Youth mental health advocate Carson Domey will discuss public policy and access to care at a free public forum Nov. 19 at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva.
The discussion begins at 7 p.m. in the Vandervort Room of the Scandling Campus Center, HWS announced. President Mark Gearan and Ela Gardiner, a member of the Class of 2027 and president of the HWS Student Government, will moderate.
Domey is executive director of the Coalition for Student Wellbeing, which connects a national grassroots network of student leaders with policymakers through advocacy, collaboration and education.
Gearan serves on the coalition’s advisory board. He said Domey’s work offers students an example of how they can use their knowledge and voices to influence public policy and strengthen support systems.
Advocacy began with access to health care
Domey began advocating at age 12, drawing on his experience with a lifelong illness to seek expanded telehealth access in Massachusetts. After a friend died by suicide in 2018, he focused on mental health awareness and barriers to care in educational settings.
His policy work has included efforts in Massachusetts to expand the definition of physical education to include mental health. At the federal level, he is advocating legislation that would put the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline on student identification cards nationwide.
In Texas, he contributed to the passage of legislation directing more than $25 million toward the state’s mental health workforce.
Domey works as a clinician outreach coordinator for Throne Science in Austin, Texas, while pursuing a Master of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin’s LBJ School of Public Affairs. He earned his bachelor’s degree in government at the university.
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
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Explore this topic →He also serves on nonprofit boards in the Boston and Austin areas focused on suicide prevention and people living with inflammatory bowel disease. His earlier public service included a gubernatorial appointment in Massachusetts and an appointment to Austin’s College Student Commission.
A public forum on campus
Gearan established the President’s Forum Series in 2000 to bring public figures and other leaders into discussions with students, faculty, staff and community members.
Recent speakers have included political strategist Maya Rupert, former Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, New England Aquarium President and CEO Vikki Spruill, epidemiologist Chris Beyrer and CNN contributor Scott Jennings.
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