Who We Are
WFMH Board Candidates for Election
2025-2027
Allan Tasman
Country: USA
Region: North America & Eng. Caribbean
Nominator: Nasser Loza
Candidate 1000 word statement
I grew up hearing my family tell stories of how my grandparents came to the United States before World War I to escape persecution, which at times had resulted in family members being killed. My mother was one of 8 children living through the great depression in the US during the 1920’s and 30’s with a disabled father. To be able to afford to buy food and pay their rent, the children were forced to go door-to-door to neighbors, selling fruit and small trinkets. I have no question that listening to these family stories led to my lifelong commitment to working with those who suffer from disadvantaged circumstances. And, among other influences, understanding the emotional toll during my mother’s childhood and adolescence led me to devoting my career to working to foster improved mental health at all levels of society.
In my family, the way out of difficult circumstances was through education, and it is not surprising, then, that I have devoted a great part of my career to improving the knowledge and skills of those beginning their careers in mental health. During my own training, I learned of the benefits of interdisciplinary work, not only with the broadest range of mental health professionals, but also with individuals, families, and organizations of those who personally were affected by mental health problems. One of my proudest recognitions was when I received the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill ( NAMI) Exemplary Psychiatrist Award. NAMI is a large and exceptional organization of family members and individuals whose lives have been affected by mental illness.
As is outlined in my Executive CV, which is part of this application, I have had significant opportunities locally, nationally, and globally, to work for positive and lasting changes in the lives of those at risk for or affected by mental health concerns. If my efforts have been productive, it is due to the fact that I have had the opportunity to collaborate with so many dedicated and talented people to meet our shared goals to reduce risk for mental illness, improve care, and effect organizational, corporate, and government policies. There is not a single week in my career which lacked time spent on these goals.
Despite substantial progress since the founding of WFMH in 1948, overwhelming gaps remain in services and support systems. Even though the United Nations, through its Sustainable Development Goals 2030, has listed more than 25 specific areas in which governments can work to reduce the risk for mental and physical illnesses, inadequate progress has been made. Thus, the imperative for sustained advocacy to support critically needed resources has never been greater. The potential role a vibrant and revitalized WFMH can play has never been more necessary. Advocacy at any level requires a long term sustained effort, and our recent efforts within the WHO and UN must be enhanced. Further, reduced membership over the last decade has minimized our impact. Thus, rebuilding a strong and diverse membership is of the highest priority in order for the WFMH to fulfill its promise of positive global mental health for all.
In the Executive CV included in the application, the review of my accomplishments reveals the knowledge, skills, and entrepreneurial approach I have brought to my decades of experience in institutional and organization work. Every kind of administrative activity in my career has succeeded best within an atmosphere of collegiality and respect. I’ve tried to approach all my endeavors with that principle in mind. While the hierarchical aspects of administrative leadership can at times foster more efficient functioning, I’ve done my best to flatten it to increase participation and expression of diverse views and perspectives.
I am currently Regional VP for North America/Caribbean. The culmination of my efforts has been reflected by the receipt this year of a large grant for WFMH from an international tech company. Working with them, we have sponsored and planned a number of mental health online webinars for their almost 29,000 international employees which have recently included presentations on sleep, stress, and mental health, and the mental health impact of social isolation and loneliness. The next program will be on suicide prevention, and more are being planned. All the webinars will be posted on our website, expanding the impact. In addition to the direct effects of this work, the programming has led to increased awareness of the WFMH on a large international website for corporate philanthropy and led to additional support .
I was elected to the Treasurer position in mid-April of 2024 after the resignation of two others who had been in that role since the last election in 2023. I have devoted literally hundreds of hours to unraveling the nature and extent of problems in our financial management, but more importantly to fix them. Space does not permit full discussion, but the result of my efforts is that we are, for the first time in at least 5 years, functioning in full compliance with US legal and fiscal requirements for nonprofit organizations, have complete control of all our resources, benefitting from increased philanthropy, and have put the WFMH in position for a long overdue full audit for the first time since 2016. To accomplish all these goals required close collaboration with staff, our financial and tax supports, board leadership, and the entire board, as well as consultation with outside legal and finance experts.
I am confident the knowledge and skills I have relied upon in my present WFMH roles will continue to be valuable to WFMH, and I ask for your support. We have many needs to foster improved effectiveness, and will need to think strategically and increase opportunities to contribute to our work. One way we can improve is by ensuring our policies and structures align with the challenges of the digital age, the nature of which could not have been predicted when the bylaws were last revised two decades ago.
I understand the expectations of a Board Member and will continue to meet or exceed them.
Candidate additional statement if provided
I humbly ask to be considered for the office of president elect. The WFMH has the opportunity to become an indispensable force globally, fostered through an entrepreneurial, collaborative, and transformational approach. I have been known as such a leader in the prior national and international organizations in which I have been involved, resulting in positive and durable organizational transformations. My work in WFMH is illustrative: as regional VP for North America/Caribbean I secured the largest philanthropic grant in over 6 years. Since my unanticipated election to serve an additional dual role as regional VP and Treasurer in mid-April 2024, after personally working hundreds of hours, our financial situation is now completely under our own control, we meet all prescribed regulatory, legal, and financial requirements for a US chartered non-profit. Updated digital-age-appropriate policy and procedure structures, a major membership drive, and increased philanthropy will allow for robust strategic planning.