Today we’d like to introduce you to Tyler Calabrese.
Hi Tyler, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
David Idemudia & I were both mental health providers & we first met when I was supervising him at the county’s crisis center. We stayed in touch & later urged him to join me on the board of National Alliance on Mental Illness – Anne Arundel Co. (NAMI-AAC) in Annapolis, In 2017, We were assigned to create a mental health awareness fundraiser event, as part of our Board duties. It was suggested we do traditional formats – like a 5k Walk/Run – but we felt those lack in meaningful content. Often times you leave those events without really know much about what they were actually raising money for. We saw art as a vehicle to address the topic of mental illness in direct & entertaining way, and thus created the first Speak Your Truth event. With the support of the Annapolis arts community, SYT has grown into a nonprofit, expanded its events beyond the region, and featured a variety of local and renowned artists.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I would say it’s been both smooth and bumpy. Smooth in the sense that we’ve always been able to attract “speakers.” Regardless of the type of art or expression, artists really connect with the mission & are eager to sign up. It’s almost always a volunteer commitment from them as well. SYT has been able to feature some incredible art that seamlessly works in mental health awareness.
The thing that remains bumpy is growing our reach. We will host events with the area’s top artists all coming together, but still have trouble drawing crowds that they’d easily attract on their own. Despite our strong social media presence, our followers are still low. We’re still trying to figure all of that out, but assume some of the stigma & misperceptions about mental illness might be a factor in the low turnout/engagement.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Outside of SYT, I’ve been a Licensed Clinical Psychologist since 2012 (with years working in the field before that). Based on feedback & data over the years, I’d say that I’m a good psychologist. And that’s because I’ve always wanted to be a psychologist & the passion for the work has always helped me lock in to the technical & personal aspects of the job. This career has led me to a variety of different roles, including therapy, psychological testing, field testing apps, psychedelic clinical research, & Veteran evaluations. What I’ve seen in the clinical work is that the stigma of mental illness still pervades our society. My nonprofit work with SYT helps me feel like I’m addressing this stigma outside the office.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
That I have my own battles with anxiety. I think I present as pretty outgoing, decent enough public speaker, & eager to take on all these challenges/stressors. But people who know me see I’m an anxious mess plenty of times & have to work to keep that in check. Silly to think someone with anxiety would want to be involved in SYT, right? I am also a daredevil & like to push myself as a way to confront that anxiety. So it’s nerve-racking, but also really exciting & rewarding to do this.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.speakyourtruthcrew.org
- Instagram: @speakyourtruthcrew
- Facebook: @speakyourtruthcrew
- LinkedIn: @speakyourtruthcrew
- Youtube: @speakyourtruthcrew
