Letter From MESF Director
Welcome to the Mary Ellen Strong Foundation (MESF). MESF was created to preserve the legacy of Dr. Mary Ellen Strong who was a publisher, marketing expert, serial entrepreneur, political consultant and inspirational speaker. She was a unique, talented, complicated and powerful force. This organization is inspired by her years of service to the Black community and dedicated to her memory.
Strengthening the Black community was at the cornerstone of all her endeavors and is the driving force of this organization which bears her name. Our goal is to strengthen the community by expanding the network of mental health providers committed to providing healing in the community. We at MESF believe that a strong spirit and a strong mind is at the foundation of a strong community.
Over the past few years, there has been a movement to promote mental health awareness. As part of this national conversation, there have been numerous efforts to address the stigma related to mental illness in general and in the Black community specifically. With these increased efforts to destigmatize mental illness, we are now experiencing a shift as more and more people are seeking mental health treatment. This shift has exposed another problem, the shortage of Black licensed mental health providers. The shortage of Black, licensed mental health providers is the problem that the Mary Ellen Strong Foundation is working to solve.
We are working to address the shortage of Black, licensed mental health providers via three vehicles. 1) The MESF Mental Health Professional Development Program; 2) MESF’s Wellness Retreats which offer culturally centered programming for Black mental health providers and 3) The Directory of Black Psychotherapists for Minnesota and Wisconsin housed on this website.
If you are a mental health professional interested in working with MESF please contact us. If you have any questions about our programming, please contact us. We also invite you to support our work through financial donations. All money donated is tax deductible as MESF is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
