State Representative Cristin McCarthy Vahey is serving her sixth term at the Connecticut General Assembly, representing Fairfield's 133rd Assembly District. She is House Chair of the Public Health Committee and a member of the Appropriations and Transportation Committees. In her role as House Chair of the Public Health Committee, Cristin has been committed to helping her community and our state thrive: planning for and creating healthy, safe, and vibrant communities, advocating for mental health and wellness initiatives, and focusing on equity access to healthcare. Rep. McCarthy Vahey has spearheaded several bills related to mental health, including a Mental Health Parity bill that ensures compliance with mental health parity laws in Connecticut, as well as efforts aimed at licensure compacts for social work, nurses, and licensed professional counselors. Advocating for mental health support has been a top priority for Rep. McCarthy Vahey, and she will continue to be a leader on the subject in the legislature.

Dr. Rahn Kennedy Bailey is a board-certified psychiatrist, academic leader, and forensic expert with more than 30 years of experience spanning clinical psychiatry, medical education, community engagement, and national advocacy. He currently serves as Assistant Dean of Community Engagement & Health Equity and Academic Medical and Psychiatric Director of the New Orleans Correctional Justice Center’s Mental Health Services Unit. Throughout his career, he has chaired multiple psychiatry departments, expanded addiction and mental health training programs, and contributed extensively to scholarship on health disparities, violence, forensic psychiatry, and incarceration. Dr. Bailey has authored dozens of peer-reviewed publications and several books examining the intersection of psychiatry, public policy, and social justice.

Jessica Abellard, M.D. is a physician who is board certified in adult, geriatric, and forensic psychiatry. She serves as the Medical Director of Geriatric Behavioral Services at Cornell Scott Hill Health Center and teaches second and third year medical students from Yale School of Medicine. She is dedicated to treating the underserved and has an interest in the intersection of faith and mental health. She has a private practice in forensic psychiatry. Outside work, Dr. Abellard enjoys gardening and traveling.

Andrew J. Gerber, MD, PhD is President and Medical Director of Silver Hill Hospital, a private non-proft psychiatric hospital in New Canaan, Connecticut. Dr. Gerber is a child and adolescent psychiatrist whose career combines his work as a clinician, scholar, research scientist and executive. He completed his medical and psychiatric training at Harvard Medical School, Cambridge Hospital and Weill Cornell and Columbia medical schools; he completed his PhD in psychology at University College London and the Anna Freud Centre. Prior to joining Silver Hill, Dr. Gerber was Director of the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Program at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia Medical Center and Medical Director and CEO of the Austen Riggs Center in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Among his affiliations, he serves as associate clinical professor in the Yale School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and Yale Child Study Center.