EDC’s Dr. Julie Goldstein Grumet Receives 2023 Juanita Cunningham Evans Memorial Award
EDC vice president Dr. Julie Goldstein Grumet has received the 2023 Juanita Cunningham Evans Memorial Award for her outstanding work improving school mental health policy, research, and practice. Bestowed annually by the National Center for School Mental Health (NCSMH), the award celebrates the work of Juanita Cunningham Evans, who was instrumental in establishing the NCSMH. Goldstein Grumet accepted the award on December 6, during the Annual Conference on Advancing School Mental Health, in New Orleans, Louisiana.
“It is truly an honor to receive this prestigious award from NCSMH,” says Dr. Goldstein Grumet. “Accessibility to quality, timely, and effective care is vital to reducing children’s mental health needs. The availability of school mental health services is essential in helping children, adolescents, and their families to confront stressors, manage challenges, and be successful learners.”
Trained as a clinical psychologist, Dr. Goldstein Grumet attained her PhD in clinical psychology from The George Washington University. For many years, she provided mental health services directly to youth in elementary, middle, and high school; facilitated psychoeducation groups; and conducted trainings for teachers.
Before joining EDC, Dr. Goldstein Grumet led the District of Columbia’s Garrett Lee Smith State/Tribal Youth Suicide Prevention Grant programming for nearly a decade. As part of this work, she led training activities and suicide prevention screening events and collaborated with community-based organizations to address suicide prevention among youth ages 10–24.
At EDC, Dr. Goldstein Grumet is a behavioral health expert, innovator, and champion focused on suicide prevention. Across the United States and around the world, her work is improving prevention practices and policies. As the director of EDC’s Zero Suicide Institute, she helps hospitals, communities, and health organizations adopt innovative strategies to transform their suicide prevention and treatment practices, saving lives. She is also the senior health care advisor to the Suicide Prevention Resource Center.
When accepting the award on December 6, Dr. Goldstein Grumet said, “Currently, I have the honor of spearheading the Zero Suicide uptake and movement. This comprehensive approach bundles evidence-based practices for identifying and caring for people at risk for suicide and ensures that no one falls in the gaps that often exist in health care or within other systems such as schools or corrections. It also emphasizes the need to be vocal and clear about hope and recovery. These are the same underlying principles that made me fall in love with the concept of school mental health in the first place over two decades ago.”