Shannon Jaccard MBA

Board Chair

Women's Health Innovation Behavioral Health Leadership Sibling Advocate

From personal tragedy to global advocacy—driving a future where no family feels alone in mental illness.

About

Shannon Jaccard, MBA is a nationally recognized behavioral health leader, author, and advocate whose work is deeply shaped by the loss of her brother to mental illness. As CEO and Co‑Founder of The Female Files and former CEO of NAMI San Diego, she brings together strategic leadership, women’s health innovation, and lived experience to drive meaningful change in mental health systems. An international speaker and author of the Amazon bestseller The Forgotten Survivors, she amplifies the often overlooked voices of siblings and families navigating mental illness. 

Career Highlights

CEO, NAMI San Diego

Led one of the nation’s most influential mental health organizations, expanding community programs and elevating statewide efforts to reduce stigma.

Author, The Forgotten Survivors

Wrote an Amazon‑bestselling book that brings visibility to the lived experiences of siblings navigating a loved one’s mental illness.

Co‑Founder & CEO, The Female Files

Created a women’s health innovation platform focused on empowering women through data, storytelling, and health equity.

Quick Facts

TITLE

Board Chair

Credentials

MBA

Focus Area

Behavioral Health Advocacy & Systems Change

Featured Talks

Label, Stigma & Shifting Perceptions in Mental Health

Visionary Leaders: The Aspen Institute

Publications & Writing

The Forgotten Survivors

The book provides insight and guidance on how to strengthen the sibling bond, even if the relationship has been marred by turmoil and separation. Some siblings just don’t know what to do, and often it’s easier for them to do nothing. Others are exhausted from balancing the needs of their aging parents, their ill sibling, and raising their own families. Despite all their efforts, no one asks them how they are doing. No one recognizes the trauma they have experienced each time their sibling was hospitalized, or each time their mother or father fell apart. These siblings hold in their emotions. The Forgotten Survivors will challenge you to forgive, to love, and to unify.

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