Have you ever chatted with an Unapologetically Black Unicorn? Someone who symbolizes freedom, power, strength and is a true force of nature and thought, ‘WOW people need to hear this’? Now you can and learn how to be a U.B.U. too! Join the weekly conversation with host Keris Jän Myrick, an unapologetically black unicorn in their own right, and nationally recognized mental health advocate chatting with amazing U.B.U. folk who are advancing all things mental health, racial justice, and anything cool to enhance human existence.
Episodes
4 days ago
4 days ago
Preston Mitchum (he/him) is the Director of Advocacy and Government Affairs with The Trevor Project and he is an Unapologetically Black Unicorn. Preston shares what The Trevor Project does as an organization and how they try to reach and support LGBTQ young people. They talk about how Preston always wanted to support people and fight for their access, how The Trevor Project crisis counselors are trained to meet the needs of LGBTQ young people and how everyone has a voice.
For more information on The Trevor Project visit: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is now: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
Contact the show: UBU@UnapologeticallyBlackUnicorns.info
Transcripts are also available on Apple Podcasts.
Tuesday Apr 15, 2025
Tuesday Apr 15, 2025
Nicole Kwan (she/her) is a mental health advocate and she is an Unapologetically Black Unicorn. Nicole talks about how mental health was stigmatized in her own culture and how she found people to talk to and support her. They talk about the focus on immigrant mental health, getting more young people to the table and the importance of compassion, kindness and empathy.
Listen to the "Youth on Mental Health" playlist on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxolYqklWoEM8QTc8hJirgeeeQvctkn3j
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is now: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
Transcripts are also available on Apple Podcasts.
Tuesday Apr 08, 2025
Tuesday Apr 08, 2025
Nandini Nema (she/her) is a gap year student who is making an impact in mental health and she is an Unapologetically Black Unicorn. Nandini shares the work she’s done as a youth representative with UNICEF by help building child friendly cities. They talk about how mindfulness is a process, working in tech as a Google summer scholar, what they would do encourage people to get into the field of mental health and they share some of their healthy coping mechanisms.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is now: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
For more information visit:
- Child friendly city initiative: https://childfriendlycities.org/
- Boulder, Colorado’s child friendly initiative: https://www.growingupboulder.org/
Tuesday Apr 01, 2025
Tuesday Apr 01, 2025
Keris had a dream about this thing called “CADRE” and her dream has become a reality. CADRE stands for Collective Action Democratized by Relevant Experience, and it is both a policy academy and it is a movement. Keris speaks on where the CADRE Policy Academy will be housed and we’ll hear from some participants who talk about their personal experience with the program.
To access the online CADRE training : go.mydrkatz.com/cadre-program
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is now: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
Contact the show: UBU@UnapologeticallyBlackUnicorns.info
Transcripts are also available on Apple Podcasts.
Tuesday Mar 25, 2025
Tuesday Mar 25, 2025
200 episodes! Keris started the podcast wanting to only do 15 episodes capturing people’s stories and it has grown into a movement. She shares some highlights over 200 episodes and where the podcast is going to go from here.
We want to hear from you. What ideas or topics do you have for the next 200 episode? Contact the show: UBU@UnapologeticallyBlackUnicorns.info
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is now: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
Transcripts are also available on Apple Podcasts.
Tuesday Mar 18, 2025
Tuesday Mar 18, 2025
Fajr DeLane (she/her) is the CEO of F^3: Fun. Fit. Fabulous! Health & Wellness Mentoring Program and she is an Unapologetically Black Unicorn. Fajr shares her inspiration for starting the “Fun. Fit. Fabulous!” program and how her camp was about inspiring the girls/women in her community. They talk about making time for self-care, how her work intersects with mental health and taking the time to start the conversation about mental health and so you can help support others.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is now: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
For more information on “F^3: Fun. Fit. Fabulous!” visit: www.funfitfabulous.org/
Tuesday Mar 11, 2025
Tuesday Mar 11, 2025
Kana Enomoto (she/her) is the director of brain health for the McKinsey Health Institute and Reina Chiang (she/her) is a college student and a mental health advocate and they are Unapologetically Black Unicorns. Kana and Reina discuss their personal experiences when crisis showed up in their home and why the emergency room could do more to support mental health crisis. They talk about why mental health and medical conditions should be treated with the same care, Reina’s vision for her non-profit “u matter” and the importance for parents to seek support for their children in crisis as well as for themselves.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is now: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
Transcripts are available on Apple Podcasts.
Tuesday Mar 04, 2025
Tuesday Mar 04, 2025
Jose Caballero (he/him) is a mental health advocate, blogger and an Unapologetically Black Unicorn. Jose talks about his “why” and his experiences growing up in Nicaragua and immigrating to the United States. They talk about having conversations about mental health with their families and in their communities, the impacts of emotional intelligence, trying to incorporate mental health education into school’s curriculum and beauty standards in social media.
For more information visit https://www.intouchblog.com/
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is now: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
Tuesday Feb 25, 2025
Tuesday Feb 25, 2025
Ayaan Moledina (He/Him) is the Federal Policy Director at SEAT and he is an Unapologetically Black Unicorn. Ayaan shares how he knew he wanted to get into the advocacy space at a young age and how it led to him getting in front of Congress to discuss mental health and suicide prevention. They talk about why it’s important to discuss suicide with students in schools and colleges, ways in which students can be aware of the resources that are available to them and empowering young people by letting them share their stories.
For more information on SEAT visit: https://www.studentsengaged.org/
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is now: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
Contact the show: UBU@UnapologeticallyBlackUnicorns.info
For a direct transcript of this episode visit: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qrsTMjQoj1rdRg_Ramq3e-Gn8L_Ruyow/view
Transcripts are also available on Apple Podcasts.
Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
Dr. Andre Johnson (he/him) is the Founder/CEO of the Detroit Recovery Project (DRP), and he is an Unapologetically Black Unicorn. Dr. Johnson talks about the ideas in his book “The Recovery Ecosystem: A Wholistic Approach to Recovery” which is a guide for healing and progress in the journey of addiction recovery. They talk about the organization being a peer-run Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic, (CCBHC) the significance of supportive housing and the components of the recovery ecosystem.
For more information on Dr. Andre Johnson and his book “The Recovery Ecosystem: A Wholistic Approach to Recovery” visit: www.DrAndreJohnson.com
For more information on the Detroit Recovery Project visit: www.recovery4detroit.com
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is now: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
Contact the show: UBU@UnapologeticallyBlackUnicorns.info
For a direct transcript of this episode visit: https://bit.ly/ubu195AudioTranscript
Transcripts also available on Apple Podcasts.