Kita S. Curry, Ph.D.

Since 1999, Dr. Kita S. Curry has been at the helm of Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services.  Under her guidance as President and CEO, the agency's services and its financial stability have grown despite the challenges of the last decade.

A Phi Beta Kappa English major from the University of Pennsylvania, Kita began her professional life as a poet.  Seeking new challenges, she earned her doctorate in psychology at UCLA supported by a National Institute of Mental Health Training Grant.

Kita brings personal experiences to the management of Didi Hirsch.  When she was young and uninsured, she sought treatment for depression at a community mental health center.  In addition, suicide took the lives of Kita's uncle and cousin, and one of her siblings has struggled with severe bipolar disorder for decades.

From Psychology Today and MSN Money to NPR's Morning Edition, La Opinion, and even the E! Channel, Kita is frequently sought out by the media.  A passionate advocate, she has testified before the California legislature and served on the State's Suicide Prevention and its Stigma and Discrimination Reduction advisory committees.  A previous President of the Board of the California Council of Community Mental Health Agencies, the organization that spearheaded the mental health ballot initiative known as Proposition 63, Kita now serves on the Board of the National Council of Community Behavioral Healthcare.

In recognition of her advocacy, the National Alliance on Mental Illness - Urban LA chapter has twice honored her -first with an Eli Lilly Heroes in the Fight award and later for Outstanding Service in communities of color.  She also has been honored by the LA Child Guidance Clinic (Evis Coda Award for Building Hope for Families), LETS Educational Foundation and Southern California Psychiatric Society.   Most recently, she received a SHero Award from State Senator Curren Price, Jr.

In 2011, her poem, The Fall, was selected for publication in Fish Publishing's international poetry contest, and another was short listed for the Bridport Prize.

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