Winners of the 2025 CredibleMind Awards

These awards recognize stand-out community-based programs that apply creativity and coalition-building to elevate community mental health and wellbeing at scale

Sausalito, CA, December 10, 2025 – CredibleMind, the leader in digitally integrated behavioral health for hundreds of communities nationwide, today announced winners of the 2025 CredibleMind Awards. These awards recognize organizations demonstrating exceptional innovation and impact in three core areas: communications that inspire action, lowering stigma, and promoting flourishing.

CredibleMind combines evidence-based self-care with data-driven insights to help organizations in both the public and private sectors support their populations. By providing a comprehensive digital and data-driven ecosystem of verified resources, validated assessments, and a learning lab for building better self-guided practices, CredibleMind empowers communities to get upstream of the mental health crisis by intervening early and helping individuals better navigate to appropriate care resources.

Overall Winner: Bartholomew County

Taking top honors this year is Bartholomew County, Indiana, recognized as the Overall Winner for their exceptional “Mental Health Matters” initiative. Bartholomew County secured the top spot overall while also garnering recognition across multiple award categories.

Their comprehensive strategy integrates a high-visibility public awareness campaign, “Standing Up Against Stigma,” with a grassroots Ambassador Network that empowers residents to lead peer-to-peer conversations. By combining digital storytelling with life-size public banners and bilingual resources, they have effectively shifted local culture from silence to open dialogue.

“The success of Mental Health Matters is grounded in its holistic design: a strong initiative, a powerful campaign, and an empowering Ambassador Network,” said Julie Orben, Project Manager for Bartholomew County Mental Health Matters. “Together, these elements have redefined how our community understands and talks about mental health and wellness. This recognition validates the importance of this work and inspires us to expand our impact even further.”

Category Winners and Special Recognitions

In addition to the overall winner, CredibleMind recognized leaders in three distinct categories: Communications that Inspire, Reducing Stigma, and Promoting Flourishing.

Communication that Inspires.

This award recognizes creative, impactful messaging to engage communities.

• Category Winner: Upper Missouri District Health Unit (North Dakota)
  Upper Missouri District Health Unit is recognized for their unique intersection of art and public health. To break through traditional barriers in their rural and frontier region, they partnered with local artist Onesti Krieger to create an advertising campaign centered on her abstract artwork inspired by seasonal depression. This human-centric approach, distributed through trusted local venues like veterinary offices and libraries, achieved a 150% increase in new users on their platform.
• Special Recognition:
  • South Carolina Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Office of Mental Health: For their statewide “Hopeful Minds” initiative and “Hope.Connects” anonymous screening tools.
  • Community Coalition Alliance (Florida): For their data-driven presentations and integration of mental health resources into substance use prevention curriculums in Florida.

Reducing Stigma.

This award recognizes efforts to normalize mental health help seeking and reduce barriers.

• Category Winner: Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska (Nebraska)
  The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska is honored for their “relative-centered” and culturally grounded approach to mental health in Indigenous communities. Their strategy incorporates traditional healing, language, and trauma-informed care into every aspect of their work. Initiatives include the “Kikijire” (helping each other) mobile crisis response team and the integration of mental wellbeing into all 20 of their departmental programs, successfully decreasing suicidal ideation and increasing community engagement.
• Special Recognition:
  • Norfolk Department of Public Health (Virginia): For their “Hiding in Plain Sight” community screening and expert panel event.
  • Otter Tail County (Minnesota): For their “Partners for Suicide Prevention” coalition and targeted outreach to youth and middle-aged men.

Promoting Flourishing.

Recognizing programs that go beyond crisis management to foster resilience, happiness, and overall wellbeing.

• Category Winner: West Central District Health Department (Nebraska)
  Guided by the philosophy that “none are well until all are well,” West Central District Health Department (WCDHD) has built a culture of flourishing from the inside out. Their approach includes a robust workplace wellness program for staff and innovative community events like the Tyler Vanderheiden Memorial Run, which draws participants from all 50 states to support suicide prevention. WCDHD also champions “Marathon Kids,” a program teaching resilience and emotional regulation to school-aged children through physical activity.
• Special Recognition:
  • Essex County (New York): For their “local people first” campaign, utilizing billboards and audio messages at gas pumps to reach rural residents.
  • Norfolk Department of Public Health (Virginia): For their “inside-out” model that prioritizes employee wellbeing as the foundation for community flourishing.
  • South Carolina Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (BHDD) Office of Mental Health: For integrating flourishing concepts into crisis response and public education.

“We are inspired by the caliber of this year’s winners. These organizations are not just providing resources; they are fundamentally changing the narrative around mental health in their communities,” said Deryk Van Brunt, DrPH, CEO of CredibleMind. “From rural counties to statewide systems, these leaders are proving that when you combine evidence-based tools with local collaboration through coalitions, you can truly improve population mental health.”

About CredibleMind

Leading health plans, program providers, and over 200 communities across the U.S., rely on CredibleMind to empower member mental health anytime, anywhere. Our evidence-based, population digital mental health platform scales screening, prevention, referral, and early intervention, delivering the first step in data-driven mental health stepped care. Customized for each setting and tailored for each individual, we create a better digital front door to behavioral health. For more information, visit us at crediblemind.com.

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PRESS CONTACT:

CredibleMind
Ashley Walker
ashley@crediblemind.com