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The Brainpower Chronicles:
Mental Health Stories

Thank you for attending!

Kirkland Performance Center

The Brainpower Chronicles: Mental Health Stories

November TBA, 2024

7:00 - 9:00PM

Kirkland Performance Center

Tickets are $50 each

Storytelling has been an integral part of humanity’s history since before the written word.

Storytelling has been an integral part of humanity’s history since before the written word. From podcasts to TED talks, storytelling has taken on new forms as technology progresses, but its presence is constant. It’s human nature to share our stories of joy, pain, success, and loss with each other. These shared experiences, the act of sharing those experiences, deeply connects us to others in the world.

NAMI Washington launched The Brainpower Chronicles: Mental Health Stories to bring people together in their experiences of mental illness and recovery. Mental health crises can be some of the most isolating health events one may experience in this lifetime, with a ripple effect that impacts entire families. The Brainpower Chronicles is our way of creating community and breaking down the stigma that keeps people silent, while raising funds for NAMI Washington’s critical mission to improve the quality of life of all people affected by mental illness.

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The 2023 performance is being held LIVE at the Kirkland Performance Center for 400 people. Face masks are strongly encouraged.

Strength. Hope. Vulnerability. Because recovery is real, and we're going to talk about it in the realest terms.

You'll laugh, you'll cry...and you'll leave The Brainpower Chronicles knowing YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

Meet Our 2023 BPC Cast Members!

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Meredith Dodd

Rev. Meredith Dodd serves as the lead pastor of Lake Washington United Methodist Church in Kirkland, Washington.  She leads a weekly online Connections peer support group with NAMI Seattle. Her family includes a husband, three teenagers, and four guinea pigs. In her spare time, she likes hiking, doing puzzles, watching British comedies, and searching for the perfect cup of hot chocolate.

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Scotty Sossner

Scotty Sossner has been a NAMI volunteer since 2013. He is a NAMI certified Connection Support Facilitator, A peer to Peer Class Leader, State Trainer for both Connection, and Peer To Peer. He facilitates, teaches and trains for NAMI all over the country. Scotty is the NAMI Pierce County 2021 Volunteer of the Year and was inducted into the National NAMI Hall of Fame in 2017. Scotty's interests include reading, music and athletics. He plays softball and participates in the Track and Field Senior Olympic Games. He is the 2022 -2023 Illinois 6 County 100, 200, and 400 meter Dash Sprint Champion, and the 2023 Illinois Quad Cities 50, 100, 200, and 400 meter Dash Sprint Champion.

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Michael Robertson

Michael Robertson is a certified peer counselor and in long term recovery. Michael is a staunch advocate for policy change regarding behavioral health policy. He works in the field of peer support within MOUD treatment and continues to expand his reach and give information that fosters awareness to those suffering from the morbidity of substance use disorder. As a person with past felony convictions Michael is living proof and hope for persons living in peril and aguish. Michael is recognized for his work on SB 1477, volunteering for several nonprofit groups in the music industry that promote a message of wellness and inner healing and recovery.  

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The Orchestra System

The members of T.O.S. are very humbled and honored to be able to share part of their world with Nami and The Brainpower Chronicles.  Through radical honesty and hyper-transparency they have been able to bring awareness and understanding to a condition that is often misunderstood.  T.O.S. received a B.M. in Music Education from Hope College in 2003 and worked for over a decade in student housing.  Their insight and Six different viewpoints at all times can bring laughter, tears, and internal dialog discussion to any Nami group.

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Nicole Edens

Nicole lives in Shoreline with her husband, Matt and two children, Harlow and Easten. She just received her certification in Peer Counseling and is a mentor for family members of those that live with schizophrenia for the Curesz foundation. Nicole is an artist and loves to paint any time she gets a chance. 

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Julie Smith

Julie Smith is a Seattle transplant from Spokane, WA. She is the Owner and Creative Director for Meraki Poductions, a professional storyteller, speaker, writer, artist, and mother of two adult children. Julie received her BA in Business Administration and Management from Western Govenor's University and is currently pursuing her Masters in Leadership & Management from WGU. Julie is a trained NAMI Ending the Silence presenter and the current Chair for the Everett Salary Commission and a board member for the Snohomish County Board of Health. In her spare time Julie enjoys cooking, entertaining, and spending time with her family and friends. She currently resides in Everett, WA. 

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Performance MC:
Paul Currington

Paul hosts and produces Fresh Ground Stories, Seattle’s longest-running storytelling open mic. He spent 13 years as a standup comedian telling jokes around the country and now happily stays close to home telling stories and helping others learn how to tell their own. Everyone now and then you might hear him on NPR. He loves introducing people to the art of personal storytelling and how it can change lives.

He shared his personal story at the first Brainpower Chronicles and was a speaker coach at the second.

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Susan Fee
Performance Director:

Susan Fee is a mental health counselor and storytelling coach. She has directed The Brainpower Chronicles since 2018.  Susan is actively involved in the Seattle storytelling community sharing stories of her own on The Moth Radio Hour, Ignite Seattle, and WWU TEDx. Learn more at www.SusanFee.com.

Meet the 2023 BrainPower Chronicles Sponsors!

Producer
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Director

Whitney Phillips

Stage Manager
Usher

Dean & Karen Kisler 

Front of House
Patron

Help us bring this impactful program to life!
Contact us to be a sponsor!

BPC is a very special event, and we are looking for some special partners to support it. Please contact JT Nelson at jtnelson@namiwa.org or 206-783-4288 if your company or organization is interested in becoming a sponsor.
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