Keynote Speakers
Habeebah Grimes
Professional Life
Habeebah Rasheed Grimes has made serving Northeast Ohio’s most vulnerable children her life’s work. She is a sought-after public speaker, community leader, and creator of No Crystal Stair Podcast. As CEO of Positive Education Program (PEP), Habeebah leads a staff of 450 professionals committed to supporting healing in children who have experienced significant adversity and mental health challenges. Recognizing the harm that trauma and chronic stress cause in the lives of the young people PEP serves, Habeebah worked closely with The Neurosequential Network to certify the agency as a Phase 2 Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT) site. Her current focus is providing leadership in support of culturally affirming and healing-centered practices at PEP and in the broader community.
Training
Habeebah is extensively trained in trauma-informed practices and holds a master’s degree in clinical/counseling psychology and a specialist degree in school psychology from Cleveland State University.
Civic Engagement
Habeebah is a trustee of The Woodruff Foundation, which provides philanthropic support to nonprofit organizations addressing behavioral health needs in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. She is an appointee to Cuyahoga County’s Advisory Council on Equity and a member of the State of Ohio’s Children’s Behavioral Health Prevention Stakeholder Group. She also serves on the OhioRISE (Resilience through Integrated Systems and Excellence) Advisory Council. Additionally, Habeebah is the Vice Chair of the Northeast Ohio Steering Committee of the Mental Health and Addiction Advocacy Coalition and a member of Cleveland’s 19 News advisory council for its The Next 400 series.
Accomplishments
Habeebah is a graduate of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s distinguished Ladder to Leadership: Developing the Next Generation of Community Health Leaders program and an alum of Leadership Cleveland’s Class of 2020. In 2015, Crain’s Cleveland Business recognized Habeebah as a 40 under 40 honoree. Most recently, Habeebah was recognized with Cleveland State University’s 2019 Distinguished Alumni Award.
Personal Life
Habeebah grew up witnessing her brother, Hashim, struggle with severe childhood and adult mental health challenges. She sees her work and service as a tribute to his memory. She resides in Cleveland, Ohio with her husband, John, and their two young sons.
Mira Yusef
Mira Yusef is a co-founder of Monsoon and a co-founder and staff member of the National Asians Pacific Islanders Ending Sexual Violence (NAPIESV), a program under Monsoon that provides technical assistance and training nationally, in the U.S. territories and at some international sites. She has also helped incubate four other organizations serving victims of gender-based violence in marginalized populations: Nisaa African Family Services; Iowa ARCh (Affirmation and Resources Chat) chatline; Iowa Coalition for Collective Change; and SAFI (Support for Arab Families in Iowa). Since 2010, Mira has been organizing and facilitating trainings and technical assistance on addressing gender-based violence locally, nationally, and internationally. She has a master’s degree in Social Work, with a specialization in Community Organizing, and a Master of Arts in Southeast Asian Studies from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Mira was a recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship, 2004-2005, to pursue research in the Philippines on Muslim Filipinas employed as domestic workers in the Middle East. She was also awarded the National Security Education Program (NSEP) David Boren Fellowship in 2006 to study the Indonesian and Malay languages as well as conduct field research in Malaysia and the Philippines. Mira can be reached at mira@monsooniowa.org.
Indiana Disability Justice
Our Mission
We aim to support statewide efforts to prevent violence and enhance independence and wellness among people with disabilities. Our efforts are centered on the voices and actions of people with disabilities and it operates on a mix of practices including social justice, public health, and popular education. We are a group that is a work in progress and we are continually involving self-advocates, agencies, service providers, and caregivers.
Our Vision
The vision of Indiana Disability Justice is to create and support a state free of violence against people with disabilities where people with disabilities are supported in their independence, included in society, and recognized as a valuable part of society.
Our Values
– Violence is preventable.
– Every person has an important role to play and a valuable contribution to make moving Indiana towards a just and inclusive society.
– Advocacy–self and systems–creates pathways for inclusion and independents.
– Inclusive communities are better for everyone.
