Being healthy is commonly mistaken as just being physically fit. However, the total wellness of anyone should be composed of a sound body and mind. Mental health is often the least priority of people, and Michael H. Forde aims to change this mindset.
As someone who has credibility in the health sector, Michael is fully equipped to be the catalyst for change, especially in giving importance to mental health. His credibility comes from hard-earned experience. At the age of 16, he graduated from high school. Three years later, he got his bachelor’s degree. But Michael Forde did not stop there; he pursued his master’s and got it at the age of 22 and is currently pursuing his doctorate at age 26. He is pursuing a public health specialization in health behavior at George Washington University’s Milken Institute of Public Health.
There is no stopping for this young passion-driven man to pursue his mission: to spread the message of positivity, mental wellbeing, and change across the globe. He firmly believes that by optimizing one’s wellbeing, both physically and mentally, anyone’s potential is limitless.
Aside from his educational background, Michael H. Forde garnered learnings and experiences from working as a public health servant in both local and national communities as a health communications specialist at the National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health, under the leadership of Dr. Anthony Fauci, as a member of the NIAID Inquiry Response Team.
His experiences opened his eyes to what the health sector needs, and, at the same time, he saw how he could use his skills and learnings to help. One of the ways he saw was the use of digital platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, to spread positivity and inspiring messages to all. As of the moment, this social media influencer has a following of 136,000 followers on Instagram and 173,000 followers on Facebook. Consistency brought him to have this wide reach, which is still growing as of the moment.
Due to his digital presence, he was named one of the fastest-growing positivity influencers on social media. Aside from being a social media influencer, Michael H. Forde is also the author of the motivational self-help book, “Success Begins From Where You Are!”, a recipient of the Gates Millennium Scholarship, and ambassador for the National College Resources Foundation. The said foundation is a nonprofit organization that helps minority students get scholarships and grants for the best schools.
Soon, Michael sees himself as one of the public health industry leaders and a change leader. Michael H. Forde will not wait until he reaches the age of 30 or 40 before inducing change. His passion for helping others, combined with his skills and knowledge, makes him unstoppable. Hopefully, as he achieves more, he will keep his flames burning while lighting up other people’s torches. In addition to this, his advocacy in making mental health a priority is on the right track and, hopefully, will flourish for the years to come.
Join him in his journey to creating a safe space for everyone and spreading positivity, overflowing from his well, by following him on Facebook and Instagram.
Opinions expressed by NY Weekly contributors are their own.
