Kita S. Curry, Ph.D.

Since 1999, Dr. Kita S. Curry has been at the helm of Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services.  Under her guidance as President and CEO, the agency’s services and its financial stability have grown despite the challenges of the last decade. 

A Phi Beta Kappa English major from the University of Pennsylvania, Kita began her professional life as a poet.  Seeking new challenges, she earned her doctorate in psychology at UCLA supported by a National Institute of Mental Health Training Grant.

Proud to be the leader of an agency dedicated to helping the economically disadvantaged, Kita brings personal experiences to the management of Didi Hirsch.  When she was young and uninsured, she sought treatment for depression at a community mental health center.  In addition, suicide took the lives of Kita’s uncle and cousin, and one of her siblings has struggled with severe bipolar disorder for decades.  This real life connection motivates her efforts to erase stigma and help families cope with mental illness.

From Psychology Today and MSN Money to NPR’s Morning Edition, La Opinion, and even the E! Channel, Kita is frequently sought out by the media.  A passionate advocate, she has testified before the California legislature and served on the State’s Suicide Prevention and Stigma and Discrimination Reduction advisory committees.  A previous President of the Board of the California Council of Community Mental Health Agencies, the organization that spearheaded the mental health ballot initiative known as Proposition 63, Kita now serves on the Board of the National Council of Community Behavioral Healthcare.

In recognition of her advocacy, the Urban Los Angeles chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NULA) selected her for an Eli Lilly Heroes in the Fight award in 2005.  In 2009, the Los Angeles Child Guidance Clinic presented her with the Evis Coda Award for Building Hope for Families and in 2010 she was honored by NULA for Outstanding Service in communities of color and also by LETS (Let’s Erase the Stigma) Educational Foundation for her support of early education to change youth’s perception of mental illness.  In April, Kita will be honored by the Southern California Psychiatric Society for including psychiatry in Didi Hirsch’s philosophy of treatment.

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