you believe we as students can do to help NAMI’s mission?
ADM: I think that any way as a community, as the younger generation, you can start to share this information, share the resources and the tools. The programs that NAMI Seattle offers, such as ending the silence or our inner-own-voice presentations, sharing that with your networks, your friends, your families, your loved ones, or even yourself, [is the] best way to share NAMI’s information. To help reduce that stigma, and to get those resources out there. We have tools like our helpline when people are in need but we want to make sure that the community knows how to access them. And so by being here on this call today and being on other calls, I think learning about NAMI Seattle and the different staff members that are here and being able to share, ‘oh, I learned NAMI Seattle has this helpline that anyone can use at any time of the day’, if it’s 2 AM and they’re looking for resources on a support group to attend. They can reach out and receive an answer within 3 to 5 days from a helpline volunteer to help guide them in the right direction. So I think sharing that information is the best way, and then connecting with any of your colleagues, you know, your friends, your work, to help further spread that as well.
I was wondering, you seemed to focus a lot on peer-led support groups, models, and I was wondering why NAMI Seattle chose peer-led groups specifically.
ADM: I think that with peer-led support, it’s truly an opportunity for anyone to get involved. It gives the average person that autonomy of what they want to offer the world. Sometimes we can feel so small, we can feel like we’re not making a difference. It can be really hard, to feel like changes can be made, but it gives all of us, anybody who’s dealt with a mental health condition, the opportunity to support somebody else, a stranger, and say, like, hey, you’re not alone, and I think there’s just a lot of beauty in that. I think there’s a lot of excitement in being able to meet someone where they’re at. And that you don’t have to go through all the schooling… You can just be a person that’s standing side by side with them. And I think that can be a little bit hard for some of us. It’s hard in traditional medical settings when there’s a therapist or a doctor that’s telling you, ‘you need to do this’, or ‘you should do that’. Especially for marginalized communities, it’s easier to say, ‘you don’t understand what I’m going through’, or ‘it doesn’t feel like you’re actually listening to me’. [Because of this] I think these peer communities are so valuable in that way, because they’re just regular people who are saying: ‘This is how I can help, and I’m just here if you want to talk about something.’
To anyone who has a family member or community member who they feel like is going through a hard time, what would you recommend that they do for them?
ADM: I think a one-liner is kind of hard, I don’t have a little nice zinger, but I think just always be a supporter, just be a friend, or be a loved one. You don’t have to know all the answers or all the resources. Sometimes it just starts with saying, hey are you okay? What can I do to help you? Or just sitting with them. It’s those small steps that we can take that go so much farther than we would have ever thought. Just being seen and being noticed is such a valuable thing that I think we can all take that first step.
Looking back on our interview with Athena Davila-Miranda, there is one part that sticks out. Tye asked Athena, “Can you give us a 1-liner about how to deal with a friend or family member going through mental health struggles?” She responded with “always be a supporter, friend, or loved one”. A very simple, but powerful closing to the interview. Athena followed her own words in playing a role with programs like “Ending the Silence” and personal stories of success within support groups. Her experience and career as a whole remind us that destigmatizing mental health awareness starts with being open to listening, connecting, and acting passionately.
You can support NAMI by donating to their mental health programs. If you would like to help, you can donate online on NAMI’s ‘Donate Online’ page.
This interview has been edited for content and clarity.