“I believe that healthy community development must begin with healthy minds. While we may not be able to prevent mental illness, we can help people build a strong foundation of mental and emotional well-being, so they are able to better manage their challenges and be full participants in the life of their communities.”
Kelly Wofford is an advocate, an organizer, a teacher, and a storyteller. She is the founder of Front Seat Life, an organization dedicated to eliminating barriers to mental health and wellness, especially within Buffalo’s African American community. A survivor of abuse, depression and suicide attempts, she draws on her own life experience to help educate and empower others.
Kelly is the director of community relations at Erie County Medical Center, Buffalo’s largest Trauma 1 Center. She also leads communications efforts and mental health advocacy in one of Buffalo’s newest non-profit organizations, the Buffalo Center for Health Equity, which is focused on eliminating significant health disparities in Black communities across five Buffalo zip codes.
Kelly is a certified New York State Peer Support Specialist, earned Mental Health First Aid certification and is trained in Stanford’s Chronic Disease, Diabetes and Pain Self-Management programs. She is also a licensed minister at Impacting Love Global Ministries. She provided pivotal leadership to help create the University at Buffalo’s Institute for Community Health Equity. She earned a master’s degree in college student personnel administration from Canisius College; a bachelor’s in business management and economics from Empire State College, and a paralegal certificate from the University of Buffalo’s Millard Fillmore College.
Organization
Front Seat Life, Buffalo
Area of Focus
Mental and emotional health
Fellowship Project
Develop a peer-led model for mental health coaching that helps people identify and manage anxiety, depression and other conditions—not as a replacement for professional therapy but as an additional support for those who are struggling.
“It Can Be Okay for You, Too”: Kelly Wofford on Promoting Mental Health with Peer Support—and Radical Transparency
Kelly Wofford, a 2021 Rubinger Fellow and seasoned community engagement professional in Buffalo, NY, knows that mental health is a critical but underrecognized basis for the overall wellbeing of people and communities. Her frank approach to mental-health skills building as a speaker, peer coach, and workshop facilitator begins by letting go of secrets and shame.