Meet Heidi Nasstrom Evans

CONTACT HEIDI

Heidi Nasstrom Evans brings a decade of firsthand experience navigating Delaware's mental health systems as a caregiver for a loved one with a serious brain illness. This lived experience drives her commitment to advocating for the evidence-based, humane treatment that families desperately need but too often cannot access. 
  
As executive director of a local nonprofit, Heidi leads strategic planning, community engagement, and policy development initiatives. She serves on state boards and works regularly with state entities and policymakers, bringing established relationships and credibility to advocacy efforts. Her professional experience in organizational leadership, grant writing, and developing educational programming for diverse audiences provides practical skills for advocacy work. 
  
Heidi's personal journey through Delaware's mental health system has given her intimate knowledge of the barriers families face—from doctors refusing treatment, to schools having no referrals to psychiatric care, to the devastating reality of watching symptoms of brain illness met with handcuffs instead of healthcare. She has witnessed how systems meant to help instead abandon families in crisis, and how even after a crisis is addressed, individuals are left without the ongoing services and support needed to navigate life with a brain illness. She is committed to advocating for systemic reforms that provide comprehensive medical treatment and continuum of care rather than criminalize those who are suffering. 
  
Based in southern Delaware, Heidi is committed to building a grassroots movement across the state to ensure that individuals with serious brain illnesses and their families receive the comprehensive, coordinated care they deserve.