Episode 322: No More Suffering In Silence. Nikki Webber Allen

Nikki Webber Allen is a 2-Time Emmy Award winner with 20 years of experience producing content for media outlets including Warner Bros., HBO, ABC, 20th Century Fox and BET.

In 2013, while working as the Vice President of Casting & Talent Relations for the cable network TV One, Nikki lost her 22-year old nephew, Paul, to suicide after his years of struggle with depression and anxiety. Since then, she’s become a passionate mental health advocate.

In Paul’s honor, she launched the nonprofit I Live For.org to create a safe space for honest, unapologetic conversations about mental health in communities of color where the cultural stigma of mental illness discourages far too many young people from seeking help.

Esteemed scholar and advisor to the foundation, Michael Eric Dyson has called I Live For “an incredibly important organization that offers much needed support to those who too often suffer in silence.”

Her work with I LIVE FOR.org has been featured in the Washington Post, Huffington Post, NPR and NBC News.

She’s the host of Slate Magazine’s podcast “Life Effects” and she’s currently producing and directing a documentary film featuring a diverse group of compelling young men and women who reject the stigma of mental illness and share candid stories about their experiences living with depression and anxiety. The film is being scored by her husband musician Jeffrey Allen of the Grammy nominated R&B band Mint Condition.

In Spring 2017, she was chosen for the highly-coveted TED Residency program which culminated in delivering an impassioned TED Talk entitled, “Don’t suffer from your depression in silence,” which has garnered over 1.7MM views.