Speakers

Lisa Ezeamii (she/her)

Advocacy Coordinator

Lisa Ezeamii has been a social worker in the St. Charles/St. Louis area for nearly 30 years. She’s worked mostly in foster care and disability services and is currently the Advocacy Coordinator at the Delta Center for Independent Living, located in St. Peters. In addition to social work, Lisa has been certified as a group facilitator, life coach, and parent educator. She’s designed and delivered multiple training programs for teens in foster care and people with disabilities. When she’s not working, Lisa and her husband hit the road, going to visit the loves of their lives – the grandkids!

Mindy Robertson (she/her)

Student Volunteer, Advocacy Trip Coordinator

Mindy is a fourteen-year-old mental health advocate who has been working with Find the Light for two years, fighting to make a difference. She has taken on leadership roles in the Find the Light Foundation, St. Charles youth advocacy board, and NJHS. She is also passionate about creating a safe place for positive mental health conversation. She works towards this goal by advocating at a local and state level and going to as many events as she can to support mental health awareness. 

Jake Bain (he/him)

Therapist and Activist for LGBTQ+ Populations

Jake Bain is a social worker and mental health professional working as a behavioral health therapist in the city of St. Louis. Outside of his work in the mental health field, Jake is a proud foster parent. He is also a former Division 1 college football player and one of the first to be openly Queer. Jake continues to advocate for the inclusion and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community in sports, and believes that no person should be kept from doing what they love simply because of their gender identity or sexual orientation.

Aya Kawasaki (they/them)

Therapist and Activist for Immigrant Populations

Aya Kawasaki (they/them) is an EMDR psychotherapist with a focus on cultural sensitivity, trauma, and somatic experience. They moved to St. Louis in 1998 to enroll in the Master of Social Work program at Washington University in St. Louis. Aya maintains a private practice and serves as an affiliate therapist with the Multicultural Counseling and Research Center. They have been active in advocating for immigrants’ rights and in collaborating with—and educating service providers through the Immigrant Service Provider Network and Casa de Salud.