Lauren Carson, founder and executive director of Black Girls Smile, started the organization in 2012, after her own experiences with depression and anxiety revealed how many people were struggling in silence. Black Girls Smile focuses specifically on Black girls and young women (roughly ages 13–25/26), combining culturally competent, gender-responsive mental health support with programs designed with participants, not for them.

Carson believes that mental health can’t sit in a silo—it shows up in STEM programs, youth development, schools, and community life. Her team operationalizes that through co-design (including a 16-member junior advisory board), peer-centered group programming, and an asset-based narrative that avoids “saving” language. The organization has shifted what it measures, too: alongside knowledge and coping skills, they track social connection—whether participants felt affirmed, included, and joyful. Examples of youth-driven adaptation include revamping a suicide prevention program to reflect how girls want information delivered, and replacing a traditional resource guide with a digital ‘zine built from girls’ submissions.

Black Girls Smile’s approach includes:

• Centering Black girls’ specific needs through culturally competent, gender-responsive care.
• Co-designing programs and branding with youth leadership, including a junior advisory board.
• Using group-based, peer-to-peer spaces (in-person and virtual) to build belonging and practical coping tools.
• Shifting from deficit framing to asset-based language and metrics (e.g., social connection, affirmation, joy).
• Delivering school-based programs (8–10 weeks) and training external facilitators to scale beyond internal capacity.
• Expanding community-based access through a dedicated space in Brooklyn and partnerships in cities like New York and Atlanta.

Limitations remain. Carson described the operational challenges for nonprofits—limited affordable tools and training, systems that aren’t built for mission-driven work, and a lack of supports like sabbatical funding to prevent leader burnout. She also noted a broader headwind: mental health and Social Emotional Learning can be treated as optional when budgets tighten, reinforcing the challenge of making mental health truly integrated—seen as core infrastructure rather than a “nice-to-have.”