This Community Impact Film Series event focuses on mental health. Now in its fourth year, the program continues to explore this vital topic through cinema, accompanied by engaging and meaningful discussions with Charlotte-based experts. This event is FREE but registration required.

This CIFS event will include:

• 11am – 11:30am – Opening Announcements and Poetic Response by Jordan Bailey
• 11:30am – 12:45pm – Screening of a Series of Short Films (~72 min)
  • • Hurt by Round 7 Productions (Jeremy Kunkle)
    • Rebyrth by Cydney Tucker
    • Simone by Aisha Amin
    • Why Can’t We Just Be Ghost? by Patrick Jang
    • Jadia’s Story, Regina’s Story, Keli’s Story by Recovery Diaries
    • Terrance by Joris Debeij
    • Eli by Nate Milton
• 12:45pm–1:25pm – Panel Discussion with local experts. Panelists include Craig Young, Ericka Ellis-Stewart, Dr. Reginald W. Johnson, and Dr. Uma Suryadevara. The discussion is moderated by John Burton Jr. Learn more about them below.
• 1:30pm – 2:30pm – Resource Fair featuring 10 local organizations and nonprofits: 
  • • Block Love CLT
    • Finding Inspiration Foundation
    • HopeWay
    • Mind the Gap
    • Messy Roots
    • NAMI North Carolina
    • Novant Health
    • Novant Health Community Cruiser
    • Sanctuary Counseling Group
    • She Dreasm In Color Foundation
    • Young 9 Foundation

 

Meet the Panelists:

Craig Young is a nationally respected mental health and sports psychology expert with more than 25 years of experience guiding athletes, families, and organizations through the emotional and psychological demands of high-performance sports. A licensed
marriage and family therapist (LMFT), certified MBTI practitioner, executive coach, and public speaker, Craig specializes in helping individuals and families build mental resilience, foster emotional well-being, and strengthen relationships in competitive
environments.

As CEO of Craig Young Consulting Group and The Young Standard, LLC, and President of the Young9 Foundation, Craig offers strategic consulting, coaching, and educational services tailored to athletes, coaches, and families. His practice focuses on stress management, performance anxiety, family support systems, and the often-overlooked mental health needs of those involved in elite sports.

Craig’s expertise is informed by a rich academic foundation, a B.A. in Sociology from UCLA and an M.A. in Marriage and Family Therapy from Pacific Oaks College—as well as decades of hands-on experience. Throughout his career, he has consistently championed the vital role of strong family dynamics in the development and success of young athletes.

Beyond his professional accomplishments, Craig brings a unique and deeply personal perspective to his work. As the father of Bryce Young, 2021 Heisman Trophy winner and 2023 No. 1 NFL Draft pick, Craig has firsthand experience navigating the pressures and expectations placed on young athletes and their families. This lived experience, combined with his clinical training, positions him as a compassionate and insightful advisor to those traveling similar paths.

Ericka Ellis-Stewart is an advocate for public education, the environment, and mental health. She serves as the Acting Executive Director of Mental Health America of Central Carolinas, where she is guiding the organization through a leadership transition to ensure continuity of services and systems that expand access to mental health education, advocacy, and support.

Ms. Ellis-Stewart brings more than 25 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, including seven years of service with MHA. Earlier in her career, she held leadership roles with organizations such as Right Moves for Youth, the Johnston YMCA, and the Charlotte CROP Hunger Walk.

A former at-large member of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, she demonstrates a deep commitment to community voice, service, and systems change. She also brings lived experience with a mental health diagnosis, which fuels her passion for creating spaces where people feel seen, supported, and whole. In addition to her advocacy work, Ms. Ellis-Stewart is a Suicide Prevention Master Trainer with the QPR Institute in Spokane, Washington. She currently serves on the Community Collaborative Board for CA-LINC: A Culturally Adapted Care Coordination Suicide Detection and Intervention Model for Black Youth Project. In 2019, she was recognized as Mental Health Advocate of the Year by the Black Mental Health Symposium.

Dr. Reginald W. Johnson II is a board-certified psychiatrist with expertise in interventional psychiatry, eating disorders, and the treatment of clients with acute psychiatric needs, substance use disorders, and complex co-occurring medical conditions. He joined HopeWay’s medical team in 2025, where he primarily works in the adult mental health programs.

Dr. Reginald W. Johnson II previously served in the Army National Guard as a Military Policeman. He is also deeply committed to education and mentorship, having delivered psychiatry lectures to physician assistant students, tutored medical trainees, and guided underrepresented minority students pursuing careers in medicine. He practices evidence-based medicine, grounding his care in proven research while approaching each client with empathy and warmth, striving to create a supportive environment where all clients feel heard and respected.

Dr. Johnson has been honored with the Hiram B. Curry Humanitarian Award from the Medical University of South Carolina and is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society.

Dr. Uma Suryadevara currently serves as the Clinical Physician Executive for the Psychiatry and Mental Health Institute at Novant Health, overseeing operations in the greater Charlotte market and South Carolina. In this role, she directs clinical operations for six outpatient psychiatric clinics, an adult intensive outpatient program, an adolescent partial hospitalization program, inpatient psychiatric units at two hospitals, and the telepsychiatry program, which supports emergency departments throughout Novant Health.

Dr. Suryadevara completed her psychiatry residency at Michigan State University (now Western Michigan University) and pursued further specialization through a geriatric psychiatry fellowship at Stanford University in California. She subsequently joined the University of Florida, serving as an Associate Professor, Associate Program Director for the general psychiatry residency, and Program Director for the geriatric psychiatry fellowship program.

She has held leadership roles in numerous professional organizations and has been recognized as a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, underscoring her significant impact in the field. Her dedication to psychiatry is further demonstrated through her service on the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology certification committee. Additionally, she serves as the senior editor for the Asian Journal of Psychiatry, shaping innovation and advancing scholarship within the global psychiatric community.

Moderator:

John Burton Jr. doesn’t just speak—he ignites transformation. A TEDx speaker, clinical faith-based therapist, and award-winning storyteller, he is on a mission to help students turn their struggles into strategy and their voices into movements that matter.

From counseling NBA athletes with the Los Angeles Clippers to shaping campaigns for Disney, Warner Brothers, and Wells Fargo, John bridges mental health, media, and meaning with raw authenticity. His insights have reached millions through ABC, CBS, NBC, and the Los Angeles Times, yet his most powerful work happens in moments like these: face-to-face with students ready to rewrite their narratives.

A Winston-Salem State University graduate with degrees from Fuller Theological Seminary and Harvard University’s Kennedy School, John understands the weight of expectation, identity, and ambition. As founder of The Burton Group PR and in private practice with A Talk With John Counseling & Consulting, and as creator of the documentary Hush! Somebody’s Calling My Name (premiered at the 2025 Charlotte Black Film Festival), he is living proof that passions can become platforms. John partners with brands, believers, and leaders to break boundaries, shape culture, and leave legacies that last.

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This event is made possible thanks to the generosity of Kathryn & Luke Kissam and Novant Health.

 

Thank you to our event partners.