Next Friday, January 14, the Democratic Club of Claremont will host Dr. Dionne Bensonsmith during their monthly luncheon via a Zoom meeting set to begin at noon.

The visiting professor and policy fellow at Claremont McKenna College will speak on the following topic, “Children’s mental health justice: what it means and why it matters.” Dr. Bensonsmith is also a scholar, researcher, writer, mental health advocate, teacher and parent.

She is a former basketball player and high school All-American. She earned her B.A. in government and international studies from the University of Notre Dame where she played basketball for the legendary Muffet McGraw. She earned her M.A./Ph.D. from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University.

Bensonsmith is the co-founder of Mothers on the Frontline and co-creator of the Children’s Mental Health Justice Framework. She conducts research on children’s and caregivers’ mental health justice, Black women’s health, United States healthcare and welfare policy and mental health policy. She also writes, consults, and advises on research methods/methodologies, ethics, and trauma-informed research.

Her work in children’s mental health justice is informed by her personal experiences as a Black woman and being a mother of boys with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

The program, part of the club’s Gar Byrum Distinguished Speaker Series, is open to the public and held via Zoom. To register for this talk, go to https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89559832568.

More info can be found through Mike Boos, the Democratic Club of Claremont’s corresponding secretary, at jazzdrmike@aol.com or by contacting the Democratic Club of Claremont’s Recording Secretary Carolee Monroe at jackncarolee@verizon.net.

Inquires about the Democratic Club of Claremont can be sent to their P.O. Box 1201, Claremont, California 91711. You can also reach the club by calling (909) 632-1516 or visit www.claremontdems.org.