As we prepare to close 2025, I want to express my gratitude to the incredible staffs, volunteers, donors, and community that make Peer Health Exchange what it is – a shared space built for and with young people that is co-creating change. This year, recent events at the national level have significantly impacted PHE programs. The defunding of public-school education, repression of DEI initiatives, sexual and reproductive health support, and other work quickly changed where and how PHE can reach young people.
In FY25, we made the difficult decision to discontinue our Fellow-led, school-based health education workshops. While this decision was not made lightly, the very real risks to the organization’s ability to deliver our inclusive and affirming health education curricula in public schools coupled with a challenging fundraising environment for nonprofits guided our decision to make the following strategic changes while remaining steadfast in our mission:
- Focus on partnering with community-based organizations and including school-based partnerships where possible
- Pursue delivery approaches that include our Peer-to-Peer model (high school students facilitating PHE workshops), which has yielded incredible results in Boston and Chicago; and training teachers and "community facilitators” such as Community Based Organization (CBO) staff to deliver PHE’s curricula; which has been carried out to great success with partners at The Health Gap in Cincinnati and Metropolitan State University in Denver.
Additionally, we continue to invest in our health web-app, selfsea, to meet the health needs of young people wherever they are. Peer Health Exchange will continue to elevate youth voice and leadership in our programming to ensure that our organization is youth-led, and our commitment to serving youth and delivering our proven programming remains constant.
Key highlights from the year include:
- Contributing to the Motley Bloom piece ”Doctors Thought I Was Bipolar. Turns out, It Was ADHD All Along," discussing mental health among Black women.
- Being featured on WHUR Radio’s Segment Medical Moment for Mental Health Awareness Month discussing the state of youth mental health
- Being featured on WHUR Radio for World Mental Health Awareness Day to discuss stigma and mental health
- Serving as a panelist at the 2025 Behavioral Health Tech Conference in November to discuss the state of youth mental health
- Being featured on Child Mind Institute Thriving Kids Podcast
- Participating in the first-ever Rare Impact Fund Capacity Building Workshop in June where I joined leading voices in mental health, social impact, and philanthropy in New York. The event featured interactive workshops, expert panels, and powerful conversations, equipping participants with the tools and resources to scale their impact.
In a continuation of our 2022-2024 Strategic Plan, PHE’s 2025-2026 Strategic Plan expands upon our core goals: To reach more young people through in-person and digital health education solutions; and to elevate youth voice and leadership in all we do to advance health equity. This will include continuing the expansion and impact of our web-app selfsea, reaching young people in-person, via our Peer-to-Peer model in partnership with community-based organizations, health providers, and schools, and by centering youth voice in our work through our Youth Advisory Board.
The future health and wellbeing of our youth will always be PHE’s top priority. I am truly humbled and grateful for the role our community has played in rebuilding the future of youth health together.
In partnership,
Dr. Angela Glymph
CEO, Peer Health Exchange