Kristen Harootunian

Mental Health & Recovery Speaker

My childhood was marked by significant trauma. When I was in 6th grade, my mother, who had struggled with addiction, attempted and completed suicide. Left to navigate my grief alone, I buried my pain and built walls around myself.

As I grew older, I turned to alcohol, drugs, and self-harm to cope. At one point, I believed I wouldn't live past 18. Through numerous treatment efforts, I finally accepted help, attending long-term residential treatment and then a recovery high school to finish my education.

I went on to earn my Bachelor of Arts in Corporate Communications from Penn State University, where I was honored to deliver the commencement address at my own graduation.

Since 2016, I have proudly served as a Young Adult Speaker with Minding Your Mind, a nonprofit dedicated to mental health education, completing 700+ presentations that have reached over 100,000 individuals across schools, colleges, and communities nationwide. I am now more than 10+ years sober.

As an independent speaker, I bring that same evidence-informed storytelling to corporate wellness programs, athletic departments, and conferences, helping organizations reduce stigma, build psychologically safe cultures, and equip teams with practical tools for mental wellness. I have also partnered with Spirence to develop corporate training video content on emotional wellness and mental health in high-performance environments.

I currently serve as Education Alliance Specialist at La Salle University through Caron Treatment Centers, delivering mental wellness and resilience programming to student athletes. I have been featured in the La Salle Collegian, Telegraph Herald, The Lincoln Center's TLC Connections podcast, Agnes Irwin School Magazine, and more.