Yearwood Elected President of the Global Alliance for Behavioral Health and Social Justice
Edilma L. Yearwood, PhD, RN, PMHCNS-BC, FAAN
(January 27, 2026) — Edilma L. Yearwood, PhD, RN, PMHCNS-BC, FAAN, assumed the presidency of the Global Alliance for Behavioral Health and Social Justice on January 1, 2026, for a two-year term. Yearwood, professor and director of the PhD in Nursing program at the Berkley School of Nursing, is the fourth nurse to hold this elected position since the organization was established in 1924.
The Global Alliance is an interdisciplinary organization of psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurses, graduate students and other behavioral health advocates. It is “committed to informing policy, practice, and research at the intersection of behavioral health, social justice, and well-being.”
Yearwood has been a member since 2018. She has served as secretary twice and was president-elect from 2023-2025. She will serve as president through December 2027.
Yearwood says during her tenure, she plans to focus on issues related to children and families, prevention, expanding global partnerships, and increasing mental health literacy in those with the lived experience of having a mental health diagnosis, as well as families, communities and care providers.
“I am both excited to lead this forward-thinking organization, and challenged by the current daunting societal factors creating stress, anxiety and uncertainty, all of which can be contributing factors to poor mental well-being,” she said.