Cherrial Odell has risen above childhood trauma to find peace of mind and levels of joy so meaningful they bring her tears of joy. She is a two-time suicide attempt survivor, lived-experience mental health advocate, and a Stanford University graduate with a BA in Psychology and a Minor in Interdisciplinary Arts. Her message and story is one of hope and healing, and she uses her journey to help others do the same.
Her advocacy has been featured in People magazine, The Kelly Clarkson Show, and at national conferences and festivals. A graduate of Jewel's Inspiring Children Foundation, where she served as a volunteer intern, ambassador, and now Peer & Development Coordinator, Cherrial continues to mentor countless young people as a peer counselor. She is also currently in the process of publishing a book for mental health awareness and advocacy.
At Stanford, she served as President of the Mental Health Outreach Club, co-founded "Wellness Buddies," a mental health and wellbeing student organization, and created the largest mental health movement in Stanford history, Flourish Stories. She was named a Top 50 finalist for the Chegg Global Student Award, received the Stanford Student Public Service Award, and was honored with the Stanford James W. Lyons Award for Service for her contributions. During COVID-19, she launched Inspire House, a community that reached 2.7 million people, and created "Inspire Cards," a mental health tool to help people learn how to have deeper conversations.
Cherrial previously served on Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation Advisory Board and as a Rare Impact College Ambassador with Selena Gomez's nonprofit, continuing to amplify hope, healing, and resilience worldwide.
