Meet our Peer Mental Health Advocates (PMHAS)

Lauren Drake

E'20

Bioengineering '20. Lived experience with OCD, Tourette's, social/generalized anxiety and panic attacks. Focus: seeking help through off-campus CBT/exposure therapy, long-term management & coping skills, support and communication with friends + family, and accessing accommodations (my support kitty Willow is a big help for me!).Here to help you through any part of your journey.

Emily Yao

C'21

I study Communication and minor in Fine Arts & Creative Writing. I am the Storytelling Coordinator at Penn's chapter of Project LETS, and am also involved with The WALK Magazine, WQHS Radio, Undergraduate Media & Entertainment Club, Momentum Magazine, and the Assembly of International Students--yes, I'm from Taiwan! During my leisure time, I enjoy doing any comic-related things, watching soccer matches, watching TV & films, reading, and writing. I have an off-campus therapist, and I also see an on-campus social worker from time to time. Talk to me about navigating on- and off-campus resources, recovering from toxic/abusive relationships, navigating cultural stigma, utilizing therapy, finding ways to take a break from the Penn Bubble, and finding support from online mental health communities! My door is always open, whether you need some support or if you just want to chat!

Amber Auslander

C'20

Amber is a Psychology student with a minor in Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies. Highly involved with queer and trans organizing on campus, they are passionate about the specific mental health challenges that face the LGBT community. They have lived experience with anxiety, depression, disordered eating, and a fun cocktail of not-neatly-diagnosable symptoms - and have developed successful coping mechanisms to survive and thrive.