amy small

I spent the first 21 years of my professional life as a creative and executive leader in advertising and marketing — two industries that are notorious for their long hours, breakneck pace, and often unreasonable performance expectations. Between trying to climb the corporate ladder, supporting my team, raising healthy kids, nurturing my marriage and other relationships, grieving the loss of a parent, and navigating a global pandemic….and I was consumed by a perfect storm of anxiety, depression, and disordered eating that took a significant toll on my mental health.

Through my personal recovery and (un)learning process, which is still ongoing, I began to realize that developing emotional and mental resilience is not a solo effort — it genuinely takes a community. But while workplaces are so many individuals’ and families’ main source of healthcare, few of them are actually structured to provide the benefits, resources, and supportive culture we need to thrive.

That realization highlighted a gap I couldn’t ignore.

My lived experience led me to a variety of courses, trainings, and certifications in the mental health space — and ultimately, to creating Wholebeing, the first mental health + wellbeing initiative at Media Cause, where I was EVP for more than six years. Through Wholebeing, Media Cause was awarded “Best New Approach to Workplace Wellbeing” by This Can Happen Global, and received Bell Seal Certification from Mental Health America for 2023 and 2024.

In June 2024, I took the next step toward making this work my professional focus, as I left agency world to become the Managing Director of the Health Action Alliance — an organization that brings together leaders from the public health and private sectors to improve conditions for workers everywhere.

I truly believe that mental health and overall wellbeing are interconnected, and that companies have a responsibility to integrate supportive practices, policies, and resources into every aspect of their culture. My hope is that through both my official and unofficial work, I’m able to play a small role in making that happen.

Mental Health + Organizational Wellbeing Experience

• Managing Director, Health Action Alliance

• Created and moderated The One Club for Creativity’s “Beyond the Breakdown: Addressing the Mental Health Crisis in Advertising” panel

• Researched, developed, launched, led Wholebeing — Media Cause’s employee mental health and wellbeing initiative

  • Received Gold-level Bell Seal Certification from MHA (Mental Health America)

  • Awarded 2023 “Best New Workplace Approach to Mental Wellbeing” from This Can Happen Global

  • Read an interview about Wholebeing here

• Judge for 2024 This Can Happen Global awards

• Panelist at 2023 This Can Happen Global US Conference

• Plenary Speaker at 2023 Mindful Leader Summit

• Publications: check out my Speaking + Features page

Training + Certification

As part of my passion for mental health, wellbeing, and organizational culture, I dedicate much of my downtime (when I’m not busy with my other job as Mom) to learning and exploring a variety of tools, methods, practices, and ways of thinking that I believe could be helpful in creating a more compassionate, intuitive, and human-centered workplaces. Some of these include:

• Trauma-Informed Leadership Certification (University of North Florida)

• Mental Health First Aid Certification (MHFA-US)

• Organizational and Relationship Systems Coaching (ORSC) Fundamentals

• Empathy Decathlon Facilitator Certification (Empathy Lab)

• Continuing Education in Positive Psychology (UPenn/Coursera)

• Power of Awareness training (Greater Good Science Center)

• Compassionate and Resilient Leadership Certificate (Center for Compassionate Leadership)

• Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute Certificate (SIYLI)

• Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction training (New York Insight Meditation Center)

• Mindful Self-Compassion training (Center for Mindful Self-Compassion)